Italian politics are fun.
They even have a porn star in the legislature:
BRUSSELS (Reuters) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, under
fire at home for describing U.S. President-elect Barack Obama
as "suntanned," said on Friday he saw no need to apologize.
At a news conference, Berlusconi was brusque with an American
journalist who suggested he should say sorry for the remark on
Thursday. Visiting Moscow, he described the man elected to be the
first black U.S. president as "handsome, young and also suntanned."
His center-left opponents called the comment racist; Berlusconi
responded by saying they were "imbeciles without any sense of humor."
At Friday's news conference after a European Union summit, the
reporter asked: "Prime Minister, do you realize that your comment on
Obama is offensive to the United States? Why don't you apologize?"
Berlusconi responded: "Give me a break! You have just put yourself
on that list of people (imbeciles) I mentioned yesterday!"
When the reporter pressed for an answer on why Berlusconi did not
deem it necessary to apologize, the prime minister, clearly
irritated, said: "Why (should I)? You should apologize to Italy!" He
then walked out of the room.
Berlusconi's latest gaffe was on the front pages of most Italian
newspapers on Friday.
"Berlusconi never fails to live up to our worst expectations," said
an editorial in the Rome daily La Repubblica.
Berlusconi, who prides himself on being a friend of outgoing U.S.
President George W. Bush, is famed in diplomatic circles for making
sometimes inappropriate quips.
On his first meeting with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh
Rasmussen in 2002, Berlusconi complimented him with the
words: "Rasmussen is not only a great colleague, he's also the best-
looking prime minister in Europe."
He added: "He's so good looking, I'm even thinking of introducing
him to my wife."
He sparked a minor diplomatic incident in 2005 by suggesting he had
wooed Finnish President Tarja Halonen to ensure her backing for
Italy to host the European Food Safety Authority.
"I had to use all my playboy tactics, even if they have not been
used for some time," he said, prompting Helsinki to call in the
Italian ambassador to explain the comments.
(Writing by Philip Pullella, editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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