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Press scathing over Berlusconi jibe
LONDON, England -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi showed his true colors when he likened a German member of the European Parliament to a Nazi concentration camp guard, according to an outraged European press. "It wasn't merely a gaffe," said the German newspaper Tagesspiegel. "That was the real, genuine Berlusconi." "Such outbursts are no accident," the newspaper said of Berlusconi's remarks, which sparked a diplomatic row with Germany just a day after Italy took the helm of the European Union. Behind the orange pancake TV make-up that Berlusconi was wearing in parliament, the Italian leader "showed his real face," said Barcelona's El Periodico. ABC in Madrid said Berlusconi had begun the Italian presidency "in the worst way possible." In Italy, where Berlusconi controls much of the media, several newspapers were scathing in their assessment of their prime minister's performance. "Harassed by the more than predictable attacks by certain members of the European parliament, Silvio Berlusconi couldn't manage to keep his nerve and hold his tongue," wrote the historian Ernesto Galli Della Loggia in Corriere della Sera. It showed, he said, that Berlusconi "is a dilettante when it comes to being a politician." Corriere della Sera said Berlusconi's subsequent clowning over the incident was "simply suicidal." Il Sole 24 Ore said Berlusconi "is out of excuses, he cannot allow himself to make such huge errors." La Repubblica said Berlusconi was "disqualified by his words." He should "definitely keep the inopportune jokes in the drawer," said La Stampa. One of the few exceptions to the criticism in Italy was found in Il Foglio, a small political daily run by Berlusconi's former spokesman, Giuliano Ferrara. "The prime minister did very well to refer to Mr. Shulz as a capo," Ferrara said. "The socialist deputy treated him like a delinquent." But press comment around Europe was almost uniformly negative. Liberation in Paris said Berlusconi had started with an excellent speech, but had botched his first test as leader of Europe by attacking an influential member of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's circle with the worst insult known to a German. The French newspaper Le Figaro said Berlusconi had justified the "worst expectations" and the criticism of his worst enemies. Such an excess of language, said Les Echos in Paris, "threatens to cost Silvio Berlusconi dearly." The credibility of his program was "ruined in a few seconds by his scandalous remarks." In Greece, which has just handed over the EU presidency to Italy, the headlines were scathing. The Italian leadership "couldn't have started worse" said Eleftherotypia. Kathimerini spoke of "unprecedented infant scenes" in the European parliament and headlined its main story "Berlusconi's delirium." Kronenzeitung in Vienna was one of the few newspapers to defend Berlusconi, saying he was the victim of a "hypcrotical campaign." The Sun, Britain's largest selling daily tabloid, and never a big fan of the EU, said the "astonishing European bust-up" was to be expected. "Berlusconi's 'Nazi' quip at a top German backfired on him," it said. "What does this spat prove? Simply that the idea of Europe being one big happy family is unworkable and unrealistic."
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