Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister renowned for his gaffes who drew criticism last year when he described Barack Obama as "suntanned," rejected a comparison of the two leaders' approaches to the global economic crisis recently by saying: "Io sono piu' pallido...anche perché è tanto che non vado al sole." (I'm paler [than Mr. Obama] because it's been so long since I went sunbathing.)
Rather than not enough sun, maybe Berlusconi has spent too much time on Mediterranean beaches and has had all sense of diplomacy and tactfulness literally baked right out of his brain.
Comments
i won’t even try to assess his ability as a statesman, but he’s a great entertainer. i love to read about his fauxpas. i love him! his gaffe was no worse than some of the things that our presidents have said i.e.: johnson, carter, ford, clinton, reagan, & the recent one that obama pulled on the leno show, in re the special olympics. berlusconi e’ proprio un tesoro! he’s a keeper. amore, M
@marianna: who loves Berlusconi is who doesn’t know Berlusconi.
Marianna ha fatto il commento il piu assurdo del giorno
yo, georgio, bouquets to you too. i think i might find a comment MORE absurd than mine if i were to try…i may not have to venture very far….
It’s Giorgio. And when it comes to Berlusoni, no, it would be nearly impossible to find a comment more absurd than yours.
Ok, just to stop arguing, I think that going to Wikipedia, looking for “Silvio Berlusconi” and reading the section “Dichiarazioni ed episodi controversi” would be definitely interesting for the Bald Dwarf’s admirers.
well, here i am, living in america where everyone is entitled to an opinion & is free to express it. wonderful concept! i think only that berlusconi is entertaining w/ his carefree remarks & he has a free & easy sense of humor which some americans find enticing. i was careful not to evaluate his statesmanship b/c i don’t know enough about italian politics to have a valid opinion & i do not live there. i did not find his remark that he is not as suntanned as obama, to be offensive in the least. he’s a master of artless remarks that frequently get him into trouble but often they are humorous & madcap. amore to all, marianna ricci
P.S…..the italian people seem to want him to be their leader; they keep re-electing him. ciao, M
@marianna: You are free to express your opinion as long as your opinions do not offend anyone and your nonsense IS offending. Berlusconi is a premier, not a clown or a showman; but he behaves like a clown, destroying the image of Italy and Italians. You, as an American, do not know how much deleterious is Berlusconi’s administration for our country. About people re-electing him: Italian people are ignorant, misinformed (our press is mercenary), do not read books or newspapers, they DON’T KNOW who is Berlusconi and he does his best to hide his own wrongdoings, by enacting “ad personam” laws and corrupting judges. Italy is definitely under a soft dictatorship. Whoever denies this is TOTALLY ignorant about my country. Please stop writing nonsense.
i bow to your SUPERIOR knowledge. M
P.S. how fortunate the “ignorant italian people” are to have 1 person among them who is intelligent, perceptive, astute, clever, brilliant….have i left out any attributes?
Yours is the pathetic resentment of ignorant, impotent people. Vain offences are your last chance. They’re detrimental for your own intelligence only. Make yourselves a favour: you foreigners STOP prattling on topics you DON’T KNOW. You write about my country without knowing it, you blether on our Prime Minister without knowing who he is. Since I am Italian and I live in Italy, I know Italian people and Italy’s socio-economic situation much better than you. And, yes, I’m much more informed and cultured than the average of my country fellows.
>maelstrom74, you put your own countrymen down and appear uneducated, which is not the case
How can you say “which is not the case”? Which is your COMPETENCE about Italy and Italians? How much do you know my country in order to judge what I say? I do not put down anyone, I say the truth, based on my knownledge of my country and the people living here. As I already said, you are free to express your opinions, but when your opinions and analysis are crackbrained, I have the right to fight and refuse them.
I replied to the opinions I read, but I was attacked and offended. Reread my messages.
@MARIANNA: I can assure you that not all the Italian folk think the way maelstrom does.
Maybe one could not like Berlusconi (I don’t like him too even if he’s actually the best we can have at the moment. Well, look at the alternatives…)
Btw, he’d been voted by more than 40% of the italian population (that is a huge perc, since we have also other minor parties) and that is a fact that should be at least respected, above all by people who consider themselves cultivated, smart and polite.
@Maelstrom: well, I’m Italian, I live in Italy, I think I am quite cultured (average? more than average? Is it a matter of measures?) and informed about the status of our country. Nevertheless I don’t share your opinion (and I have to say I found your words quite rude).
@pau: tu sei libero di trovarmi maleducato, ma io non ho offeso nessuno e giustifico CONCRETAMENTE quello che dico, sono altri che attaccano senza ragione. Io sarò lieto di analizzare la situazione politica italiana, QUANDO LA GENTE SAPRA’ DI CHE COSA STA PARLANDO. Innanzitutto il Popolo delle Libertà (cioè Berlusconi) non ha ottenuto con queste elezioni più voti di quanti ne avesse ottenuti in passato; è stata la Lega a stornare voti alla sinistra. Quindi formalmente non è lui ad essere stato scelto dagli italiani, ma la sua coalizione e per via incidentale, è molto diverso. In secondo luogo, non so come si possa apprezzare il risultato ottenuto con una legge elettorale che lo stesso Calderoli ha definito “una porcata”. Terzo: le opinioni non vanno sempre rispettate, perché se uno crede di dover votare Berlusconi nonostante la ventina di procedimenti giudiziari a suo carico, le accuse di corruzione, falso in bilancio, falsa testimonianza, appropriazione indebita, frode fiscale, traffico di droga, concorso in strage, concorso esterno in associazione mafiosa, riciclaggio di denaro sporco, allora io sono libero di dire che chi elegge quest’uomo e la sua combriccola è disonesto almeno quanto lui. Due sono le cose: o chi ha eletto questo personaggio non conosce a fondo le sue questioni, oppure la scelta che ha fatto è volutamente criminale.
p.s.: aggiungo che il Signor B. continua a governare l’Italia mediante decreti legge e a profittare delle leggi ad personam che si è tagliato addosso mediante i suoi sarti in Parlamento e grazie alle quali è sfuggito alle vicende giudiziarie (basti considerare il vergognosissimo Lodo Alfano, rimaneggiamento del Lodo Schifani, all’epoca giudicato incostituzionale). L’ometto in questione controlla stampa e televisioni, piazza i suoi favoriti nei luoghi strategici del potere; se questa non è DITTATURA, allora qualcuno dovrebbe spiegarmi gentilmente cos’è. Chi vuol sapere chi sia VERAMENTE Berlusconi, farebbe meglio ad informarsi.
Andate pure su YouTube e cercare “Who Is Silvio Berlusconi”.
La decisione di chi ha eletto questo tale non può essere rispettata.
s. berlusconi has done it again!! “time” magazine reported that berlusconi’s statement in re the hurricane victims was: “the italian people should view it as just a week-end of camping”. {silvio, silvio, how can you say that to your suffering countrymen? some of these very people have lost 1 or more loved ones, & others have lost all their worldly possessions…they are at the lowest ebb of their lives.} there are times when berlusconi says crazy, silly, harmless things but this one is the most unforgivable of all that he’s said. not funny, silvio!
sorry, i wrote hurricane instead of earthquake. i was thinking of the devastation of hurricane “ike” here in houston texas last year.
Maelstrom is correct. Berlusconi often makes Italy and Italians look silly as if we lack seriousness. However, it is important to remember that in Europe one votes for the party and its ideas not the “speaker” of that party.
My personal opinion is that I think Berlusconi is probably a decent human being, but his ideas as well as those held by George W. Bush have destroyed much of the fabric of society, of the dignity of people, of a person’s ability to lead a civilized life. Their policies have diminished the quality of life for MANY.