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Berlusconi criticised over Barack Obama comment

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave an enthusiastic, if unconventional, welcome on Thursday to the election of Barack Obama, citing among his attributes youth, good looks and a suntan.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 23:20 November 7, 2008
  • Gulf News

Moscow: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave an enthusiastic, if unconventional, welcome on Thursday to the election of Barack Obama, citing among his attributes youth, good looks and a suntan.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow, the 72-year-old media tycoon also said Obama's election to the White House had been "hailed by world public opinion as the arrival of a messiah".

Berlusconi, who prides himself on being a friend of outgoing US President George W. Bush, shrugged off a barrage of criticism in Italy as his remark quickly appeared in print and audio on major media websites around the world.

Italy's left-wing opposition parties accused him of bringing discredit on the country with comments which they said were at worst racist and at best a diplomatic blunder.

Berlusconi called his critics "imbeciles" without any sense of humour, adding, "God save us from the imbeciles".

Berlusconi, who himself sports a year-round tan, is famed in diplomatic circles for making sometimes inappropriate quips.

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