Berlusconi criticised over Barack Obama comment

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.