The smirk shared by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy when quizzed about Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at their Brussels press conference on Sunday made headlines in Italy on Monday and prompted even some of the Italian prime minister’s fiercest enemies to close ranks behind him.
Leading daily Corriere della Sera, which has criticized Berlusconi for delaying the economic stimulus package demanded by Europe, called the behavior of Merkel and Sarkozy “excessive” in a front-page editorial, adding: “For an Italian it was not great, and it matters little if you are pro or anti-Berlusconi.”
The French and German leaders — now dubbed “Merkozy” — exchanged glances and smiled when asked if they were confident Berlusconi would come up with reforms, prompting a gale of laughter from journalists.
“No one is authorized to ridicule Italy, even after Berlusconi’s obvious and embarrassing delays in tackling the crisis,” said Pier Ferdinando Casini, the head of the opposition UDC party, adding: “I didn’t like Sarkozy’s sarcastic smile.”
Berlusconi appeared to blame Sarkozy’s behavior on his unhappiness over Italy’s overrepresentation on the board at the European Central Bank, now that Italian Mario Draghi has been appointed chairman and Italian board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi is refusing to step down to make way for a French appointee.
“Sarkozy has started to get annoyed,” Berlusconi said. “At a certain point I said to Sarkozy: ‘But what am I supposed to do? Kill him?’”
Italian newspapers have suggested that Merkel’s decision to share the joke with Sarkozy might have been payback after reports that Berlusconi made a vulgar joke about her looks.
With the EU wanting answers by midweek, Berlusconi was reportedly planning a rushed Cabinet meeting on Monday to drum up stimulus measures, including pension reform, to complement the two austerity budgets Italy has passed this year to cut its deficit.
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