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| Berlusconi: said Merkel had apologised to him |
Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy swapped a smile when a questioner asked them at a news conference at a European summit on Sunday if they were reassured by Berlusconi’s promises of action to address Italy’s deep economic crisis.
The smile caused widespread resentment in Italy, where it was seen as a national humiliation and insult.
“Certainly, the giggling was not pleasant, even if addressed to only one person. He is still the prime minister of a country,” Rome resident Giuseppe Vallone told Reuters.
Berlusconi told Italian television during the latest summit on Wednesday that the German leader had said sorry.
“Mrs Merkel came to me and apologised for the situation that occurred and told me explicitly that she had no intention of denigrating our country,” he said. “Therefore, relations with her are extremely cordial.”
But Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said yesterday: “There was no apology because there was no reason to offer an apology.”
Germany says the smile was prompted by momentary confusion about who would respond to the question.
Berlusconi, notorious for diplomatic gaffes and off-colour remarks, was rumoured in leaked judicial wiretaps several weeks ago to have made vulgar remarks about Merkel.
But the issue seems to have been brushed under the carpet in both countries in a desire to avoid a diplomatic incident.
Merkel and Sarkozy presented Berlusconi with an ultimatum on Sunday to take real action to combat Italy’s huge public debt and sluggish growth.
He reacted angrily, saying nobody in the bloc could lecture others.
President Giorgio Napolitano and top Italian commentators also criticised the Franco-German attitude to Italy, though opposition critics said it was only a result of Berlusconi’s dubious reputation after a string of sex scandals and legal and business troubles that have sapped his political strength.
Berlusconi got a much improved reception at Wednesday night’s summit in Brussels when he presented an ambitious set of economic reforms, although some commentators have expressed scepticism about whether he had the political strength to implement them.
However, his relations with Sarkozy seem to remain chilly.
The French president has been angered by his failure to fulfil a pledge to yield to France the position on the European Central Bank executive board currently occupied by Italy’s Lorenzo Bini Smaghi.
Sarkozy supported the candidacy of Mario Draghi to take over as ECB governor on November1, replacing France’s Jean-Claude Trichet, in exchange for the pledge.
Italy will have two members on the board and France none when Draghi takes over.
Berlusconi told the same television programme on Wednesday night that the Bini Smaghi issue remained a “regrettable point of friction” between the two countries.
Sarkozy responded at a news conference after the summit: “There was an undertaking and it is best to keep your undertakings ... however I do not know if television is the best way to issue such messages. Once again, do not draw me into Italian politics.”
He said a situation in which Italy had two members on the executive board and France none “cannot last for long”.
Berlusconi had been expected to solve the problem by making Bini Smaghi Draghi’s successor as governor of the Bank of Italy but at the last moment the weakened Italian premier chose another candidate for domestic political reasons, leaving the problem unsolved.