10/07/2003 15:49
Crisis in relations after Berlusconi refuses to apologise for new slur
Relations between Germany and Italy, both mainstays of the European Union, were last night sunk in their deepest and most personally acrimonious crisis since the second world war.
After the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, scrapped his holidays in Italy to protest at anti-German abuse from an Italian minister, Italy's head of government, Silvio Berlusconi, contemptuously dismissed the move, offering neither regret nor any hint that he intended to reprimand a subordinate who had depicted Germans as arrogant and hyper-nationalistic.
Asked what he made of the chancellor's decision to spend his summer holiday in Hanover instead of on the Adriatic coast, Mr Berlusconi said merely he was "sorry for him".
His remark will infuriate Mr Schröder, already seething over the Italian prime minister's outburst in the European parliament last week in which he likened a member of the chancellor's party to a concentration camp guard.
The renewed breach between two of the EU's "big four" nations is more serious than that original, theatrical flare-up.
This time, Mr Berlusconi, currently also president of the EU's council of ministers, is head-to-head with the leader of the union's most powerful state. He is critically dependent on the goodwill of Germany for the success of Italy's six-month presidency and, in particular, for achieving compromises in talks on the EU's planned constitution.
The chancellor's press office yesterday issued a terse statement saying Mr Schröder, who had planned to spend a fortnight near Pesaro, "no longer wants to subject his family to speculation" about their holiday.
"The problems arising would impair the necessary relaxation and quiet time together. The family will spend its holiday at home in Hanover."
The row between the two countries erupted again after Mr Berlusconi showed no sign of acting against his junior industry minister, Stefano Stefani, for an article in which he wrote: "We know the Germans well, these stereotyped blondes with a hyper-nationalistic pride, who have been indoctrinated from the beginning to feel top of the class whatever the situation."
Mr Stefani went on to write that Germans "loudly invaded" Italian beaches and were "drunk with imagined certainties" that would crumble if they took an intelligence test.
Italy's leftwing opposition yesterday announced it would be tabling a motion demanding the minister, who has defiantly refused to apologise, be removed from his job.
In Germany, the interior minister, Otto Schily, said: "If I was the leader of the Italian government, this man would no longer be in office. The Italian government would be well-advised to sort this out."
For internal political reasons, however, that is difficult. Mr Stefani is a prominent member of the Northern League, one of four main parties in Mr Berlusconi's right-wing coalition.
The government is currently teetering on the brink of a crisis because of demands from the Northern League for changes in policy.
On Tuesday, the league's MPs bared their teeth, voting four times with the opposition to stall or sink government legislation.
In 1994, a revolt by the league brought down Mr Berlusconi's first, ill-starred administration.
Mr Schröder's decision will play well to German voters who have taken the Italian insults personally. The German press hit back at Mr Stefani saying he had a head full of spaghetti and stereotyping Italy as a mafia-ridden, corrupt country.
Yesterday the mass-circulation tabloid Bild Zeitung called on Mr Schröder to cancel his holiday in Italy, saying time spent in the forests of Bavaria or the city of Hanover would be just as pleasant.
Under the headline "Chancellor, stay strong: No Bella (sic) Italia!" Bild said Germany was "not only beautiful, but also much cheaper".
Luciano Violante, leader of the opposition in Italy's lower house, said: "The economic damage that is being caused is enormous."
Last year, more than 9.2 million Germans visited Italy, according to statistics from the Italian tourism department, which estimated they spent some €9.5bn (£6.58bn).
The province of Pesaro said it was considering seeking damages both from Mr Stefani and the Italian government for lost revenue.
"You can't have a man with government responsibilities using such language against a friendly prime minister and people," said the provincial president, Palmiro Ucchielli.
Relations between Germany and Italy, both mainstays of the European Union, were last night sunk in their deepest and most personally acrimonious crisis since the second world war.
After the German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, scrapped his holidays in Italy to protest at anti-German abuse from an Italian minister, Italy's head of government, Silvio Berlusconi, contemptuously dismissed the move, offering neither regret nor any hint that he intended to reprimand a subordinate who had depicted Germans as arrogant and hyper-nationalistic.
Asked what he made of the chancellor's decision to spend his summer holiday in Hanover instead of on the Adriatic coast, Mr Berlusconi said merely he was "sorry for him".
His remark will infuriate Mr Schröder, already seething over the Italian prime minister's outburst in the European parliament last week in which he likened a member of the chancellor's party to a concentration camp guard.
The renewed breach between two of the EU's "big four" nations is more serious than that original, theatrical flare-up.
This time, Mr Berlusconi, currently also president of the EU's council of ministers, is head-to-head with the leader of the union's most powerful state. He is critically dependent on the goodwill of Germany for the success of Italy's six-month presidency and, in particular, for achieving compromises in talks on the EU's planned constitution.
The chancellor's press office yesterday issued a terse statement saying Mr Schröder, who had planned to spend a fortnight near Pesaro, "no longer wants to subject his family to speculation" about their holiday.
"The problems arising would impair the necessary relaxation and quiet time together. The family will spend its holiday at home in Hanover."
The row between the two countries erupted again after Mr Berlusconi showed no sign of acting against his junior industry minister, Stefano Stefani, for an article in which he wrote: "We know the Germans well, these stereotyped blondes with a hyper-nationalistic pride, who have been indoctrinated from the beginning to feel top of the class whatever the situation."
Mr Stefani went on to write that Germans "loudly invaded" Italian beaches and were "drunk with imagined certainties" that would crumble if they took an intelligence test.
Italy's leftwing opposition yesterday announced it would be tabling a motion demanding the minister, who has defiantly refused to apologise, be removed from his job.
In Germany, the interior minister, Otto Schily, said: "If I was the leader of the Italian government, this man would no longer be in office. The Italian government would be well-advised to sort this out."
For internal political reasons, however, that is difficult. Mr Stefani is a prominent member of the Northern League, one of four main parties in Mr Berlusconi's right-wing coalition.
The government is currently teetering on the brink of a crisis because of demands from the Northern League for changes in policy.
On Tuesday, the league's MPs bared their teeth, voting four times with the opposition to stall or sink government legislation.
In 1994, a revolt by the league brought down Mr Berlusconi's first, ill-starred administration.
Mr Schröder's decision will play well to German voters who have taken the Italian insults personally. The German press hit back at Mr Stefani saying he had a head full of spaghetti and stereotyping Italy as a mafia-ridden, corrupt country.
Yesterday the mass-circulation tabloid Bild Zeitung called on Mr Schröder to cancel his holiday in Italy, saying time spent in the forests of Bavaria or the city of Hanover would be just as pleasant.
Under the headline "Chancellor, stay strong: No Bella (sic) Italia!" Bild said Germany was "not only beautiful, but also much cheaper".
Luciano Violante, leader of the opposition in Italy's lower house, said: "The economic damage that is being caused is enormous."
Last year, more than 9.2 million Germans visited Italy, according to statistics from the Italian tourism department, which estimated they spent some €9.5bn (£6.58bn).
The province of Pesaro said it was considering seeking damages both from Mr Stefani and the Italian government for lost revenue.
"You can't have a man with government responsibilities using such language against a friendly prime minister and people," said the provincial president, Palmiro Ucchielli.
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