Merkel and Sarkozy smirk at mention of Berlusconi
Premiers of Germany and France apparently joke about Italian PM’s economic competence (with video)
HAS Angela Merkel just taken revenge on Silvio Berlusconi for calling her an "unfuckable lard-arse"? The video above shows the reaction of the German Chancellor and French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy when they were asked by a journalist on Sunday whether they were confident that the Italian PM could pass the financial reforms necessary to avoid economic disaster.
The answer comes in the form of a smirk shared between Merkel and Sarkozy, which prompts laughter among the press pack.
The video has caused outrage in Italy. Reuters reported that a Corriere della Sera editorial complained: "It was not nice, for an Italian, to be present yesterday at the news conference in Brussels held jointly by Merkel and Sarkozy."
Berlusconi himself appeared to hit back at Merkel and Sarkozy in uncharacteristically diplomatic language in a letter published yesterday on the Italian government website .
Naming no names, he said: "Nobody in the Union can appoint themselves administrators and speak in the name of elected governments and the peoples of Europe. No one is in a position to be giving lessons to their partners."
He insisted that Italy will balance its budget by 2013 and that nobody has anything to fear from "the third European economy". ·
