Carla Bruni Is Glad She's Not Italian

After Prime Minister Berlusconi's Obama gaffe last week, the wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, told a French newspaper that "I'm very happy that I became French!" To this former Italian president, Francesco Cossiga (who is a supporter of Berlusconi), replied "We too are indeed happy that she is no longer Italian." The Washington Post reports that tonight Nicolas Sarkozy and Silvio Berlusconi are attending a White House dinner for world leaders. Will sparks fly?

Italy Blushes about Berlusconi's "Suntan" Remark

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi put his foot in his mouth on Thursday when he commented to Russia's President Medvedev that Barack Obama was "young, handsome, and suntanned." Italian newspapers and liberals are in an uproar, but Berlusconi says they lack a sense of humor. Berlusconi is not exactly known for his tact. Among many social and political gaffes, in the past he has compared a German European Parliament member to a Nazi concentration camp guard. Some say that this latest comment is just one manifestation of the underlying racism in modern-day Italy. Let's hope that the recent Catholic-Muslim summit at the Vatican and the election of Obama in the U.S. will help to eliminate that prejudice.