Berlusconi in the United States
I am an Italian citizen (and very proud of it), so I read the Italian news every day. This is not really “legally relevant,” but the BBC has a very funny article on the current Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Belusconi, visiting President Obama: “Oh no, Silvio! Will Italian PM avoid offending anyone on US visit?” So far, Silvio Berlusconi has embarrassed the whole country multiple times with his gaffes (more or less intentional), such as the now-famous description of President Obama as “young, handsome, and sun tanned.” Still, maybe Berlusconi will spare us this time.
To quote part of the article,
Beppe Severgnini, columnist for Corriere della Sera and author of La Bella Figura – A Field Guide to the Italian Mind, thinks the risk of a PR disaster in Washington is low. He points out that Mr. Berlusconi does not speak English, Mr. Obama does not speak Italian, and they will only meet for one hour to discuss preparations for the G8 summit, which Italy is hosting next month.
And, as Mr. Palandri, a professor at University College London, puts it, “Even if he does badly he won’t be in an embarrassing position — because we could not be in a more embarrassing position than we are now.”