Silvio Berlusconi Telephone Call Leaves Merkel Hanging (VIDEO)

KEHL, Germany — Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi created a stir Saturday by making the German chancellor wait while he chatted on his mobile phone with Turkey's prime minister about who should become NATO's new chief.

Berlusconi was trying to persuade Recep Tayyip Erdogan to accept Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as the 28-member alliance's new chief, an Italian government official said. Officials from two other countries confirmed the conversation.

WATCH:

The current secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of the Netherlands, is completing his term this summer. Berlusconi was making a "last-minute" effort to persuade Erdogan to reverse Turkey's objection, said the Italian government official, speaking on condition he not be identified further.

Berlusconi was seen chatting on his mobile phone as he got out of his car on the German side of the Rhine River before a symbolic walk across the Europa Bridge that links Germany and France.

In images shown live on European television stations, Berlusconi appeared to gesture to his phone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as if to explain why he wasn't proceeding with other NATO leaders to be greeted by her.

A visibly perplexed Merkel eventually went ahead without Berlusconi, who was deep in conversation and walked toward the bank of the river as he talked on the phone instead of joining the other chiefs of state.

The perceived snub came days after Queen Elizabeth II jokingly reprimanded Berlusconi for calling out "Mr. Obama" loudly after a group photo was taken at Buckingham Palace before the Group of 20 summit in London.

Buckingham Palace stressed the queen was not offended by Berlusconi and that it had been a "jovial lighthearted moment."

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Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.

Comments

[Lee Andrew]

01:34 PM on 04/06/2009

Silvio is talking to his private defense attorney - its normal he must check in hourly.

[HatingTheGame]

06:38 AM on 04/06/2009

Hmm.. this was instructive. Now I know how to say Bush in Italian :-)

[Pip1860]

02:11 AM on 04/06/2009

Time and again, this guy reminds everyone that he is no statesman.

[roddenberry]

12:26 AM on 04/06/2009

Italy has produced nothing since Leonardo da Vinci., excepted mafia and clowns
what's its political future after berlusconi era ? Neofascism

[coolmom64]

12:28 PM on 04/08/2009

According to GDP calculations, Italy was ranked as the seventh-largest economy in the world in 2006.

You Americans have your own Mafia (Wall Street) and clowns (Republican Party).

Americans need to eat some humble pie and stop denigrating other nations.

[golgibody]

11:53 PM on 04/05/2009

could this guy be a bigger d i c k? Isn't he the one who praised Barak Obama's great "tan"?

[JScott]

02:32 PM on 04/05/2009

Oh yes I can see the turnabout as fair play, in a subsequent meeting headed by Berlusconi and all these same folk in attendance.....he starts out saying 'I have a very important announcement to make so will you all please turn off your mobile phones' then later on in the middle of the 'important announcement' there is the ring tone of a mobile phone.

(annoyingly I have encountered this on more than one occassion)

[NYCMami]

01:33 PM on 04/05/2009

" Yes, sausage on one half and hot peppers on the other. Italian sausage! None of that brauwerst junk. Don't skimp on the chesse. And don't over cook it like last time, dammit! "

[Bigidea]

12:46 PM on 04/05/2009

Thank god we have Berlusconi, as a gift to the comedians. Many comedians have lost their jobs since G W B left office.

[devadasi]

12:16 PM on 04/05/2009

Please....the Italians are the worst tourists ever traveling through Europe....they're usually very loud, they travel in packs, and they're constantly chatting on their cell phone....what can I say, that was my experience.

[eden4barack08]

01:08 PM on 04/05/2009

You're right about that. This morning there were a few in Prague at the Obama speech. There we are in an inspiring but sober atmosphere, with the President addressing serious issues like nukes and world peace, people waving Czech and US flags, and these guys came with a huge sign that said "Obama, sorry 4 Berlusconi", not only that, but they also kept shouting it over the crowd. Good grief! Of all the important issues they could've used that visibility to address, that's their only gripe? And then they say he embarrasses them? Talk about pot meet kettle. Sheeesh.

[swimviking]

02:13 PM on 04/05/2009

were you in Prague?

[swimviking]

02:40 PM on 04/05/2009

eccolo qui... e' stupendo!!!

http://tv.repubblica.it/copertina/obama-scusaci-per-silvio/31378?video

[Diogenis]

11:46 AM on 04/05/2009

Regardless, he lacked common courtesy and manners. IF the phone call was so urgent, he could have sent someone to apologize. Manners!!

[swimviking]

07:39 AM on 04/05/2009

a Time Magazine reporter asked an Italian reporter three questions, which the latter could not answer:

- couldn't he have chosen a different moment to phone?
- doesn't he have anyone near him who can advise him about how to behave at international ceremonies?
- did he really have to continue talking on the phone during the moment of silence for the dead?

oh well, the international press had a good laugh.

[Blanca DeBree]

05:57 AM on 04/05/2009

At least he didn't give her an impromptu massage. But then again, no one is that stupid, right?

[NYCMami]

01:34 PM on 04/05/2009

lol

[remf]

04:48 AM on 04/05/2009

He had to make sure there was no MSG in his Chinese food. He was ordering take out for after their lunch, have you had German food? The whole Turkey Prime Minister thing is a front. I read lips he said "riso fritto del porco".

[PSM42]

01:19 AM on 04/05/2009

It's great that the De. ms want to spin that Be. r1uscon1 is a b. um. He _is_ a Ne. 0c0n stooge.

Now if only they would extend that to the other Ne. 0c0n stooge - Sa. rko. But for some strange reason Sa. rko's attempt to become the US's p00dle seems to find favour.

Despite the fact that De Ga. ulle is rotating in his grave at high speed at the thought of La Belle France becoming a tool of the US, once again, by rejoining N. ato.

[eden4barack08]

01:17 PM on 04/05/2009

First of all Dems are not spinning none of the things you said.
As for Sarkozy, he's just as clownish and buffoonish as Silvio, the difference is that French people are proud and mostly keep their personal gripes at home. They would never sell out Sarko's daily gaffes to the international media just to make him look bad, no matter how much they criticize him at home.
And that's a part of French pride that I find quite admirable, actually.

[poster1122]

07:50 PM on 04/04/2009

Seriously? The people here are viewing this as a snub? God forbid a head of state actually puts substantive duties ahead of a ceremonial meet and greet.

Let's weigh this: Getting agreement on the next head of Europe's defense forces vs. being on time for one of how many photo-ops during this conference?

[Kaviraj]

08:55 AM on 04/05/2009

substantive duties

It is not his duty to convince the turks, but to be at the ceremony.

[poster1122]

06:47 PM on 04/05/2009

Italy is a full member of NATO. NATO is responsible for defending Europe. Italian troops are being sent to places like Afghanistan to fight and possibly die under the NATO flag.

It's not the Prime Minister of Italy's duty to get through the person he thinks is best fit to head NATO?! But by all means, a photo-op should take precedence!