Obama: Berlusconi A 'Great Friend'

MILAN — U.S. President Barack Obama says in an interview with an Italian newspaper that he has developed a "very strong relationship" with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

In an interview published Wednesday in Corriere della Sera, Obama called Berlusconi "a great friend of the United States, and of mine." Obama said that the two leaders always joke when they get together but also get serious work done.

He also called Italian President Giorgio Napolitano a "very gracious person" whose view of Europe coincides with Obama's.

Obama also praised Italy for it contribution to the mission in Afghanistan, where it has some 3,000 troops, and emphasized the important role Turkey plays in Europe.

Comments

[Christina714]

05:57 PM on 08/27/2010

Sorry, my first comment did not show up when I first opened the page!

[Christina714]

05:46 PM on 08/27/2010

I'll try again. I don't see why my previous comment was not approved. What's the problem with posting an italian website which is trying to shed a truthful light on mafia slaughters and alleged politcal involvement? The website 19luglio1992 is reporting facts, not impressions. I believe that Huffington Post readers have the right to get an inside, close up look at whom their president defines a "great friend". Berlusconi's hero is a man by the name of Mangano. A ruthless mafia killer who worked for him as a stableman in one of his villas a few years back. Isn't this what freedom of speech is all about?

[Christina714]

11:21 AM on 08/27/2010

Should anyone be interested in reading up on "the real Berlusconi" and on the real political, economic and social condition italy is living and why I recommend this web site: 19luglio1992.com (The date, July 19th 1992 refers to the day in which judge Paolo Borsellino was murdered along with five police agents in charge of his protection)
There's an english page which could be helpful.

[Blackorpheus]

01:04 PM on 07/09/2010

I've had more than enough of Obama, but I've missed seeing Berlu in the news. What is the old rogue up to now?

[Dario Piselli]

07:58 PM on 07/09/2010

He is just on a downward path, in my opinion. Unfortunately, he knows that, he recognizes that he's reaching a breaking point, and so he tries to keep the power within his hands in every way he can: the more he gets closer to the abyss, the more he introduces terrible legislation which will provide safety for him and for his affiliates, protecting himself from trials and judges. Believe me, it's very sad for an italian like me to acknowledge that we're such messed up. As you can easily imagine, if a government is busy doing private business, the country goes down: our landscapes, praised throughout the world, are in jeopardy year after year, and so is the environment -no control over criminal eco-business, no regulations over emissions, no sustainable development agenda-; people keep losing their jobs and new ones don't get created; we have a walloping public dept; education, culture and information are down the closet and, in the end, our political establishment is the worse and most corrupted in Italian history. I'm not trying to be catastrophic, it's just that many people have had enough of Berlusconi and the Italy that he created in his likeness (greedy, obscene and indifferent).

[Blackorpheus]

08:07 PM on 07/09/2010

You speak a golden language, you have beautiful women, and you are not at war.

[24b4Jeff]

12:32 PM on 07/09/2010

How does it go? Birds of a feather flock together, and so do pigs and swine.
Sono caffoni, tuti e due.

[Blackorpheus]

08:26 PM on 07/09/2010

I'd rather break bread with a pig than with the CEO of Chase. Wouldn't you?

[godwithin]

11:11 AM on 07/09/2010

Obama is highly favored in Italy.
Giorgio Napolitano is a genuine gem, Italy is fortunate.
Silvio Berlusconi is another story, he cannot keep his foot out of his mouth, or his money from getting into other people's pockets.
''Obama is young, handsome and also tanned, so he has all the qualities to agree with you,'' Mr Berlusconi made the comment at a news conference to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, he then defended the comment saying it was a great complement, for he himself is tanned, not young, and well... "surgically modified" face, hair, and we do not know much more. In Italy he is called "il nano" (the dwarf), no offense to others :)

[Dario Piselli]

06:04 AM on 07/09/2010

Needless to say, it was Berlusconi who did it. However, if I was an american citizen I'd be quite concerned about those assertions. I mean, obviously he's talking with an Italian newspaper so he's probably just trying to be polite, but it has become pretty clear to democratic world leaders that showing friendship with Italian Prime Minister could be a political boomerang, other than an example of tackiness. Italy's situation (trust me, even if you can't have access to exhaustive new) is screwed up. Today journalists are on strike, along with common people, against a bill that would severely punish newspapers who report the inside edge of trials (especially ones regarding politicians) before they reach their first grade of judgment. The bill also limits the use of wiretapping in investigations (and with "limit" I'm using and euphemism) which has become so important in the fight against mafia and political corruption. Moreover, public prosecutors are investigating about a potential scandal regarding entrepreneurs, linked to Berlusconi, who might have tried to corrupt Supreme Judges when they had to decide about constitutional legitimacy of another outrageous bill, last November. Do I really need to go on?

[godwithin]

11:20 AM on 07/09/2010

"Do I really need to go on?", never ends for il nano, he cannot get enough control, he is not emotionally well.

[Blackorpheus]

11:57 PM on 07/09/2010

Berlu has enormous zest. Life-force. That has to count for something, no?

[jasev01]

02:42 AM on 07/09/2010

I like Berlusconi and Pres. Di Silva, two of my favs

[4peace]

12:33 AM on 07/09/2010

OMG obama has gone off the deep end.

[boston2008]

07:31 PM on 07/08/2010

POLITICS & BS

[beckybloom]

05:02 PM on 07/08/2010

oh Obama.........lol
how naive are you?
Be careful not to end it up in some Italian gossip magazines, naked, near the pool at the Berlusconi villa with lots of " girls" around you, like some other President did.

[Blackorpheus]

11:59 PM on 07/09/2010

You will never catch Obama naked without his sword cane. Trust me.

[jobrien1950]

05:00 PM on 07/08/2010

Isn't Berlusconi the man who, when talking about Obama, mentions his "suntan?"

[beckybloom]

05:08 PM on 07/08/2010

i think was the English premier who was laughing at Berlusconi fake tan and bandanas on his head,lol.
i don't know if berlusconi mentioned Obama suntan.
BTW...Obama does not have a suntan, just for the record.

[godwithin]

11:16 AM on 07/09/2010

yes, he often says moronic things, unfortunately he also does moronic things.

[AnotherAndy]

04:56 PM on 07/08/2010

Obama also praised Italy for it contribution to the mission in Afghanistan, where it has some 3,000 troops, and emphasized the important role Turkey plays in Europe.

What does Turkey have to do with Berlusconi?

[godwithin]

11:18 AM on 07/09/2010

He supports Turkey's entry into the European Union.