Berlusconi Baffles Obama, Blasts Judges At G8 Summit

ROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi has taken his claim that he is being persecuted by leftist judges to the G-8 summit, telling a clearly perplexed President Barack Obama that in Italy they represent "almost a dictatorship."

His comments carried on Italian TV news broadcasts from the summit in Deauville, France, set off a barrage of criticism Friday from Italian magistrates and his political opponents.

Italians are used to such statements from Berlusconi, but Obama seemed surprised when Berlusconi approached him and said through an interpreter that his government has proposed a judicial reform because "we have almost a dictatorship of leftist judges."

Berlusconi is currently a defendant in four cases, three related to his business interests and one on charges of paying for sex with an underage teen. He denies wrongdoing.

Although recent opinion polls indicate his popularity has started to sag, the 74-year-old media mogul seems intent on confounding predictions that his long political run might be nearing an end.

"I won't abandon the field of politics until there is a justice system in Italy that is fair and judges who judge according to merit and not according to whether the defendant is friend or foe," Berlusconi told reporters at a closing G-8 news conference.

Comments

[Tim The Enchanter]

08:09 PM on 05/31/2011

Hands up -

How many people here believe that conservative activist judges made the wrong decision when they allowed government to confiscate people's private property and sell it to big corporations?

[Tim The Enchanter]

10:28 AM on 05/30/2011

"we have almost a dictatorship of leftist judges."

I guess he shared that with Obama since Obama has the same thing going on here in the US. Maybe he thought they could commiserate it.

[makestotalsense]

05:04 PM on 05/30/2011

Yeah. Much better to have a right wing slant who rules that companies can give as much money as they like to candidates while individual donations are capped at 2,500 dollars.
Much better to have a right wing slant who rules that your property can be taken if the government thinks it is part of their eminent domain dyanasty.

[Tim The Enchanter]

02:49 PM on 05/31/2011

Well, I don't believe I said it was constitutional to cap any donations for any reason.

[fireart]

08:27 AM on 05/30/2011

When is o not baffled or perplexed , and when he says UUUUUH you know a nother promise is about to be broken. Im so disappointed.

[DeFuera]

10:31 AM on 05/31/2011

How exactly has Obama broken your heart?

[fireart]

08:09 AM on 05/30/2011

It must be a perplexing life to always be perplexed..

[DeFuera]

10:32 AM on 05/31/2011

It's a perplexing world, my friend. Certainty is the landscape of foolish men.

[Ergon]

12:23 PM on 05/29/2011

Funny, how back in Italy 11 of his party members are calling for an 'investigation' of the Amanda Knox prosecutors http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/26/amanda-knox-support-campaign-italy-_n_867480.html Not that he cares about her except perhaps in an inappropriate way; just trying to rewrite the whole system to benefit him in the upcoming trials.

[landskroon]

09:45 AM on 05/29/2011

After a conversation wilth this corrupt, criminal childmolester one should desinfect hands and ears.
That this man is still functioning President for the Italian Republic is for the Italians blame and shame. The Italian nation shows by every new election the condition of the hearts and minds of the real Italian. They actually all wanna be the girl and the man in this drama.

[Louise Aloft]

06:13 AM on 05/30/2011

some, not all. ever heard about corruption?

[landskroon]

08:07 AM on 05/30/2011

Sorry, there are a lot of good Italians but they allways forget how to vote.

[efdcapt115]

08:12 AM on 05/29/2011

So ahhhh Barack......you no come with me to the party tonight....why not Barack....I no understand what you telling me....

[KitchenCabinet]

10:46 PM on 05/28/2011

Sidenote: Bank of America used to be Banca d'Italia... Hmmmm.......

[Janice Doe]

09:38 PM on 05/28/2011

The president has over 5,000 comments on his FaceBook page from Italians apologizing for their dear leader.

[humberth55]

06:57 PM on 05/28/2011

In Milan, Berlusconi 's father was chief of Banca Rasini, a bank which was later closed because of its links to the mafia. Thanks to still misterious fundings, Berlusconi became a big building contractor . In the 80's, Berlusconi was a member of an illegal masonic lodge called P2 (Propaganda 2). which controlled the Italian secret service, the armed forces and the biggest newspaper, Corriere della sera. P2 wanted to subvert the Italian constitution: among their aims, judiciary control and a new, powerful tv network. Thanks to corrupt premier Bettino Craxi, Berlusconi 's new tv network got the national broadcast permission. (Craxi got 21 billions lire for his services from Berlusconi.) When a big payola scandal ("Tangentopoli") swept away the old political parties, Berlusconi started his own political party, a right-wing one. Thanks to a corrupt judge, Berlusconi then got the biggest italian publishing house, Mondadori. Now Berlusconi owns/controls all the big tv networks in Italy. Thanks to his political power, he got from the Parliament about 20 laws which blocked many trials against him. His biggest fears now? The Mondadori case trial (he has to give back 750 billions euros) and the one on charges of paying for sex with an underage teen. That's why he wants to control the judicial power. And he bothers Obama, who clearly doesn't give a damn.

[ObamAtomic]

06:03 PM on 05/28/2011

Unnecessary comment!

Disgusting to read about someone personal hygiene,do you know for experience?

[ObamAtomic]

06:03 PM on 05/28/2011

Do you know for experience­?

[fuss1]

03:19 PM on 05/28/2011

Of course Obama was perplexed, he thinks that Left Wing dictatorships are the coolest thing ever!

[makestotalsense]

06:55 PM on 05/28/2011

Yeah, having a right wing dictatorship would be much better!
Palin/Paul 2012
/sarcasm off/

[fam3d2008]

08:26 AM on 05/29/2011

Maybe a government based primarily on the constitution would be best? Something with minimal federal powers and most states rights prevailing? What a concept!!!

[TomMartin]

08:31 PM on 05/28/2011

You're lying, look how Castro, Chávez, Kim Jong Il and other dictators dislike Obama.

[pammiethekid]

10:51 PM on 05/28/2011

He/she is not lying exactly, just too ignorant to know what she/he is talking about and too disinterested to care tht she/he doesn't know. :(

[fam3d2008]

08:24 AM on 05/29/2011

yea- he's been brutally harsh to them! Castro must be considering having Cuba become the 51st (58th if you use Obama math) state after the way Obama put him in his place...NOT! Chavez might just take his book/gift back and Kimmy would never dare to do anything like say....blow up a S. Korean town on an island or sink a S.,Korean navy ship with BHO in charge. BHO would take swift and decisive action if those things ever happened. Heck- he might even unleash the WMC (weapon of massive calves) on him ....Hillary Clinton

[Beatriz09]

03:01 PM on 05/28/2011

And while back home the HP focuses mainly on news about Obama's work abroad that has to do with everything but policy, but that clearly is perfect to provoke a lot of oneliner comments, other sites fortunately are giving us a little more substance, like www.theobamadiary.com. If you hate oneliners, you'll enjoy! ;-)

[collettethehedgehog]

01:18 AM on 05/29/2011

Thanks for posting. HP is nothing but a whack a troll venue now except for people like you.

[collettethehedgehog]

01:24 AM on 05/29/2011

Without people like you there is no point in coming to HP.

[Jack Daniels Esq]

02:39 PM on 05/28/2011

Listen to me - ya gotta share some of that nookie around - guys be dissing

[querydm]

02:35 PM on 05/28/2011

OMG... has Italy sent Obama on his way back to America, yet?

[makestotalsense]

06:55 PM on 05/28/2011

OMG...has America shipped off idi0ts like you yet?

[Janice Doe]

09:31 PM on 05/28/2011

You win the dumbest post of the day......this did not take place in Italy, but in France you m_o_ron.