Italian Premier’s Nazi ‘Joke’ Outrages European Union

It wasn’t the best way to start a new job.

Already considered a charlatan by his critics, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi drew thunderous rebuke Wednesday when he addressed the European Parliament and promptly insulted a German lawmaker by suggesting he play a guard in a movie about a Nazi concentration camp.

The remark was another bit of messy political soap opera in Berlusconi’s troubled quest to gain respect in a Europe that often likens him to a finely tailored Mafia don who bankrolled his way into power. Berlusconi’s unfortunate choice of words -- he said it was meant as a joke -- came in Strasbourg, France, as Italy assumed the rotating leadership of the European Union.

There was decorum in the air.

Berlusconi gave a speech.

And then, Martin Schulz, a Social Democrat and German member of the European Parliament, chided Italy’s wealthiest man over perceived conflicts of interest between Berlusconi’s political power and his media empire. Schulz intimated Berlusconi used a new Italian immunity law to avoid a bribery trial in a Milan court. He also criticized the prime minister for not distancing himself from right-wing members of the Italian government whose beliefs are contrary to the spirit of the EU.

“In Italy,” Berlusconi snapped at Schulz, “a producer is making a movie on the Nazi concentration camps. I will propose you for the role of inmate trusty.”

Schulz countered: “My respect for the victims of fascism will not permit me to answer.”

The uproar began. Schulz demanded an apology. Berlusconi refused. Pat Cox, president of the European Parliament, suspended the session, saying, “I regret the offense caused to a respected member, my colleague Mr. Schulz. It would be appropriate to correct the record in this regard. The debate is now closed.” Another member of parliament, Graham Watson, said Berlusconi’s words “debase the presidency” of the EU and offend Europe.

“My joke wasn’t meant to be offensive,” Berlusconi said at a news conference after the session, adding that Schulz’s tone and gestures prompted him to make the quip. “It was an ironic joke. Perhaps the translation wasn’t done in an ironic sense.”

Outrage rippled across the continent.

In Berlin, the German government condemned Berlusconi’s remarks as “unacceptable” and summoned the Italian ambassador to the chancellery. The secretary-general of the country’s Social Democrats, Olaf Scholz, said: “The countless number of victims of the Nazi government should forbid any irony.”

Berlusconi’s right-wing “radical emotions against the Germans ... well, that is wicked. Very wicked for the president of the EU,” said Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Franco-German Jew and head of the European Parliament’s Greens party.

EU Commissioner Romano Prodi, an Italian and a political opponent of Berlusconi’s, attempted to defuse the matter, telling the German media: “This debate has shown how big the task and difficulties really are that we are facing in the coming half year.”

Berlusconi’s ascension to such a prominent world stage has angered politicians and newspaper columnists throughout Europe. His appearance before the European Parliament on Wednesday came two days after a Milan court halted a trial into charges that Berlusconi -- whose business holdings and position as prime minister put about 90% of Italy’s television media under his control -- allegedly bribed Italian judges in the 1980s to win influence for one of his corporations. The case was suspended after the Italian Parliament last month passed a law granting immunity to top government officials while in office.

In a protest like those that have become common wherever Berlusconi travels, about 10 members of the European Parliament held up signs Wednesday in Strasbourg stating: “The Law Is Equal for All” and “No Godfathers.”

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Fleishman reported from Prague, Czech Republic, and Retzlaff from Berlin. Maria De Cristofaro in The Times’ Rome Bureau contributed to this report.