Update 21 May, 2014: Jeremy Paxman asks Silvio Berlusconi if he really did call Angela Merkel an "unfuckable lard-arse":
ITALIAN newspapers claim Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi referred to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an "unfuckable lard-arse" in a telephone conversation with a newspaper editor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The alleged insult, reported in the Independent, was secretly recorded during an investigation into an alleged blackmail plot against Berlusconi. The editor, Valter Lavitola, is alleged to have been involved in procuring prostitutes for Berlusconi's 'bunga bunga' parties.
Previous revelations from the wiretap transcripts have been used to suggest Berlusconi has not been devoting his full attention to sorting out Italy's sovereign debt crisis. But the latest allegation, if true, would mean that Italy's premier has been caught out insulting the leader of the country which ultimately has the power to bail out his government.
The insult against Merkel has not gone unreported in Germany. The country's popular tabloid Bild ran a headline asking: 'Did Berlusconi crack bad jokes about Merkel?' Although it refrained from reprinting the alleged slander.
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
