Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Fascinated By Barack And Michelle Obama’s Tans, Breasts

No one likes Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. This is likely one of many reasons he has to pay women to pretend they want to touch him, another reason being that he hates women in general. Also? Black people. 

Upon his return from the G20 Summit, Berlusconi told a group of conservatives that he had been instructed to parlay a greeting from a certain American:

What’s his name? Some tanned guy. Ah, Barack Obama. You won’t believe it, but the two of them sunbathe together, because the wife is also tanned.

Haha, black people! What’s with them? Have you ever noticed that funny tendency they have to be not white?

This actually marks the second time Berlusconi, ever perceptive, has made comments about Barack Obama’s “tan.” Right after Obama won the election, Berlusconi publicly announced that the United States’ first black president was “young, handsome, and even has a good tan.” 

Michelle Obama might have had comment this on her mind when she refused to hug Berlusconi, offering him her hand instead. The First Lady had readily hugged other heads of state throughout the course of the summit, but there’s just something about a bloated oompa loompa who pays for sex and pokes fun at your husband’s skin color that’ll make a lady kind of hesitant to press her boobs against him, you know? Her unwillingness to embrace him did not, however, deter Berlusconi from eyeing her chest as she reached her hand out. 

Check out the play-by-play of Michelle Obama’s refusal to hug the PM:

Also noteworthy is President Obama’s stone cold hater face. Nicely done.

Berlusconi’s comments, usually reserved for drunken uncles with a tendency to be molesty at family functions, did not stop at racism. After all, what’s a story on Berlusconi without a sizzling hot helping of misogyny dumped on your chest, a verbal Cleveland steamer delivered with a smile and a well-executed shrug to let you know, aw, it’s just a joke?:

None of this, however, deterred Mr Berlusconi from putting on a triumphant show at a political rally of the party faithful in Milan on Sunday evening. In addition to repeating the remarks about the Obamas’ “suntan”, he could not resist propositioning a woman who was applauding enthusiastically in the crowd. “Signora, wait for me outside,” he joked.

The gag was met with laughter by supporters, who sang the slogan “Thank God there’s Silvio”, and gave the Prime Minister a standing ovation. He boasted that his party had “returned a new element to Italian politics: the morality of keeping commitments” and declared the party would “lead forever”.

This follows Berlusconi having declared Spain’s cabinet as being “too pink” because it contained many female politicians, some of whom do not habitually attend meetings in pasties and tiny top hats.

Berlusconi’s comments at the G20 Summit have, unsurprisingly, inspired discussion on race relations within Italy and questions into there has not been more public outcry in his home country. The Italian press, after all, refused to run a story on the PM’s habitual use of tax dollars to pay for parties at his private residences, some of which may have included sex workers, leaving that job to the Spanish press. 

Some commenters have taken Berlusconi’s actions to be indicative of a widespread belief among Italians when it comes to race.

Wrote commenter “i’m a bottle:”

Berlusconi’s Il Popolo della Libertà party is a populist party that regularily stokes racist sentiment for political gain. It isn’t, however, purely an anti-”black” racism. The population of Eastern European immigrants is also a target. 

Also, it’s less of a prejudice against blacks because they’re black, and more of a prejudice against blacks because they’re poor laborers. The ancient racist stereotypes that have always existed have been dusted off and are being redeployed against them. But, make no mistake, it’s the class status of the immigrants that’s feeding the racist sentiment. For all of this, we’ve Berlusconi and his populist revolution to thank.

When another commenter asked about the root of Italians’ prejudice against black people, someone pointed to their history with North Africans as a likely cause:

 I think racism lies under the surface in much of Europe, and I think it’s as basic and primal as “they don’t look like us”, “they have different cultural mores” and of course, “they are Jews”.

Remember, the respective European countries have been, for the last thousand years or so, and up until very recently, almost totally homogeneous, culturally and ethnically. When you know, or have seen, very few people unlike yourself, you’re far more likely to view those who are different in a suspicious light.

Remember also, the Italians aren’t just prejudiced against “the Other”, there’s also a great deal of North/South prejudice within Italy itself. Northern Italians view Southern Italians as being “practically African”. This prejudice led to a cultural ostracism that was partly responsible for the Sicilian exodus to the U.S. in the early 20th Century, that, and famine. Thus the irony in so many Sicilian Americans being such racist assholes, because back in the Motherland Sicilians are looked at by their fellow Italians as practically African.

Here at Guanabee, we often focus on xenophobia in the United States or divisions and prejudices among Latinos, but it’s important to realize that much of the attitudes reflected in Latinos today stem from interactions with Europeans to present-day Latin Americans, to native Americans throughout history and to other racial and ethnic groups that came into contact with Europe throughout history. 

But while it’s certainly interesting and often helpful to frame current attitudes in terms of history, this should in no way be used to excuse the fact that Berlusconi as an individual is disgusting and an embarrassment.  

It’s also important to realize that because Berlusconi happens to be an elected representative, he is not representative of attitudes held by all Italians, as one Times Online commenter pointed out:

Roberto Giordano wrote:

I belong to those Italians who dislike Berlusconi’s politics, acts, gaffes and “jokes”. 
We are the minority yet we do exist. 
I live in France since I really enjoy this country. On tv I only watch the main French channels and Arte, which give me the opportunity not to see the face of a guy who is bringing shame on Italy and who would just make me feel like spitting at the screen. And I would need to clean it after !

And no one wants to have to clean after Berlusconi.

Silvio Berlusconi targets Michelle Obama in new ’suntan’ gibe [Times Online, via Gawker]