This Also Happened

Because Italy embarrassed itself far more this week than I could go over in one Politic Blunder 

feature, a follow-up post was needed. 

At a NATO summit earlier this week, PM Berlusconi (pictured left talking on his mobile instead of being a Prime Minister), refused to acknowledge German Chancellor Merkel and the rest of the most powerful men and women in the world who were waiting for him to make a symbolic walk across a symbolic bridge to symbolically meet French President Sarkozy, symbolising the enduring importance of symbolism in politics. 

Mr. Berlusconi is on record claiming that he definitely wasn't talking down his cracked out transexual prostitute on the phone.

Update: I've been told to make clear that Mr. Berlusconi claims he on his mobile in negotiation with Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan, trying to get him to accept Danish PM Anders Rasmussen as Secretary-General of NATO. If this is confirmed, it will make his actions misplaced and arrogant, but less so.

Italy also embarrassed itself by throwing a clueless fit about the new law in Afghanistan which essentially legalises marital rape. Terrible though this law is, Italy has completely missed the point by threatening to withdraw all female troops from its operations in Afghanistan (pictured left: the comeliest of these troops). The problem with this is that the Italian military clearly didn't think it was realistic to remove all its troops from Afghanistan. The implication is therefore that the female troops are sufficiently expendable that withdrawing them to make a point about women is a feasible option. It's incoherent and entirely inappropriate.

If you want to make a point, Italy, do it like a normal country. Please?