Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, today hailed the start of Italy's EU presidency by comparing a German MEP to a concentration camp guard. Richard Owen, Rome Correspondent, left, reports on former faux pas by Italy's leader.

"Signor Berlusconi has something of a habit of making public gaffes. Only last week, while outlining his plans for Italy's EU presidency to parliament, he said that an anti-immigration deal had been reached under which Italian ships would patrol Libyan waters and Italian troops would be based on Libyan soil.

"The news came as a surprise to Libya, because the deal is yet to be signed. It said that while it was a former Italian colony, it wasn’t any longer.

"His most infamous gaffe came in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks. He said that western civilisation was superior to Islam because it guaranteed humans rights, whereas Islamic civilisation was still firmly entrenched where it was 1,400 years ago.

"The Prime Minister backtracked later and said he had been misquoted, gathering Arab ambassadors in Rome in an attempt to rebuild bridges.

"Last year, he visited Russia and held a joint press conference with President Vladimir Putin in which Signor Berlusconi declared that Saddam Hussein no longer had weapons of mass destruction.

"Ironically, he may prove to have been right, but at the time President Bush and Tony Blair were going to great efforts to make the case for war with Iraq. So the comments were extremely unhelpful.

"On his return to Rome, he maintained that he had simply been outlining Russia’s position and not his own. However, the transcripts of the conference did not bear out his version of events.

"Another odd remark came last year, when he greeted Anders Fogh Rasmussen, his Danish counterpart, who was on a visit to Italy.

"Signor Berlusconi put his arm around his shoulder and said that he was so good looking that he was thinking of introducing him to his wife. In fact, he said, Mr Rasmussen was even better looking than Cacciari.

"It transpired Signor Berlusconi was referring to Massimo Cacciari, the former Mayor of Venice, with whom the Italian Prime Minister’s wife was though to be smitten. Signor Cacciari later said that he was flattered but had never met her.

"Also last year, Signor Berlusconi called Lord Robertson, the Secretary General of Nato, Lord Robinson, and referred to the founders of Rome, as Romulus and Remulus, rather than Remus.

"Rome was subsequently treated to a stage show called Romulus and Remulus that celebrated the Prime Minister’s unique grasp of the Italian language."

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