Silvio declares war on Europe

With his ever delicate and inspired sense of timing, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi chose Poland and the 70th anniversary commemorations of the outbreak of WW2 to declare war on Europe. Clearly peeved by a Commission spokesman's comments on the bouncing of 75 migrants back across the Strait of Sicily to Libya, along with critical Italian and European media coverage of the event, the Cavaliere blustered : "We will suspend our vote, blocking the functioning of the European Council unless it is determined that no commissioner and no spokesperson for the commission can intervene publicly any more on any issue".

After initial bemusement, reactions in Brussels have been aimed at minimalising the outburst, with the exception of PASD leader Martin Schultz who has called on the Commission to come up with a thorough response to what is clearly a gagging order on the Commission. La Stampa notes that it's not the first time that Berlusconi has turned against the Union, but he has never gone this far. "The communicator president hates communication, and Italian public debate is in freefall amidst poison and nonsense", comments the Turin paper. On the other hand, Il Giornale, is fulsome in its praise of its owner's extraordinary abilities : "Berlusconi's act in Danzig must be seen in the light of history,” it gushes. "Every time he rocks common sense, he has found new strength in the deconsecration and breaching of traditional codes".