A new poll conducted by the German demoscopic institute “Allensbach” has some very interesting information about the attitutes and perceptions of modern Germans towards current world leaders. How much has changed since the rise of W. to the Whites House and the nearly simulatneous election of a right-wing buffoon to the leadership of Italy!
From l’Unità:
At one time [in the not too distant past, I might add] France and Germany were sworn enemies, they declared war on each other on several occasions, they have always been in conflict on the question of borders and the carbon mines of the Saar. And yet, according to a poll conducted by the authoriatative German demoscopic institute “Allensbach” it turns out that todays Germans appreciate the Frence, see them as their most reliable and friendly allies, and consider current French President of the Repubblic Jacques Chirac the best leader to hold power in the modern world(!!)
And are there still some people out there who continue to mantain, in the face of this new evidence, that W. is not a genuine peace-maker? Hopeless war-mongers!!
And Berlusconi, after Bush, is the most disliked. It may have been his support for the war, it may be his arrogant tycoon temperament, it may be his colossal conflicts of interest which make of him a “negative” example to avoid, it may be his gaffes which have made him reknowned from north to south of the continent and even overseas, the fact is that Italy’s President of the councel is very unloved and is placed immediatly after Bush in Germany….
Can it all be explained by the war in Iraq? No, because:
Tony Blair, another member of the coalition which invaded that Middle Eastern country and Bush’s atrongest ally, comes out with a repectable fourth place finish (32% of preferences).
Blair falls substantually behind Chirac, however, who takes first place with 64% of favorable votes. Kofi Annan, with 58%, winds up sscond, followed by Russian president Vladimir Putin, at 34%.
In the classification for least like and admired:
George W. Bush tops the list with 70%.
And slighly behind, Silvio Berlusconi lands second at 58% unfavorable, the Italian leader who has distinguished himself for his public proclamations outside of Italy including a series of gaffes about which half of Europe is still laughing. That was his hand that stuck out making the sign of the horns in an offial photo at the Summit of European foreign minsters.
In case you don’t know what this means, I should explain that, in Italy, sticking out your index and pinky fingers in the sign of a horn, “le corna”, is used either as a means of protection from someone who has been bedeviled by the “evil eye” or it indicates that the person who you’re directing the horns at is a cuckold (“cornuto”). Either way it is profoundly offensive.
He was also responsible for the horrid joke about kapòs directed at the German Euro-parliamentarian Schulz who had criticed him on his conflicts of interestand his misuse of the television stations at his disposition.
Another interesting datum:
Perhaps it’s the fault of their government, but the Amercian people themselves have undergone a fall in popularity among the Germans. 36% of subjects declare that they do not love them, while only one in three appreciates them.
This: Tony Blair, another member of the coalition which invaded that Middle Eastern country and Bush’s atrongest ally, comes out with a repectable fourth place finish (32% of preferences).
Being that Blair chose to participate in Bush’s invasion, could it be that the difference in the poll results btween the two is that Bush is an arrogant asshole? Just a thought.
arrogant asshole also comes to mind when describing Berlusconi.
Although Bush is more despised, Berlusconi did personally insult the Germans. IIRC a German politician either cut short, or canceled his vacation in Italy, and the tourist havens of Rimini and Riccione were nervous about the potential loss of income if other Germans were to follow the example.
I think the politician who cut short / cancelled his vacation was, in fact, our chancelor Schröder. Great political theater at the time
Personally insult!! That’s understating things a bit.
I don’t think Bush even comes cloes to being a big eneoihg asshole to say this:
“We’re planning to make a film in Italy about the Shoah. I would like to propose youfor the part of kapò (head of the SS)” to a German member of the EU parliament.
or
“Western civiliaztion is superior to Islam. Those people are at least 1,400 years behind”
or
“I’m going to have myslef canonized beacue I just discovered that I’m gay and a leftist and have been beatified. In italy, you just have to one or the other to be canonized.”
or
“Mussolini never killed anyone. The worst he did was
send some people on vacation near the borders.”
or
“Our magistrates are mentally unbalanced.”
who write the newspapers who are always misquoting him.
And the commie cameramen who tape the gaffes.
They have no sense of humor; I was just joking!
A friend was invited to a DC gala when Berlusconi visited last year. (She was to represent the L.A. Italian Cultural Institute.) Her report – as repulsive as Berlusconi may be, at least he can put together a complete sentence, and express a thought. When Bush began to speak, it was extremely embarrassing. She said that he is much worse in person than she had ever heard or seen in the media, practically incomprehensible. Of course he thanked the Eye-talians for their contributions to America, then mentioned Frank Sinatra and Joe DiMaggio.
The food wasn’t bad.
No, there’s no comparison at all when it comes to intelligence and speaking ability. I once witness on live, improvised television an almost two-hour one-on-one discussion in which Berlusconi defended himself from all the accusations of conflcits of ineterests, financial fraud, etc., etc….
It was one of the most impressive performaces I’ve ever seen from a modern politican. He knew the cases and the charges and the legal intriacicies and the factual background so well that he took over the discussion and tranfromaed into a monologue with complete sentences, complete paragrphs and all without looking down at his notes more than one or two times. I rememeber thinking that if Bush were in the same position (he would obviusly never put himself in one in the first place), he would have asked to have the questions repeated about 6 times, commited 200 malapropisms in a row and then announced that “but the war on turrism is the important thing.”
I once started out on a project of translating the famous Bushisms into Italian, but they’re so aweful that they simply can’t be translated without cleaning them up and therfore losing the whole point.
I’ve always reamined puzzled by this bizzare paradox though: most of the rest of the world know that Bush is
an idiot without even being aware of the ridiculous things he says. He sounds perferctly articualte, for example, on Italian television because it’s all corrected bfore being translated. Americans are exposed daily to his profoundly inarticulate mumblings and stublings and yet they still hold him in high esteem.
But, then, you also have Arnold Shwarzneegger as he goverenor of California!!! As my couisn Gemma, a geophyisict in Milan with no real interest in politics, says every time I mention this “phenomenon”, “è una vergogna, ma non si vergognano!”
I once started out on a project of translating the famous Bushisms into Italian, but they’re so aweful that they simply can’t be translated without cleaning them up and therfore losing the whole point.
A 4 for a strong stomach!
LOL