Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi provoked outrage yesterday after an ill-judged joke about Jews and the Holocaust, drawing criticism from the Vatican. Mr Berlusconi, 74, who is known for his slapstick sense of humour told the blasphemous joke while speaking to emergency workers dealing with the aftermath of last year's earthquake in central Italy.
He made the joke hours after winning last week's crucial vote of confidence.
The Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano described the jokes as "deplorable" adding they "offended the sentiment of believers and the sacred memory of six million Holocaust victims".
Mr Berlusconi had told supporters outside his home: "A Jew hides a fellow Jew in his basement at the time of the concentration camps and charges him 3,000 euro (£2600) a day".
He went on: "The Jew paid up because he had the money but do you think he should tell him that Hitler has died and the war is over?"
The poor taste joke was filmed and posted on the website of Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
In another video, filmed at last year's G8 summit, which Italy hosted in the earthquake-hit city of L'Aquila, he is heard telling a joke at the expense of opposition MP Rosy Bindi.
She has been the target of several underhand comments from him and the joke he told again referred to her looks and ended with words "porco Dio" (pig God) a highly offensive blasphemy in Italy.
Last year Mr Berlusconi was embroiled in a series of sleazy scandals involving a questionable relationship with a teenage underwear model and escorts being invited to parties he hosted at his official residence.
Opposition leader Pier Luigi Bersani, also joined the Vatican in condemning Berlusconi and said: "I'm amazed that a person capable of such vulgarities should be running a country like ours."
Mr Berlusconi was unrepentant yesterday and said the jokes were "just a laugh" that were "made in private, not offensive and not a sin."
He went on: "The Jew paid up because he had the money but do you think he should tell him that Hitler has died and the war is over?"
The poor taste joke was filmed and posted on the website of Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
In another video, filmed at last year's G8 summit, which Italy hosted in the earthquake-hit city of L'Aquila, he is heard telling a joke at the expense of opposition MP Rosy Bindi.
She has been the target of several underhand comments from him and the joke he told again referred to her looks and ended with words "porco Dio" (pig God) a highly offensive blasphemy in Italy.
Last year Mr Berlusconi was embroiled in a series of sleazy scandals involving a questionable relationship with a teenage underwear model and escorts being invited to parties he hosted at his official residence.
Opposition leader Pier Luigi Bersani, also joined the Vatican in condemning Berlusconi and said: "I'm amazed that a person capable of such vulgarities should be running a country like ours."
Mr Berlusconi was unrepentant yesterday and said the jokes were "just a laugh" that were "made in private, not offensive and not a sin."
SIC: TC/UK