The BBC reports that protests against Italy\’s Prime Minister, the neo-fascist (as many Euro newspapers describe him) Silvio Burlesconi has driven Italy to pull out of the book fair, even though their nation\’s literature is being highligted at the event.
It is the culmination of a diplomatic row that began in January when France\’s socialist Culture Minister, Catherine Tasca, said that Mr. Berlusconi should not be allowed to attend the fair…
He has many critics becasue of what the International Federation of Journalists call an \”unacceptable and intolerable conflict of interest.\” See, he is the Prime Minister of Italy, AND owns the \”overwhelming majority of what Italians see on their TV sets, including news programmes.\”
Read about the Paris book fair here.
One last quote from the BBC article
One Italian newspaper has quoted one of the deputy ministers who was booed as saying that instead of shaking Mrs Tasca\’s hand, he should perhaps have cut it off.
Gosh, you\’ve gotta love European politicians!
Recent Comments