Germany and Italy -- Friends Again

The two were supposed to have their public reconciliation rendezvous at a performance of the opera “Carmen” on Friday night. But the Italian leader pulled out of the date just hours before, saying expected demonstrations by left-wing protests would ruin the evening.

But on Saturday morning, the two met for the first time since Berlusconi ruffled German and European feathers with a Nazi jibe in front of the European Parliament. Berlusconi unleashed a torrent of controversy in a speech to the body when he suggested that a German member of parliament who was critical of him would be perfect for a film role as a concentration camp guard.

But on Saturday, the two men were chummier than ever and played down their summer spat as well as Berlusconi’s standing Schröder up the night before.

“Politics shouldn’t be reduced to barbecue evenings... politics is a bit more serious,” Schröder told reporters, saying while there had been minor irritations “here and there,” their personal relationship was still intact, as was the political relationship between Germany and Italy.

Berlusconi went even further, saying there could be no talk of an improvement in relations because there was never a worsening.

Summer of Missteps

Some Germans, including Schröder, may disagree with that point. Shortly after the Nazi comment, German-Italian tensions were ratcheted up a notch when a junior minister called Germany “hyper-nationalistic blonds” who invade Italy’s beaches. Schröder then cancelled his planned summer holiday in Italy. The junior minister later resigned. Berlusconi never actually apologized for his remarks, only expressing regret that they had been “interpreted badly.”

As for skipping the opera, the Italian prime minister said, “If I’d have turned up, I would have created an inconvenience for the Chancellor and (European Commission President Romano) Prodi, so I sacrificed myself,” he said.

Some in Italy’s press did not accept the excuse, complaining that even the worst boors don’t cancel appointments just hours in advance.

“Our extraordinary leader has done it again. And once again with the Germans,” wrote the left-leaning daily La Repubblica.