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 Support The DrudgeReport; Visit Our Advertisers  Berlusconi calls European Commission bigwigs 'fat slugs' Wed Apr 07 2004 11:35:59 ET Never one to underestimate his own talents, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave himself another pat on the back Wednesday for squashing the "big fat slugs" who run the show in Brussels. "We've won a great battle... we have managed to make those big fat European slugs take steps forward," with the adoption of an EU plan on transport, he said. The Italian leader was hitting back after being pummelled for the past few days in Brussels. The European Commission, headed by Berlusconi's arch-rival Romano Prodi, served Italy with an "early warning" over the country's budget deficit, which has edged dangerously close to the EU limits. Prodi, the leftwing opposition leader who is widely expected to challenge Berlusconi in 2006 elections, also snapped at Italy's current role in Iraq, saying the country would withdraw its troops if the center-left was in power. Berlusconi backers in Rome snarled at the commission's budget warning, calling it a dark plot by Prodi to boost his elections chances. But Berlusconi himself, already on a campaign warpath ahead of European Parliament elections in June, snapped back. "If there is one dedicated European, then it's me. I have always been. And if there is one European country, it's Italy. This absolutely does not mean that it's impossible to criticize those who occupy posts for which they are unqualified," he said, without naming any names. During his own campaigning, Berlusconi has vowed to lower taxes -- a promise that cannot have fallen on deaf ears in Brussels, which fears Italy will exceed budget deficit limits imposed by the Growth and Stability Pact. |
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