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Further dent in Italian-German ties?

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS JULY 10. The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, last night cancelled his family holiday in Italy, after an Italian junior Tourism Minister is understood to have passed comments about German tourists visiting that country.

The Italian Opposition leaders today called for the resignation of the Minister, Stefano Stefani and the Italian centrist party balked at participating in the panel meet called by the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, to co-ordinate the economic and social policies.

The anti-German tirade has caused a further dent in the German-Italian relations after the exchange of insults between Mr. Berlusconi, and a German parliamentarian in the European Parliament last week, when Mr. Berlusconi compared the German Parliamentarian with a Nazi commandant in a concentration camp. The incidents have also attracted some caustic comments from German officials and politicians. It is also ironical that Stafani made the comments though the Germans are the largest foreign visitors after the Americans. Mr. Stefani belongs to a small Italian nationalist party from Northern Italy and is widely rated as a political lightweight in the centre-right coalition government of Mr. Berlusconi. Many European analysts are surprised that Mr. Berlusconi has so far not bothered to sack him. To compound the crisis, Mr. Stefani in a letter published wrote: "We know the Germans well — those stereotyped blondes with hyper-nationalist pride, who have always been indoctrinated to be first in class at any cost He, however, said that Mr. Schroeder was "not as bad as most Germans''.The Italian officials in the province where Mr. Schroeder was scheduled to visit has demanded financial compensation from the Government. Many officials of the tourist establishment are both embarrassed and annoyed by the comments. This is also casting a shadow on Italy's six-monthly presidency of the European Union.It remains to be seen how Mr. Berlusconi proposes to patch up the relations with Berlin in what looks like a "spaghetti twirl"of embarrassing consequences.:

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