Berlusconi: Italy is an Enemy of the USA

Berlusconi came out swinging this weekend, calling Prodi's government a "slave to the ambitions of Paris", "unreliable" in the eyes of Americans, and ultimately branding Italians "slaves to France".

Berlusconi's rant didn't stop there, however. "In our five years of governing we gave life to a loyal foreign policy and stressed transatlanticism", Berlusconi said, "but the Italy of Prodi, serving the Paris-Madrid axis, pursues the French ambition: a European-Arab axis."

D'Alema, quick to respond said Berlusconi's "bullet" was nothing other than an "ideological campaign", and that "working together with the big European and Mediterranean countries is part of Italy's foreign policy...and always has been."

The ex-Prime Minister's outburst could likely be attributed to two recent "anti-American", Prodi-generated overtures in Italian politics, the first being Massimo D'Alema's criticism of Bush's "surge" plan in Iraq, the second being Italy's likely rejection of the the U.S.'s desire to expand its base in Vicenza.