opposition¹="" src="/upimg/091005/4_011112_1.jpg" />
Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Italy's opposition newspapers criticised Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday for again calling U.S. President Barack Obama "suntanned".

Italy's opposition newspapers criticised Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Monday for again calling US President Barack Obama "suntanned" even though he caused a political storm when he first said it last year.

At a rally on Sunday night Berlusconi said: "I have to bring you some greetings, greetings from a man, what is his name, what is his name -- just a minute it was someone with a tan -- Barack Obama."

He then added: "You won't believe it but they went together to the beach to get a tan because even his wife is suntanned."

Berlusconi had just returned from the G20 summit in Pittsburg where he met the Obamas and Italian newspapers noted² that she only shook his hand while she kissed other leaders.

L'Unita, the newspaper of the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, put the comments on its front page with a photograph of Michelle Obama.

"He makes us look ridiculous before the whole world," the newspaper said, adding that the comment was "a racist³ gaffe⁴." The left-leaning La Repubblica said it was a "reckless comment."

Berlusconi was also criticised by Italy's only black parliamentarian Jean Leonard Touadi, who is of Congolese origin.

"By repeating these quips that are out of place, the prime minister continues to damage the image of Italy," he told the Italian news agency from Washington, where he was meeting black members of the U.S. Congress.

Berlusconi first got into hot water over Obama last November when, during a trip to Moscow, he called the then president-elect "handsome, young suntanned."

The next day in Brussels, when an American reporter asked whether he would apologize to Obama, the prime minister told the reporter he was worthy⁵ of a place on his list of "imbeciles."

Berlusconi is no stranger to gaffes⁶ and controversial comments. In 2003 he likened a German member of the European Parliament to a Nazi⁷ camp guard and in 2005 he suggested that he had wooed Finnish President Tarja Halonen to ensure her backing for Italy to host the European Food Safety Authority.

日前，意大利总理西尔维奥•贝卢斯科尼再次称美国总统奥巴马“被晒得黝黑”，意大利数家反对派报纸本周一批评了总理这一言论。贝氏在去年的类似言语曾激起一场政治风波。

在上周日晚间的一次集会上，贝卢斯科尼说：“我从他那里为大家捎来了问候，他叫什么名字，叫什么来着？容我想想，是一个皮肤晒得黝黑的人，我想起来了，是巴拉克•奥巴马。”

他接着说：“你们也许不会相信，他们夫妻俩一起去海滩日光浴，因为他的妻子也被晒黑了。”

贝卢斯科尼刚从匹兹堡出席完G20峰会回国。意大利报纸报道称，贝卢斯科尼在此次峰会上遇到奥巴马夫妇时，奥巴马夫人仅仅和老贝握了握手，但却与其他领导人亲吻致意。

意大利主要反对党派民主党所辖的《团结报》在头版刊发了贝卢斯科尼的言论，并配了一幅米歇尔•奥巴马的照片。

该报称：“贝卢斯科尼让我们在全世界面前显得非常滑稽。”该报还称，贝卢斯科尼所言是一种“种族主义言论”。左翼的《共和报》称这是“鲁莽的言论”。

贝卢斯科尼还受到了意大利唯一一名黑人议员吉恩•伦纳德•多瓦迪的批评，这名议员具有刚果血统。

吉恩•伦纳德•多瓦迪在华盛顿接受意大利通讯社采访时说：“总理常常说出一些不当的言论，不断地破坏意大利的形象。”当时他正在会见美国国会的黑人议员。

贝卢斯科尼去年11月在莫斯科访问时，称当时的美国总统候选人奥巴马“帅气、年轻、皮肤晒得黝黑”，这也是他首次因嘲讽奥巴马惹上麻烦。

第二天在布鲁塞尔，一名美国记者问贝卢斯科尼是否打算向奥巴马道歉，总理先生告诉记者他该把他列入他的“蠢人”名单。

贝卢斯科尼屡屡口无遮拦，其言论常引发争议。他曾在2003年将欧洲议会的一名德国议员比作纳粹阵营的卫兵。2005年，他暗指自己曾向芬兰总统塔里娅•哈洛宁求爱，以确保她支持将欧洲食品安全局的总部设在意大利。

Vocabulary:

gaffe: a social blunder, faux pas（出丑，失态）

quip：a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest（讽刺，嘲弄）

out of place：unsuitable to the circumstances or surroundings; inappropriate（不合适的）

get into hot water: 陷入困境，惹麻烦

imbecile：a dunce; blockhead; dolt（愚蠢的人）

woo：to seek the favor, affection, or love of（求爱，追求）