Even the chancellor could cancel his holiday after barrage of insults
Germany, led by its leader Gerhard Schroeder, is threatening to boycott Italy as a tourist destination after German holidaymakers were described as “noisy” and “arrogant”.
The row comes just days after the new president of the EU, Silvio Berlusconi, created outrage by comparing a German minister to a Nazi concentration camp commandant. Now an Italian junior minister, Stefano Stefani, has stirred things up by writing in a newspaper that German tourists are “stereotyped blonds with a hyper-nationalistic pride” from “a country intoxicated with arrogant uncertainties”.
Unsurprisingly, the remarks have gone down less than well with the Germans; Chancellor Schroeder’s spokeswoman said the remarks were “an insult to all Germans who like to spend their vacations in Italy”.
She continued: “Should these comments be approved of by the Italian government and remain without consequences, the chancellor will cancel his planned vacation in Italy.” Some 10 million Germans visited Italy last year.
