Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant Italian Prime Minister, played a practical joke on the German Chancellor today by jumping out at her from behind a lamppost when they met for an Italo-German summit in Trieste. Slipping away from the welcoming committee, the Italian leader hid behind the lamppost and emerged with a cry of "Cucu!" when Angela Merkel stepped out of her official car to enter the regional council headquarters where they were to meet. Reports said the German leader, who appeared amused, opened her arms and replied "Silvio!". Mr Berlusconi, noted for his unpredictable behaviour and often ill-judged jokes, raised eyebrows recently by describing Barack Obama, the US President-elect, as "suntanned", during a visit to Moscow. Carla Bruni Sarkozy, the Italian-born wife of President Sarkozy of France, said that the remark and the furore it caused had made her "happy to be no longer an Italian citizen".
Silvio Berlusconi, the flamboyant Italian Prime Minister, played a practical joke on the German Chancellor today by jumping out at her from behind a lamppost when they met for an Italo-German summit in Trieste.
Slipping away from the welcoming committee, the Italian leader hid behind the lamppost and emerged with a cry of "Cucu!" when Angela Merkel stepped out of her official car to enter the regional council headquarters where they were to meet. Reports said the German leader, who appeared amused, opened her arms and replied "Silvio!".
Mr Berlusconi, noted for his unpredictable behaviour and often ill-judged jokes, raised eyebrows recently by describing Barack Obama, the US President-elect, as "suntanned", during a visit to Moscow. Carla Bruni Sarkozy, the Italian-born wife of President Sarkozy of France, said that the remark and the furore it caused had made her "happy to be no longer an Italian citizen".
