May 28, 2005
Economist is wrong, Italy is rich
"The Economist is wrong to consider Italy with crutches. Italy is a rich and healthy country. The data on real estate, cars, mobile phones and some regions that are among the richest in Europe prove it," said Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in après conference with his British counterpart Blair.
"We have 100,000 churches and monuments, 40,000 historical palaces with their treasures, 3,5000 museums, 2,500 archaeological sites, 1,000 theatres. But we are also the country with the richest regions of Europe.
The families are 8 times richer than the yearly GDP. We have the highest car/population ratio in the world. We have the highest number of mobile phones (we are playboys and our boys send at least 10 SMS's a day to their girlfriends)" added Berlusconi.
[via Agenzia Giornalistica]
Picture from the BBC.
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