Vulgar Berlusconi pays tribute to the sex appeal of the Iron Lady
By Peter Popham in Rome
Published: 05 July 2007
Margaret Thatcher was una bella gnocca, a "great piece of pussy", Silvio Berlusconi declared this week, eulogising his ideological heroine as he lashed out at Romano Prodi's government.
The Italian media mogul has never shied away from the language of the public bar, but his choice of words to praise the former British prime minister was startling even by his standards. President François Mitterrand famously remarked of Baroness Thatcher that she had "the eyes of Caligula and the mouth of Marilyn Monroe". Evidently Mr Berlusconi's attention was focused elsewhere.
Gnocca, pronounced "nyokka", is a vulgar term meaning "vulva" and is the standard word used by construction workers, white-van drivers and long-serving Italian prime ministers for any attractive woman who crosses their path.
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