From an insider’s account of last month’s failed EU summit in Brussels, which has just reached me:

In the first of what was to be a series of sexist remarks which continued until the early hours of the morning, Berlusconi suggested that they should talk about ‘women and football’ instead, adding for good measure that he was sure that Gerhard Schroeder – who has been married four times – would be able to bring considerable expertise to bear during their discussion. (footnote: The impact of these remarks was somewhat diminished by the fact that some of the interpreters apparently refused to translate them.)