Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday appeared to backtrack from his proposal of withdrawing troops from Iraq starting from September, saying the date was only his hope and could be changed. "There's never been a fixed date," Berlusconi told reporters. "It was only my hope ... If it is not possible, it is not possible. The solution should be agreed with the allies."| Wonder how long it will take the Kos kiddies to claim that the fix is in? |
Although Italy played no part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it dispatched some 3,000 troops following the fall of Baghdad and has the fourth largest foreign contingent there after the United States, Britain and South Korea. Twenty-one Italian soldiers have died in Iraq. Some politicians suggested Berlusconi had made a gaffe during the chat show and plucked a date out of thin air. But veteran commentators were not convinced. "Nothing that Berlusconi does is unplanned. He is a great communicator and there is a reason behind everything he does," Italy's top pollster, Renato Mannheimer, said. "This will help Berlusconi persuade his supporters to go out and vote," he told Reuters.