Berlusconi: Let's Rename Our Party 'Go Pussy!'

Silvio Berlusconi thinks he has a branding problem. He wants to rename his People of Freedom party “because people no longer carry it in their hearts,” he told lawmakers from his coalition according to the AFP. He said they’d consider “any suggestions,” but then as a joke added, “I’m told the name that would have the biggest success is ‘Go Pussy!’”

The quip was a play on the name of Berlusconi’s original party, “Go Italy!” It has not gone over well. One cardinal denounced it as “behavior that is contrary to public dignity," while the head of one opposition party said it was appropriate because “’Go Pussy!’ just about sums up his lifestyle and his way of doing politics.” A member of Berlusconi's own party conceded that the joke was "inappropriate and not funny," but added, "We all know and appreciate the irony ... of Berlusconi." (More Silvio Berlusconi stories.)