ROME: Silvio Berlusconi, premier and media-mogul of Italy, was being forced to defend himself on Monday after much of the European press cast serious doubt on his credibility, hours before he was due to take over the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Italy assumes the presidency of the Union on Tuesday, giving it substantial influence over the EU’s agenda for the next six months. But Berlusconi’s image has been severely tarnished by a series of critical articles published across Europe over the weekend.

Germany’s influential weekly Der Spiegel showed a photo of Berlusconi sitting on a throne with a provocative caption reading “The Godfather” on its cover page.

France’s Le Monde called Berlusconi’s Italy a “European anomaly” while Spain’s El Pais asked whether Berlusconi was fit for the job.

Britain’s leading conservative daily, The Times, launched an Internet survey asking its readers a similar question.

The bulk of the criticism revolved around Berlusconi’s failure to eliminate potential conflicts of interest stemming from his dual role as prime minister and media tycoon, in addition to his judicial woes.

Italy’s parliament approved a controversial bill earlier this month granting him immunity from prosecution, just as a trial in which he is being charged with corruption was reaching the home stretch.

A series of diplomatic faux pas exhibited recently by Berlusconi were also a source of concern among European observers.

Berlusconi lashed out at critics on Monday, arguing that the foreign press reflected a bias in the domestic media.

Speaking on a French radio station, Berlusconi said “the Italian left-wing press has been waging a war since I entered the field and won the elections.”

Berlusconi also rebuked suggestions that he controlled much of the country’s media through his newspapers, his private Mediaset television networks and state-owned Rai, arguing that “television in Italy is free and the print media is 85 per cent against the moderates”.

The prime minister, who has sued the London-based weekly The Economist over a 2001 article in which he was described as being “unfit to lead Italy”, also vowed to press ahead with moves against Italy’s judiciary, which he described as “a cancer to be treated.”—dpa