Berlusconi plays down Obama comparison

Left-wing opponents branded Berlusconi racist in November for hailing Obama as "handsome, young and also suntanned" after he was elected the United States' first black president.

Berlusconi, 72 and a close ally of former U.S. President George W. Bush, said critics of his remark had no sense of humour.

Responding to a journalist's comment Thursday that his response to the economic crisis made him appear like Obama, Berlusconi quipped: "I'm paler, because it's been so long since I went sunbathing. He's more handsome, younger and taller."

Berlusconi, a media mogul who is Italy's second-richest man and prides himself on his year-round suntan, is famed in diplomatic circles for making inappropriate jokes.

He sparked a minor diplomatic incident in 2005 by suggesting he had wooed Finnish President Tarja Halonen to ensure her backing for Italy to host the European Food Safety Authority.

"I had to use all my playboy tactics, even if they had not been used for some time," he said at the time, prompting Helsinki to summon the Italian ambassador to explain his remark.

(Reporting by Laura Viggiano; writing by Daniel Flynn; editing by Tim Pearce)