Italy's Berlusconi Says Hopes Bush Wins U.S. Election
Reuters ^ | October 22, 2004 | Yahoo! News
 

Posted on 10/22/2004 2:39:46 PM PDT by West Coast Conservative
 

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Friday he hoped incumbent President Bush would win the Nov. 2 election against his Democratic rival John Kerry.

"We hope and believe that the next president will again be Bush," Berlusconi told reporters during campaigning for Italian local elections on the island of Ischia, in southern Italy.

Despite rooting for Bush, Berlusconi added that whoever wins the election "we are loyal allies of the United States and we will continue in our policy of friendship."

Italy is one of Washington's closest European allies in its war on terror. The country has around 2,700 troops in Iraq as part of a U.S.-led coalition.

Berlusconi, who often refers to Bush as "my friend George," is the first G8 leader to openly line up behind one of the two candidates in the U.S. presidential election.