What a dumbass, imagine if he was afraid of his own shadow. This sheds light on why some places have such extreme reptile/exotic laws.
Italian PM bans spider imports
From correspondents in Rome
July 30, 2003
SILVIO Berlusconi, the brash Italian prime minister fighting his way through a web of political and diplomatic turmoil, is apparently terrified of ... spiders.
Parliament - which is dominated by Berlusconi supporters - on Monday night rushed through a law banning poisonous spiders, scorpions and other dangerous creepy crawlies from being brought into Italy.
"We understand that the measure was dictated by the prime minister's fear of spiders," said opposition MP Luigi Merduri.
But the speed with which the law was introduced has raised eyebrows, with Italy's richest man and the current EU president already in trouble over allegations he is using his political power to further his extensive business interests.
"Whether it's justice, television or even spiders, you always find a conflict of interest where Berlusconi's concerned," said former health minister Rosy Bindi.
The law, which imposes a 10,000-euro fine on anyone caught importing or possessing poisonous arachnids, came amid reports that spiders could have made their way into Berlusconi's private residence near Milan.
Berlusconi, whose six-month EU presidency has been dogged by a row over some very undiplomatic comments about Germans, has just staved off a rift in his own coalition - at the cost of allowing a fraud inquiry into one of his companies.
But even one of his partners in government, the populist and xenophobic Northern League, criticised the speed of the spider law.
And opposition MP Merduri warned: "Berlusconi should beware of the poisonous nature of his allies in government who have no reason to stick together and are turning into dangerous black widows."
Agence France-Presse
Link:
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,6835368^13762,00.html
Hybrid Mode
