Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Wednesday cancelled a dinner with Germany's opposition leader who had said "two clowns" had won in Italian elections.
The chancellor-hopeful Peer Steinbrueck, a former finance minister, was mocking conservative former premier Silvio Berlusconi and protest party leader and comedian Beppe Grillo.
Napolitano, on a Germany visit, cancelled the dinner planned for Wednesday with Steinbrueck, who hopes to unseat conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel in September elections. No reason was given for the cancellation of the meeting in Berlin's luxury Hotel Adlon, but a spokesman for Steinbrueck said the candidate's comment was to blame.
Steinbrueck, in his comments Tuesday evening on Italy's election outcome, had said that "to a certain degree, I am appalled that two clowns have won." "My impression is that two populists have won."
The undiplomatic comment was the latest gaffe for Steinbrueck, who is trailing Merkel in opinion polls. He also drew fire in recent months for complaining that the chancellor's wage is too low, giving many voters the impression he is too focussed on money.
Steinbrueck, officially the standard-bearer for blue-collar Germany, was also criticised for accepting more than 1 million euros on the lecture circuit.
In the Italian election, centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani won the biggest share of votes but failed to obtain a parliamentary majority.
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert denied Wednesday that the outcome amounted to a rejection of a Germany-led austerity drive in the crisis-hit eurozone. The government thinks little of "such a mono-causal explanation," the spokesman told a press conference.
France had reacted to the Italian election outcome by calling for more EU pro-growth measures, saying people needed to be offered more than just belt-tightening. Seibert rejected the notion that Germany only advocated austerity, saying that several EU decisions, aside from fixing public finances, had aimed to boost growth and create jobs.
Italy now needed to responsibly form a working government amid tough times for Europe, and Berlin would work closely and responsibly with whatever government emerges in Rome, he said.
Merkel was due to meet Napolitano in Berlin on Thursday. "That will give her the opportunity to hear from his own lips his assessment of the Italian situation after the election," Seibert said.