ROME - Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a staunch ally of the United States, said Monday Iraq's elections could lead to the spread of democracy through other "authoritarian" Arab countries and bring them out of the "Middle Ages".
"This vote can establish a positive contagion in all the other Arab countries where there is authoritarianism, where women are still in a situation where they are not free, do not have dignity," Berlusconi told Italian state radio in a telephone interview.
Berlusconi did not specify which countries he was referring to, but added that in these states "there are still many steps to take before they emerge from the Middle Ages, from a form of government which is certainly not democratic".
The Italian leader has previously provoked anger among Arab states with his comments following the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States, in which he suggested Western civilization was "superior" to Islam.
The prime minister, who deployed 3,000 Italian troops in Iraq as part of the US-led coalition forces in the wake of Saddam Hussein's overthrow, also praised the role of Italy in paving the way for Sunday's elections.
"It's a result that has been made possible also through the contribution of our country.
"There were so many who thought that the campaign by the so-called Iraqi resistance - so called because I don't think you can refer to those who don't want democracy as such - could prevent the vote of a people who have not had the chance to express themselves for 50 years, and which for the first time in its history also allowed women to vote."
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