"WE'D do much better to call it a quadrimester rather than a semester. We've simply given up on the first two months of European Union leadership, since we were either unable or unwilling to abandon the byzantine mechanisms which have marked out the never ending transfer from the Dini government to the next one.
Those harsh words about Italy's current term of EU presidency did not come from a leader column in a British daily newspaper, but rather from the pen of an Italian MP, Ms Emma Bonino, current European Commissioner for Aid.
Allowing for the obvious fact that Ms Bonino's remarks (published in the Italian weekly, L'Espresso) may have been intended to score domestic political points in Italy's current general election campaign, her observations nonetheless rekindle a polemic ignited most recently by the London Times, which suggested that the Italian EU presidency, thus far, has lacked authority and direction.
Critics of the Italian presidency point accusing fingers at the current general election campaign, arguing that the caretaker Prime Minister, Mr Lamberto Dini will be too busy on the campaign trail to be an effective EU leader.
The Italian election takes place on April 21st, and it may take anything up to a further two months of complex negotiations to form the 55th government of the post war period.
Curiously, non Italian diplomats in Rome and Brussels tend to be less critical. One Brussels based diplomat pointed out that January and February tend to be quiet EU months under any presidency.
Diplomats in Rome argue that the technocratic composition of Mr Dini's government means it is less affected by the election campaign than a government composed entirely of elected politicians. With the exception of Mr Dini and two or three of his ministers, the current cabinet will not be contesting the election and is therefore free to concentrate fully on European issues.
Brussels commentators also suggest that it is simply too early to offer any judgment of the Italian presidency. Diplomats recall that when Spain took over the presidency last July, many predicted disaster, arguing that the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Felipe Gonzalez, would be too preoccupied with his own internal problems to do a good job.
In the end, the Spanish presidency was adjudged highly successful, largely thanks to an impressive European Council in Madrid last December. Experienced Brussels diplomats argue that the Italian presidency, too, will be judged largely on the effectiveness of the Florence Council in June, adding that Italy's huge wealth of European experience makes it unlikely that Florence will fail to deliver.
Foreign Office spokesmen in Rome this week suggested that the Florence Council will provide significant movement on outstanding issues such as European Monetary Union and unemployment, as well as secondary issues such as Europol (police co ordination) and the Euro Mediterranean issue, dear to Spain, Greece and Italy.
On foreign affairs, Foreign Office spokesmen dismiss criticism of the Foreign Minister, Ms Susanna Agnelli, pointing to the speed with which she organised the Rome summit on Bosnia last month as well as this week's trip to Israel in the wake of the Hamas bombings.
With regard to the recent Turkish Greek Aegean dispute, the spokesmen argue Ms Agnelli could not have moved faster, saying it takes more than five minutes and a quick press release to define a common EU line on the Turkish Greek problem.