With his ratings at record lows and an economy on the skids, scandal-hit Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has quipped that his party should change its name to "Go Pussy!" - another gaffe likely to incense many people.
"We will change the name of the People of Freedom party, because people no longer carry it in their hearts," the 75-year-old told MPs from his ruling coalition on the sidelines of a series of meetings in parliament, Italian news media reported.
"We will examine any suggestions," he added.
Berlusconi then joked: "I'm told the name that would have the biggest success is 'Go Pussy!'"
The billionaire tycoon first entered the political arena in the early 1990s with a party called "Go Italy!" - a popular football chant.
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"I have to say Berlusconi's latest quip wasn't bad," said Antonio Borghesi, a parliamentarian from the Italy of Values opposition party.
"'Go Pussy!' just about sums up his lifestyle and his way of doing politics."
Berlusconi's jokes - often vulgar and misogynistic - have provoked the ire of a variety of groups including feminists, gays and the Catholic Church.
Leading Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco last month denounced politicians' "behaviour that is contrary to public dignity" and "difficult to reconcile with institutional decorum" - widely seen as a reference to Berlusconi's antics.
Aldo Di Biagio, another Berlusconi critic from the right-wing Future and Freedom party, said: "Berlusconi should stop coming to parliament to tell ridiculous jokes to his deputies who are running away."
"His time is up. He should resign for the good of Italy."
Anna Paola Concia, a deputy from the left-wing Democratic Party, said: "What I find terrible is that Berlusconi's latest remark is not at all a quip but expresses his real feelings about women, the feelings of an old pig."
Even a deputy from Berlusconi's own party, Barbara Saltamartini, said the prime minister's joke was "inappropriate and not funny".
But she quickly added: "We all know and appreciate the irony and great sympathy of Berlusconi."
His ally Umberto Bossi, leader of the Northern League party in the ruling coalition, said critics of the joke were "just envious".
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Italy's fascist leader and an MP who supports Berlusconi, said: "The prime minister just cracked a joke and I appreciated it. If someone believed it, they haven't understood anything."
Berlusconi is a defendant in three ongoing trials for bribery, tax fraud, abuse of office and paying for sex with a 17-year-old nightclub dancer.
Italian newspapers have also published sordid details from a new sex scandal in which Berlusconi was allegedly provided with prostitutes in return for favours.
The prime minister's popularity rating hit a record low of 24 per cent in September, according to the latest poll by the IPR Marketing Institute.
