Put international diplomacy and high politics aside. The real question Italians want answered is whether their prime minister is afraid of spiders.

He may be a self-confident billionaire capable of putting a brave face on any situation, but if a new law is anything to go by, Silvio Berlusconi is terrified of arachnids.

The Senate Monday rushed through a decree banning scorpions, tarantulas and various other venomous eight-legged creatures from being brought onto Italian soil.

The law might not have attracted much attention had it not been expressly drawn up by Berlusconi and rammed through parliament in lightning speed, at a time when the prime minister was already swamped by an international diplomatic row.

While Berlusconi was trying to smooth fevered European brows after his comparison of a German politician to a Nazi concentration camp guard, his aides were plotting against "spiders that are dangerous to man."

The bill was presented to parliament in the form of a decree -- a method usually reserved for matters of the greatest urgency.

A spokeswoman in Berlusconi's office was unable to confirm whether the prime minister suffers from arachnophobia, saying only that he is an animal lover who also wants to protect Italians from potential danger.

But Italian newspapers were full of speculation about how Berlusconi may have been stung into action on the issue.

A carton of 300 lethal scorpions was flown into Milan earlier this year destined for an Italian collector of rare species and for a small pharmaceutical laboratory.

It is said that the laboratory sits just down the road from Arcore, Berlusconi's private residence on the outskirts of Milan, and there were fears some might escape and crawl into the villa's gardens.

"He was going on and on about how dangerous the little things were," Antonio Catricala, a senior official in Berlusconi's office said. "He insisted that a law be passed banning the importing of scorpions."

( Agencies )