MADRID, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A leading Spanish politician inadvertently called British Prime Minister Tony Blair "an imbecile" on live television.
The comment was made by Jose Bono, one of the three most powerful figures in the Spanish Socialist Party. His remarks were not intended to be heard, but were recorded by a television team while he was talking to Joaquin Almunia, a former Socialist leader, Britain's Telegraph reported Friday.
Peppered with an expletive, Bono said: "Hey, and our colleague Blair? ... He's an imbecile."
The comments contrast with the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's carefully cultivated friendship with Blair and was a major embarrassment for the Socialists.
The party is irritated by Blair's friendship with Aznar and dislikes the resulting Anglo-Spanish alliance.
A staunch Catholic, Bono is regarded as a potential leader of the Socialist Party of Spanish Workers.
Spain will hold national elections March 14.
