Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/09/07/MN140893.DTL ----------------------------------------------- Friday, September 7, 2001 (SF Chronicle) Italy's Berlusconi flounders in aftermath of G-8 fiasco Frank Viviano, Chronicle Staff Writer Genoa, Italy -- His landslide election in May left Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi looking like Europe's latest reincarnation of Margaret Thatcher. The autocratic conservative, nicknamed "the Cavalryman" (Il Cavaliere), promised a 100-day revolution that would transform his nation's flagging economy with efficient business methods and bolster its international profile with decisive, unflinching governance. No one imagined that Berlusconi, who built an immense corporate and media empire before entering politics, would soon find himself tottering helplessly on the battlefield of globalization. Then came the July G-8 summit in this ancient port city. The violent confrontations between anti-globalization protesters and police left one demonstrator dead, 351 people wounded, 301 arrested -- and the Cavalryman's administration reeling. "His own ministers quarrel among themselves from morning to night," said leftist opposition leader Francesco Rutelli, with barely concealed delight. "Che bruta figura!" This withering insult -- which roughly translates as "what a lousy impression" -- has come to symbolize a government that has produced virtually no legislation, much less a new Italy. Instead Italians are being treated to endless waves of back-stabbing and recrimination over the G-8 debacle and the government's collective shudder at the prospect of two more summits planned for Italy this autumn. A repeat of the Genoa events at either of them, Berlusconi and his aides fear, could virtually kill the new administration. Defense ministers of 19 North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries are scheduled to meet for two days in Naples later this month. Then in early November, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization is scheduled to hold a four-day World Food Summit at the FAO's headquarters in Rome to discuss global malnutrition and famine. "Scheduled" is the operative word. As recently as a week ago, Berlusconi's government was desperately hoping that another country would take the summits off its hands -- until its NATO allies and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan flatly declared that they had no intention of transferring their events beyond Italy's borders. With an audible sigh, Berlusconi conceded that Italy would host the summits as planned, but he is determined to shift them away from the urban centers of Rome and Naples. The NATO meeting is likely to wind up behind the barbed wire of a military base, or on a remote island off the Italian coast. However, the United Nations is adamant that its summit be held in a publicly accessible venue, within easy reach of an international airport. A joint FAO-Italian government commission is studying the alternatives. In the meantime, not a single logistical measure has been taken to prepare for the arrival of 100 chiefs of state and 7,000 participants, representing 150 nations and 630 nongovernmental organizations, along with an estimated 2,500 journalists. In the latest twist, the government has proposed the town of Fiuggi -- a luxurious thermal bath resort outside of Rome -- for a summit dedicated to world hunger. A second possibility, the castle of Spoleto, was boosted by a local politician who pointed out that it was "located on a hill . . . surrounded by an imposing wall of granite." A third proposed site, the thermal spa of Salsomaggiore, was withdrawn from consideration because the summit would have had to share facilities with the Miss Italy Contest. At one point, Berlusconi had suggested that the FAO summit "be transferred to Africa," where most protesters would presumably find it difficult to travel. He drifted into pained silence at the resulting storm of ridicule, much of which came from within the ranks of his own right-wing coalition. Adding to Il Cavaliere's woes are the no fewer than 12 separate inquests and pretrial hearings set in motion by the G-8 melee. The most controversial opened in Genoa on Aug. 28, when 16 police officers were placed under formal investigation on charges that include manslaughter and attempted homicide. In Rome, meanwhile, a parade of law enforcement officials have been fired, including the former police commissioner of Genoa, the former state anti-terrorism chief and the former vice director of police operations. Testifying for 11 hours before a parliamentary commission, the common thread in the accounts given by the officials -- apart from blaming each other -- was that Berlusconi's interior ministry micromanaged the summit's security measures from Rome, while insisting for public consumption that policing was overseen by the municipal authorities of Genoa. "Perhaps the truth is beginning to emerge," one of Berlusconi's own commissioners at the hearing admitted. Meanwhile, Italian leaders of the anti-globalization movement told reporters that at least 50,000 protesters would show up in Naples, even if the NATO delegates were locked up on a military base or exiled to an offshore island. --------------------------- Copyright 2001 SF Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! 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