Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: The Guardian: le ambiguità del cavaliere

Resignation lays bare Italian split
Philip Willan in Rome
Monday January 7, 2002
The Guardian
The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, assumed interim
responsibility for foreign affairs yesterday as he struggled to resolve the
political crisis precipitated by the sudden resignation of his foreign
minister, Renato Ruggiero.
Amid a worsening dispute over European policy, Mr Berlusconi will be eager
to reassure his EU partners that Mr Ruggiero's departure does not signify a
radical change of direction for Italy. Louis Michel, the Belgian foreign
minister, called it a victory for the anti-European tendency in the Italian
government.
Following a brief handover meeting with Mr Ruggiero yesterday, Mr Berlusconi
said: "The policy of this government will be convincingly and intrinsically
pro-European.
"Europe for us is an ideal, an ambition, a desire and a necessity because
Europe has given us more than half a century of security, wealth, democracy
and peace," he added, standing in front of the Italian and European flags.
Mr Ruggiero announced his resignation on Saturday night after clashing with
Eurosceptic colleagues in the cabinet over Italy's tepid reaction to the
introduction of the euro. He was also said to realise that he no longer
enjoyed the full support of the prime minister.
A decision by Mr Berlusconi to strip him of any decision-making power over
whether the country would join the Airbus military transport plane project -
Mr Ruggiero supported it, but Italy eventually backed out - had already
caused him great discomfort. He was also unhappy at Mr Berlusconi's
uncompromising approach to negotiations with his European partners.
His resignation exposes sharp differences over Europe within the government
and raises questions about Italy's ability to oversee institutional reforms
when it assumes the EU presidency in six months.
It also weakens a government not noted for an abundance of internationally
respected ministers. And it will not be easy for Mr Berlusconi to restore
harmony between centrist members of his government, who insist on
maintaining Italy's pro-European line, and hawkish Eurosceptics such as the
reform minister, Umberto Bossi.
Mr Bossi, the leader of the federalist Northern League, is wont to describe
the EU as a conspiracy of communists, pederasts and freemasons bent on
devouring Italian sovereignty. His attacks on Mr Ruggiero were one of the
factors leading to the minister's resignation, and yesterday he welcomed the
"sacking" of Mr Ruggiero as a "great day" for Italy.
The opposition has suggested that the government is a hostage to the
anti-European sentiments of Mr Bossi and that of other more temperate
cabinet Eurosceptics. Mr Berlusconi's true position remains unclear and much
will depend on his choice of Mr Ruggiero's successor.
An Italian debate on European policy is something of a novelty in itself.
For the last 50 years paying lip-service to the benefits of European
integration has been unquestioned by the major parties. In a country used to
sacrificing sovereignty to the Vatican and the US, a loss of sovereignty to
Europe was of relatively little concern.
· A nationwide bank strike set for today threatens to plunge Italy's
currency changeover into more chaos. The one-day stoppage was called over a
dispute about a work contract.

 
cut
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 Oggi è 'na bella jurnata ...
Hai proprio ragione, meno male che a sua Emittenza è rimasto l'appoggio di
gente affidabile e onesta come i leghisti, poveretto lui

e' vero. basta con questi comunisti europei.... Blair e compagnia bella sono
solo sporchi comunisti... se lo dice Berlusconi con i fascisti Storace e C.
come si a non essere d'accordo?
mi ricordo anche un'altro della stessa altezza (sia fisica che politica di
Berlusconi) che diceva le stesse cose del reso d'Europa.... lui allora si
alluo' con Hitler ora questo scemo "vedo solo comunisti" si e' alleato con
Bossi.....
povera Italia...:((((