Berlusconi's U.S. Blues
With elections coming this week, Silvio Berlusconi's popularity is sagging over the economy, Iraq and his alliance with George W. Bush.
"The U.S. remains vitally important for our country"
Most of his citizens may be against the occupation of Iraq, but Silvio Berlusconi defends it — along with his close ties to the U.S. After Bush's visit to Rome and just days before the European elections, the Italian leader spoke to TIME's JEFF ISRAELY over lunch at his personal residence in Rome, his first interview with the international media in nine months
Posted Sunday, June 6, 2004; 10:48 BST before bush's visit, there was concern about protests and violence. now it's over. how did it go? Look, I'm satisfied, Italy behaved like it had to behave. The representative of a great democracy was here, and we recognized that.
where does your love for america come from? I was 8 years old in 1944. I was a conscious witness, aware of the help the Allies had given us. ... I also understood very early that communism was the most criminal undertaking in the history of man. So the actions of my government are natural. It's not linked to any convenient calculus. It's linked to the conviction that the U.S. remains vitally important for our country. By now, life here in Italy is very similar to life in America. It's just that they have greater wealth ... [He describes a set of George Gershwin and Cole Porter scores Bush gave him, and hums Ol' Man River] I'm in sintonia — in tune — with American values, American culture. you and president bush? It was easy to get to know each other. We have the same roots. He was in business and sports, and so was I. We can speak to each other. George said today that there has never been such a close and understanding relationship between our two countries. I was of course very happy to hear him say this.
most italians are opposed to bush's policies and the war in iraQ. did you worry that his visit could damage you? I wasn't going to be influenced by that. I thought it was right to invite the President of the U.S. to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Rome. I thought it was right, without worrying what criticism would come from the left.
we will know better how this visit and your policy plays after the elections. I wouldn't give such great importance to these elections. I think they will go well for us, but with the economy and lack of development in Europe, the opposition has done well, whether it was center-left or center-right. Chirac, notwithstanding his position in Iraq, lost his regional elections. I'm tranquil.
are you confident? I haven't campaigned. The only thing I did was send a letter to 15 million families saying what we've accomplished in three years.
will there be a government shakeup if things don't go well? There will be no earthquake. If we have to fix something in the government, fill some undersecretary positions, we will do it.
is there a scenario in which you would pull out of the iraq coalition? No, no. Iraq is going fine. There are 24 million people who have hospitals that work, schools that work. There's water, electricity. Sure, there are four or five thousand terrorists or guerrillas who don't want it to work. But the road is clear.
could mounting casualties force you to bring troops home? We have to search for peace. We can't run away. If we left now there would be civil war. We in the West have an extreme interest in encouraging democracy in the Middle East. Should we hide away in our splendid isolation and say it's someone else's problem? The U.S. has taken on a great weight, and I am convinced that they haven't done it for imperialistic motivations. They are already rich enough. You might have been in favor or against the war, but by now it's happened. It's necessary to see Iraq become a democracy.
why are you so fiercely hated by your opponents? The leftist opposition wants to take back power. So they try to discredit Berlusconi, delegitimize Berlusconi, demonize Berlusconi, ridicule Berlusconi and criminalize Berlusconi.
why haven't you resolved your conflict of interest? I presented a proposal [to do so] in the first 50 days, and the opposition started adding all kinds of amendments. It's convenient for them to have this issue to use against me. I'll leave you with one last thing: my slogan in 2001 was the strength of a dream: to change italy. My slogan in 2006 will be the strength of facts: Italy has changed.
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