Italy stumbles on world stage

Italy has been sidelined in the war on terror

By Paola Buonadonna

A diplomatic tiff between Italy and Belgium, which has kept other EU countries amused in the run up to the Ghent summit, has now been smoothed over.

Italy had been up in arms after Belgium's Foreign Minister, Louis Michel, gave Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi a score of zero out of 10 for his performance in the wake of the attacks on the United States.

Belgium has now apologised but observers argue that the mini-controversy was only a symptom of a wider and more substantial malaise in Italy's leadership.

They say the Berlusconi government, elected in May and headed by a self-proclaimed master of image and spin, has been a public relations disaster so far on the international stage.

Shaky start

From the beginning Mr Berlusconi was regarded with some suspicion in Europe for the often xenophobic pronouncements of his two coalition partners, the Northern League and the National Alliance.

The shambolic handling of the riots at the Genoa G8 summit in July was the government's first concrete set-back.

Louis Michel: Gave Berlusconi zero out of 10

One Italian protester was shot dead and several police chiefs were demoted or transferred when it transpired that peaceful foreign protesters had been abused in custody while troublemakers were left free to trash entire areas of the city.

Then followed an unseemly scramble to cancel all other high profile meetings scheduled to take place in the country.

Islam gaffe

In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on the US the Italian Government changed its mind several times about the extent it would contribute to the coming conflict.

But the worst damage was done two weeks into the crisis. While Washington and London, with the EU's support, were frantically building a coalition for the war against terrorism which would include Muslim partners, Mr Berlusconi came out with his now infamous comment suggesting western civilisation was superior to Islam.

A Berlusconi ally has called for Muslims to be barred from entering Italy

He might have been misquoted, as he maintains, but it has had enduring repercussions.

Italy has not been included on the US administration's list of allies which may help in the war and it was notified late of the attacks on Afghanistan.

Mr Berlusconi has also been excluded from a top-level meeting of French, German and British leaders on the situation in Afghanistan, ahead of the Ghent summit.

To top it all, a high-ranking member of the Northern League added to the prime minister's embarrassment when this week he called for all Muslims to be barred temporarily from entering the country.

Even in straightforward EU business, Italy - a founding union member and always regarded as a central player - now sounds increasingly hesitant about further integration. This is losing it points with the French and the Germans.

With the launch of euro notes and coins only weeks away, the prospect of the war dragging on for months, and crucial meetings ahead to finalize EU and Nato reforms, it's not a good time for Mr Berlusconi to become preoccupied with his personal ratings.

Many Italians would prefer that he worried instead about Italy's standing in the world.