Tuesday,
July 18, 2006
The ANNOTICO
Report
Prodi offers himself NOT
as a "Mediator" in the Mid East Crisis, but a "Facilitator",
and an "Honest Broker".
This comes about
partially because Romano Prodi and Geo Bush seem very
cordial. They first met at the G8 summit two years ago, when Prodi was European Commission president, and they emerged
from this current summit face-to-face meeting smiling and chatting on
first-name terms, both keen to show relations remained good.
This is despite
Bush not wanting
to create another enemy, and for once recognizing realities, stated:
"No question, when
The Scotsman
Reuters
By Robin Pomeroy
July 18, 2006
ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Italy might
not have America's military might or Russia's energy clout but Prime Minister
Romano Prodi used the weekend's G8 summit to stake
Italy's claim as a player on the world stage.
At his first
meeting of the Group of Eight leaders since winning an April election, Prodi said he saw himself as a "facilitator" in
the Middle East crisis, making phone calls to
"No one can
be a mediator," Prodi told reporters at the
summit in
Analysts said it
remained to be seen if Prodi's offer to be an
"honest broker" between states that will not talk to each other would
have an impact in the
"There's
certainly a different style here," said Franco Pavoncello
of
After five years'
government by Berlusconi, a centre-right media magnate, Prodi
returned to power on a promise to shift
Berlusconi styled
himself as President George W. Bush's most loyal ally on mainland
When Bush visited
Berlusconi in 2003,
But at the G8
summit, Prodi and Bush emerged from a face-to-face
meeting smiling and chatting on first-name terms, both keen to show relations
remained good.
"I've
enjoyed my visit with the Prime Minister, Romano. I've known him for a long
time," Bush said of the man he last met at a G8 summit two years ago, when
Prodi was European Commission president.
"No
question, when
FOREIGN POLICY
Prodi's desire to be a
facilitator in the
"Berlusconi
was on one side, there was no doubt about it and that limited the possibility
of the Italian government to play any role," said Sergio Romano, a
political commentator and a former ambassador to the
"You can't
really be a broker once you have chosen so clearly and explicitly as Berlusconi
did. Prodi has exploited a greater degree of autonomy
that
Prodi has received some
ridicule at home for his attempts to intervene in the
The opposition
has enjoyed highlighting splits in Prodi's coalition
over foreign policy.
"While Prodi tries to create this image as an international
mediator, people in his government are asking him to above all be a peacemaker
within his own ranks," said Francesco Storace of
the National Alliance party. "It really is a sad spectacle."
Nowhere are the
divisions in Prodi's Union coalition clearer than on
Dissidents in his
coalition have said they will vote against keeping troops there, something that
could seriously affect Prodi's ability to govern in a
parliament where he has only a two-seat majority in the upper house.
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