Fascist Italian PM, Bush Iraq's war ally Berlusconi appears to lose re-election bid

Bush appears to lose another Iraq war ally in Italy's Berlusconi

Apr 11 12:57 PM US/Eastern



http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/11/060411165650.w5vtcv00.html

Italian elections appeared to have stripped President George W. Bush of another Iraq war ally in Silvio Berlusconi, with staunch US partner Tony Blair barely holding on in Britain.

Pro-war supporters had already departed in Spain and Portugal, but Berlusconi's apparent loss took on added meaning after the campaign-style attention Bush lavished on him during a visit here six weeks ago.

US officials had little comment on Italy's two-day legislative vote that left opposition leader Romano Prodi claiming victory, the Berlusconi camp talking recount and Italy facing the prospect of political paralysis.

"We certainly look forward to working with whoever is the next prime minister," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. "Italy is a good friend and ally, and we look forward to working with them on a number of issues."

But US commentators saw the result as a new setback for Bush in his bid to repair bridges to Europe and shore up international support for an increasingly unpopular military operation in Iraq.

"With Berlusconi's apparent ouster, President Bush loses an unabashed ally in Europe and the Middle East," the Washington Post reported, heralding the departure of the flamboyant media-magnate-turned-politician.

When Berlusconi, Italy's longest-serving prime minister since World War II, came to Washington at the end of February hoping to burnish his image, Bush gave him a virtual Oval Office endorsement.

The Italian was allowed to address a joint session of Congress on March 1, where he was accorded the rare privilege of speaking in his native language and was given thunderous applause by the Republican majority.

Berlusconi effectively removed Iraq as an issue in the election campaign by pledging to withdraw all of Italy's 2,900 remaining troops by the end of the year, while Prodi said he would do so "as soon as possible."

Analysts forecast little immediate change in Italian-US relations. But some, such as Ettore Greco, deputy director of the Institute of International Affairs in Rome, saw significant differences between Berlusconi and Prodi.

"Mr. Berlusconi has presented support for the Bush administration, even in the case of Iraq, as motivated by Italy's historical bonds or loyalty and solidarity with the US," Greco told a forum last week.

"Romano Prodi has articulated a different view," Greco said. "He has constantly placed the emphasis on the need to reinforce the autonomy of Europe and to work for a more equal transatlantic relationship."

Julia Lynch, a political analyst who teaches at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. She said the center-left Prodi was "much less likely to toe a Washington line" on issues from foreign policy to trade.

Bush lost two wartime allies in 2004 when Jose Maria Aznar's conservative government was defeated in Spain and Portuguese leader Jose Manuel Barroso stepped down to head the European Commission.

Now it is Blair, the most faithful of Bush's backers and the most visible defender of the 2003 Iraq invasion, who is on the political ropes for the war, compounded by a series of domestic controversies.

Blair has already declared his intention not to run for a fourth term. But a poll published by the Times last week showed more than half of Britain's voters think he should step down by the end of this year.

His storied friendship with Bush appears to be an increasing liability and the Iraq war a millstone around his neck, as demonstrated by the protests that dogged US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice when she visited Britain 10 days ago.

Anti-Iraq sentiment has also colored the political landscape for other US allies, such as Poland, where a recent poll showed that 72 percent of Poles wanted their remaining 900 troops pulled out.