While US and European leaders are trying to put together a large coalition against the fundamentalist supporters of terrorism, Silvio Berlusconi has caused a diplomatic incident with his declaration on the supremacy of the western civilization. Berlusconi, a media tycoon running Italy since May, is not at his first blunder. Italian voters know his loquacity, but still this didn’t keep them from sending him to the prime minister’s office with the elections held in May. Since, Berlusconi, who is also on trial for bribery, has not resolved any of his numerous conflicts of interests, among them his fear of international investigations, which are now necessary to seize the terrorists’ financial resources. Yet, as a traditional friend of Arab nations, Italy could still play an important role in the current diplomatic game.
An embarrassing clash of words
“We must be aware of the superiority of our civilization”. In occasion of a summit with Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin in Berlin, Silvio Berlusconi warns the waiting journalists that there is, indeed, a “clash of civilizations” going on and that “the West must have the consciousness of the superiority of its culture”, in order to promote the development of those parts of the world “that are still 1400 years behind”.
From TV to diplomacy
Italy’s prime minister, however, is surely not at his first blunder. Italians have seen him for years in his favorite role as a modern crusader against communism. Sometimes “Sua Emittenza” appeared more in the likes of a tv-preacher than a political leader. Most of his countrymen however didn’t mind that much and with the general elections in May 2001 they sent him again to Palazzo Chigi, the office of the Italian prime minister in Rome. Italians knew exactly who they voted for, since they had already experienced Mr. Berlusconi as prime minister in 1994. The experience had not been very pleasant and ended after eight months of bickering and quarrelling between the coalition partners.
Maybe he thought he was only speaking out loud what many were thinking, but with his declaration on the supremacy of the western civilization Silvio Berlusconi has made an embarrassing impact on the diplomatic world. Western and Islamic leaders did not find his words useful in order to create a large coalition against the fundamentalist supporters of terrorism. Under pressure from Arabic diplomats, Mr. Berlusconi was forced to apologize. He did this by claiming that the opposition in Italy had deliberately misinterpreted his words in order to create the diplomatic incident.
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