It has been one year since Silvio Berlusconi Government took power in Italy. Since major parties of his government are mostly new to power, Mr. Berlusconi spent a lot of time on the selection of his foreign minister before choosing Renato Ruggiero, former WTO director-general. However, Ruggiero quit his job last January after only six months in office because of differences in views on Europe policy. Since it is not easy for Silvio Berlusconi to find the right replacement, he kept the post himself.
At the one-year anniversary of his government, the prime minister told reporters confidently that he felt duty-bound to shoulder all the responsibility. The following are his reasons: Italy is the fifth economic power in the world, ranks third in UN peace-keeping operations, contributes the third biggest portion of EU funding, and pays the sixth largest membership dues to the UN. Based on this, Italy should play a bigger role in the international community. Hence, the characteristics of Silvio Berlusconi’s diplomacy is to let the voice of Italy be heard as well as let the contribution of Italy be seen.
Right after it took office, the government was busy with a series of international activities, including hosting Genoa G-8 Summit, participating actively in the US-led anti-terrorism war after the Sept.11 attacks, playing a positive role in promoting the integration of Europe as well as regional cooperation in the Mediterranean. Mr. Berlusconi seems enjoy his work very much both as prime minister and foreign minister, though he has had such a tight schedule. On the whole, his diplomacy has proved to be rather successful.
Firstly, he did a lot of work to facilitate NATO and Russia to sign a new accord. He invited the heads of NATO and Russia to hold a formal signing ceremony in Rome on May 28, which, he saw as the biggest diplomatic achievement of not only himself but also the Italian government this year. At the beginning of April, Silvio Berlusconi visited Russia at the invitation of Russian President Vladamir Putin to establish close personal relations.
Secondly, Mr. Berlusconi advocates keenly the “Mitchell Plan” for achieving Middle East peace. As for Middle East conflict, Italy has always adhered to a fair peace policy, which aims to guarantee both Israel a peaceful living environment and the Palestinians the right to be an independent country. He visited Mideast countries one after another. Recently he declared that Italy would very much like to be the host of a Mideast Peace Conference. Under his initiative, the EU Summit in March passed the so-called “Mitchell Plan” with total value of 6.5 billion euros, which can start immediately once Mideast states achieve a ceasefire.
Thirdly, Mr. Berlusconi participates actively in the US-led war against terrorism. Italy sent warships, fighter jets as well as troops to join the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan. Besides, Italy played a unique role in arranging for the ex-king of Afghanistan to return home. Moreover, Italy provided some US$40 million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.
Fourthly, Mr. Berlusconi combines diplomacy closely with economic development. As a former entrepreneur, he always puts efficiency and results in the first place. Therefore, he emphasized many times that reforms must be undertaken in the Italian Foreign Ministry with the focus on efficiently integrating diplomacy with economy and trade.
Of course, in the past year some unharmonious voices have appeared in the making of Italian foreign policy, but Mr. Berlusconi has always prevailed.
(人民日报[People’s Daily], translated by Zheng Guihong for china.org.cn, June 7, 2002)
