Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made an ominous threat to the Italian press of “direct and tough” reprisals after unflattering reports of a number of diplomatic gaffes he committed at the round of summits in Britain, France and Germany.
Berlusconi berated journalists for their coverage after he skipped an official NATO meeting and kept German Chancellor Angela Merkel waiting at the end of a red carpet while he finished a conversation on his mobile phone.
Last week, Italian and foreign newspapers had a field day when the eccentric billionaire appeared to irritate Queen Elizabeth II by shouting out to US President Barack Obama during a photo call — though Buckingham Palace later denied any ill feeling.
It is the first time Berlusconi, who controls most of Italy’s television networks, has made such intimidating noises about the press. The professional body representing Italian journalists said his comments were of “unprecedented gravity.”
Berlusconi’s remarks come amid mounting concern among opposition politicians over his apparent impatience with democratic constraints. Already this year he has clashed with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano over an attempt to override the judiciary and with the speaker of the chamber of deputies — his ally, Gianfranco Fini — over his government’s use of decrees to sidestep parliamentary debate.
FAUX PAS
Speaking to reporters in Prague late on Saturday, Berlusconi said the Italian press had “no other aim than that of saying the prime minister has committed faux pas or gaffes.”
In fact, he said: “I am here to represent Italy precisely because there is no one else [to do so], and out of a sense of responsibility.”
After accusing journalists of “defaming me and misinforming readers,” he said: “I don’t want to go as far as to talk about direct and tough actions in respect of certain newspapers and press personalities. But, frankly, I’m tempted.”
Asked to explain what he meant, he appeared to suggest a government-inspired boycott.
“If I say ‘don’t watch a TV channel’ or something, do you think that no one in Italy would follow me?” he said.
There are bound to be fears that he was hinting at using his considerable political and financial power to pressure editors.
Journalists said the media tycoon-turned-conservative politician left Strasbourg after Saturday’s NATO summit in a foul humor brought on by controversy over his behavior.
When he arrived for the second day of talks, he was seen to be deep in conversation on his phone and, instead of walking up the red carpet to meet the German chancellor, carried on talking.
Visibly perplexed, Merkel eventually gave up on her Italian counterpart and led the other dignitaries on to a footbridge over the Rhine for a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Berlusconi stayed on the German side of the river, missing a group photograph and a minute’s silence to honor NATO soldiers killed in action.
According to an Italian official, he was trying to convince Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to drop his opposition to the appointment of the military alliance’s new secretary-general. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was later confirmed in the post despite Turkey’s objections, which sprang from his handling of the crisis over the publication in a Danish newspaper of cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed.
STARVE THE PRESS
Even before Saturday’s incident, Berlusconi was threatening to take action against the media. Furious about jibes at his behavior with the Queen — La Stampa said he had an “unrivaled ability to make a fool of himself” — he threatened on Friday to starve the press of news.
“I am working for Italy while you work against it,” he told journalists. “I will no longer give news conferences.”
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
CARGO PLANE VECTOR: Officials said they believe that attacks involving incendiary devices on planes was the work of Russia’s military intelligence agency the GRU Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind a plot to put incendiary devices in packages on cargo planes headed to North America, including one that caught fire at a courier hub in Germany and another that ignited in a warehouse in England. Poland last month said that it had arrested four people suspected to be linked to a foreign intelligence operation that carried out sabotage and was searching for two others. Lithuania’s prosecutor general Nida Grunskiene on Tuesday said that there were an unspecified number of people detained in several countries, offering no elaboration. The events come as Western officials say
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters
RSS