Court throws out David Mills bribery case, clearing way for Silvio Berlusconi reprieve

February 26, 2010

Richard Owen, Rome

Italy’s top court threw out a case against the British lawyer convicted of taking a bribe from Silvio Berlusconi, a verdict that could kill charges against the Italian Prime Minister in a related case.

The ruling by the nine-man Court of Cassation came after a prosecutor had told judges that the charges against David Mills should be dropped under Italy’s statute of limitations because too much time had elapsed since the alleged bribe was paid. However, the court ordered Mr Mills to pay €250,000 (£220,000) to the Italian state for “damaging” its image.

The prosecution said that the payment of $600,000 (£390,000) dated to 1999, but the defence argued that the transfer of the money — which it described as a “gift” — took place in 2000, when Mr Mills drew on the funds and used them for a mortgage. Charges in bribery cases lapse after ten years. The verdict means that a related corruption case against Mr Berlusconi, which was due to resume tomorrow, will almost certainly be dropped.

Mr Mills, 65, the estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, was found guilty last year of accepting a $600,000 bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false testimony on the Prime Minister’s behalf in corruption trials in the 1990s. He was sentenced to four and a half years in prison but never served any time. Both men deny the charges.

The trial against Mr Berlusconi for giving the bribe was revived after his immunity from prosecution was ruled unconstitutional last October. He faces two cases, one for allegedly bribing Mr Mills and a second for alleged tax fraud involving his Mediaset television company. He is pushing through parliament Bills to restore his immunity and to annul the cases against him.

Mr Mills said: “I am very relieved that this saga has finally now come to an end and happy to be able to get back to a normal life again.”

Opposition politicians voiced outrage at the ruling. “The expiration of the statute of limitations does not erase the crime. This verdict is a moral conviction for the Prime Minister. The corruption happened and in a civilised country the Prime Minister would have stepped down,” said Massimo Donadi, an opposition MP.

The ruling comes as Mr Berlusconi faces regional elections next month which are seen as a test of his popularity and the strength of his governing coalition, which has been mired in corruption scandals.

Mr Mills used to advise Mr Berlusconi on offshore tax havens. Evidence included a 2004 letter from Mr Mills to Bob Drennan, his accountant, in which he admitted that he had received a “gift”. He wrote that he had “turned a few tricky corners, to put it mildly” while giving evidence which had “kept Mr B. out of a great deal of trouble he would have been in had I said all I knew”.

Mr Mills at first confirmed the contents of the “Dear Bob” letter to prosecutors, but later retracted it and claimed the money had come from Diego Attanasio, a Naples shipping magnate and another of his clients.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7041737.ece

Silvio Berlusconi shortlists dental hygienist as political candidate

Showgirl turned dental hygienist Nicole Minetti Photo: REX FEATURES

Silvio Berlusconi has shortlisted his dental hygienist to contest crucial elections next month, despite the furore caused by his attempts to promote showgirls as candidates last year.

By Nick Squires in Rome

19 Feb 2010

The Italian prime minister has spent weeks denying reports that his party would stack its list of candidates with attractive young models or actresses.

But the 73-year-old premier was apparently unable to resist the charms of Nicole Minetti, a showgirl turned dental hygienist who he met when his teeth were being repaired after he was attacked by a man with a history of mental illness in Milan in December.

Despite the furore and the wrath of his wife caused by his attempts last year to promote a string of glamorous women as candidates for the European elections, Miss Minetti is reportedly now on a short list to run as a candidate for Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party in Lombardy, northern Italy.

A former dancer who has appeared on various TV variety shows, she graduated as a dental hygienist last November and within weeks was tending to the prime minister when he was treated in Milan's San Raffaele Hospital for two broken teeth and a smashed nose following the assault on Dec 13.

Hers will not be the only pretty face in the ranks of Mr Berlusconi's party as it seeks to consolidate its hold on power in the elections in 13 of Italy's 20 regions at the end of March.

Graziana Capone, a law graduate and model who has been dubbed "the Angelina Jolie of Puglia," the southern region from which she hails, was recently hired to help mould Mr Berlusconi's image on television, La Repubblica reported. She had also been touted as a possible candidate in the elections.

A smiling Mr Berlusconi was photographed this week as he presented four women who hope to be elected as regional governors, two of whom have cover girl looks: Monica Faenzi and Anna Maria Bernini.

His penchant for favouring brains over beauty earned him exasperated criticism from the main opposition party.

"Berlusconi chooses candidates more for their good looks than for their experience," said Anna Finocchiaro, the Senate leader of the Democratic Party. "He's filled parliament with beautiful girls, albeit competent, but they don't count for anything within the party."

But loyalists within the ranks of his party angrily hit back. Margherita Boniver, an MP, told Corriere della Sera: "I'm astonished. You only have to look at the CVs of our candidates to understand that they are people who are dedicated to politics," said Barbara Saltamartini, an MP who has responsibility for equal opportunities within the PDL, said that Miss Finocchiaro's remarks had shown "that she is an enemy of women".

The glamorous line-up invited comparisons with the row which broke out last year when Mr Berlusconi's party proposed fielding a bevy of actresses, models and reality television starlets as candidates for the European parliament elections in June.

His wife, Veronica Lario, branded the plan "shamelessly tacky" and a week later demanded a divorce after nearly 30 years of marriage.

In the end most of the women were ditched from the line-up and only one, Barbara Matera, 27, a television presenter, actress and former Miss Italy contender, was elected to Brussels.

She revealed that her role model was Mara Carfagna, the former men's magazine model who Mr Berlusconi made his equal opportunities minister when he returned to power in 2008.

Last week Mr Berlusconi caused another furore after joking that while Italy had succeeded in staunching the flow of Albanian illegal immigrants crossing the Adriatic, he would be prepared to make an exception for "beautiful girls".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/7265423/Silvio-Berlusconi-shortlists-dental-hygienist-as-political-candidate.html

Silvio Berlusconi under fire after choosing ex-dancer Nicole Minetti as poll candidate

Richard Owen in Rome

February 19, 2010

A former dancer who has no political experience — apart from helping to fix Silvio Berlusconi’s teeth — has been chosen to represent Italy’s ruling party in next month’s regional elections.

The Prime Minister was criticised last year for picking “showgirls” in the European elections but that has not deterred him from selecting Nicole Minetti, who qualified as an oral hygienist in November, to run for the colours of the People of Liberty (PdL) party in Lombardy.

Ms Minetti met Mr Berlusconi while he was being treated in hospital after a mentally disturbed man hurled a souvenir at him in December, gashing his cheek and lips and damaging his teeth. In her previous career she was a dancer on variety shows includingColorado Café, which was broadcast by one of Mr Berlusconi’s commercial television channels.

The PdL list in Lombardy also features Francesco Magnano, a surveyor employed by Mr Berlusconi, and Giorgio Puricelli, the physiotherapist at AC Milan football club, owned by the Prime Minister.

Mr Berlusconi, 73, whose ratings are falling as his centre-right Government is engulfed in a new wave of bribery and sleaze allegations, denied reports this week that he was planning to field “showgirls” with little or no experience in politics. Some of his chosen candidates in the European and local elections last year were described by Veronica Lario, his wife, as “shameless trash”. She subsequently filed for divorce.

Presenting a “pink list” of women candidates for the positions of president of Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria and Emilia Romagna, Mr Berlusconi insisted that they had been chosen for their ability, adding that men were “inferior to women”.

However, Anna Finocchiaro, leader in the Senate of the opposition Democratic Party, said that the Prime Minister “chooses female candidates more for their beauty than their experience”. Chiara Volpato, the Milan sociologist who drew up a petition last summer urging the wives of world leaders to shun the G8 summit in L’Aquila because of Mr Berlusconi’s “profound sexism”, condemned a remark by Mr Berlusconi this week that he opposed trafficking of illegal immigrants from Albania into Italy — “apart from beautiful girls”.

Yesterday the Prime Minister, who is on trial for alleged tax fraud and bribery, said that no one could be a candidate next month who was “under investigation or on trial” — though this would be decided on a “case-by-case” basis. He said that he would make few election appearances because of the danger of attacks and vowed to issue a decree banning the “barbarous” use of telephone taps in criminal investigations.

Newspapers have published extracts from intercepted telephone calls appearing to suggest that Guido Bertolaso, Mr Berlusconi’s right-hand man as head of the Civil Protection Agency, was offered bribes. They were said to include sexual services by masseuses at a heath spa, paid for by businessmen bidding to win building contracts at the G8 summit sites.

Mr Bertolaso has denied all wrongdoing, saying he received physiotherapy for a bad back and nothing more. Mr Berlusconi yesterday claimed that the G8 corruption investigation, which has led to the arrest of a businessman and three public works officials, was part of a plot to force him out “politically and physically”. He said that he was being lynched and would not step down.

The scandal, however, is denting Mr Berlusconi’s hopes of victory in the regional elections, with polls giving the centre-left the edge in seven of the thirteen regions at stake.

Mr Berlusconi’s personal rating rose from 48 per cent to 56 per cent after the Milan attack but later dropped back and has now fallen to 46 per cent. Judge Tullio Lazzaro, thet head of the national Court of Audits, said in his annual report this week that cases of corruption in Italy had increased by 229 per cent last year, adding that corruption was a “cancer in the Italian body”.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7032832.ece

Il peggio della diretta - Un Franco confronto

di Luigi Galella 17 febbraio 2010

C'è chi pensa che la corruzione in Italia abbia origini antichissime e affondi le sue radici nella decadenza dell'Impero Romano. Senza prenderla così alla lontana, basterebbe ricordare i nostri recenti, sciagurati decenni, e gli ultimissimi giorni, in cui grandi "mariuoli" o piccoli sciacalli tornano alla ribalta. In realtà, non se n'erano mai allontanati. Se ne occupa Lilli Gruber ("Otto e mezzo", La7, lunedì, 20.30), nella ricorrenza dell'esplosione della prima Tangentopoli, diciotto anni fa.

Tre voci, distinte le posizioni: la conduttrice, sempre più garbata ed elegante, perfetta nelle domande, ma cauta nell'affondare la lama; l'ospite fisso, Massimo Franco, notista politico del Corriere della Sera e Piercamillo Davigo, magistrato di Milano, in collegamento, protagonista della stagione di Mani Pulite. Il titolo della puntata è forse una domanda retorica: "Comandano i corrotti?" La cronaca. La Gruber chiede a Davigo: "Che cosa l'ha colpita della recente inchiesta sulla Protezione civile?" Il magistrato risponde che non sa nulla della vicenda, ma che gli indici di percezione della corruzione danno all'Italia un triste primato nel mondo occidentale. La conduttrice cita la frase del premier: "I pubblici ministeri si dovrebbero vergognare", e chiede al magistrato che effetto gli abbia prodotto.

Nessuno, la risposta. "Ne sono abituato". Massimo Franco deve convenire che effettivamente in questo caso "non bisognerebbe prendersela coi magistrati", ma stempera la sofferta ammissione con una domanda capziosa, apparentemente terzista: "Il fatto che dopo Mani Pulite Di Pietro sia entrato in politica ha aggiunto o tolto credibilità alle vostre inchieste?". Ingannevole, la domanda, perché presuppone l'esistenza di quello che nella retorica antigiudiziaria della destra viene definito il "Partito dei giudici", dandolo per scontato, avvalorandolo senza ci-tarlo. Fulminante, la replica di Davigo: "In tutti i paesi del mondo i diritti civili li sospendono ai delinquenti, solo in Italia si pensa di toglierli ai magistrati". L'aplomb di Franco si incrina, lo sguardo resta vitreo a osservare lo schermo.

Ma più avanti, il notista, ripresosi dallo smarrimento, torna all'attacco col suo stile pacato e morbido, quasi curiale, che tuttavia maschera sempre meno la neutralità delle idee: "Ma la supplenza della magistratura è fisiologica o patologica?"

E ancora: "C'è un modo per rompere questo circolo vizioso fra voi e la politica?". Ripetendo la vecchia litania della presunta contrapposizione, vera solo per chi da politico intende continuare a delinquere senza essere disturbato. "Sì", la risposta di Davigo. Secca.

E dire che non gli mancherebbe certo l'eloquio: "Basterebbe smettere di rubare". La chiusa, infine, è memorabile, e va citata per esteso, anche perché strappa un debole, malcelato sorriso perfino al suo refrattario interlocutore: "I diritti di libertà sono stati conferiti per poter parlar male di chi è al potere. Per parlar bene c'erano già i cortigiani".

da "Il Fatto Quotidiano"

Per rivedere la puntata di "Otto e mezzo" con Piercamillo Davigo:

http://www.la7.tv/richplayer/?assetid=50169965

Silvio Berlusconi says immigrants not welcome but 'beautiful girls' can stay

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Photo: EPA

Silvio Berlusconi has said that while illegal immigrants were not welcome in Italy he would make an exception for "beautiful girls".

By Nick Squires in Rome

The Italian prime minister, who is renowned for making jokes of questionable taste, was speaking to journalists after holding talks with the prime minister of Albania, Sali Berisha.

Mr Berlusconi, 73, said an accord between Italy and Albania had successfully clamped down on the trafficking of illegal immigrants across the Adriatic Sea by people smugglers.

He then joked: "I said to Sali – we'd make exceptions for anyone bringing over beautiful girls." Mr Berlusconi, whose wife is divorcing him for his alleged philandering, also joked with female Albanian journalists: "You know I'm single now."

His remarks were criticised by his opponents as boorish and inappropriate. "Berlusconi never tires of this barrack room humour," said Paola Pellegrini, an opposition MP.

"Even in reference to a tragedy such as impoverished people trying to come to our country, the prime minister reiterates his view of women as fresh meat to be consumed. He's an unseemly old man."

The media mogul, who faced a string of sex scandals last year, joked earlier in the week that his plans for Valentine's Day included "using my computer and sending wishes to all my girlfriends".

He has a history of making ribald remarks at international summits and during meetings with heads of state.

In November he told the president of Kazakhstan, who was in Rome for a visit, that a spike in the country's population was due to the virility of its men.

The quip recalled the kind of remarks made by Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional television journalist Borat in the 2006 film Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/7223365/Silvio-Berlusconi-says-Immigrants-not-welcome-but-beautiful-girls-can-stay.html

Berlusconi aide in corruption probe

By Guy Dinmore in Rome

Published: February 10 2010

Guido Bertolaso, right-hand man to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s premier, was told by police on Wednesday that he was under investigation in connection with a probe into suspected corruption.

The inquiry related to building of facilities for last year’s Group of Eight summit, hosted by Italy.

Mr Bertolaso immediately offered his resignation as head of the Civil Protection agency but Mr Berlusconi, with the support of the cabinet, declined it.

Police arrested four people in connection with the investigation, including Angelo Balducci, a senior official in charge of public works. Specialcarabiniere forces were reported to have searched Mr Bertolaso’s home and office. Media reported that more than 20 people were under investigation, including a Rome magistrate.

The Civil Protection agency deals mainly with natural disasters and emergencies but is also deployed to organise major state events, including the logisitics for the G8 heads of state summit last July.

Italian media reported that prosecutors in Florence were investigating suspected corruption in awarding contracts for the building of summit facilities on the island of La Maddalena off Sardinia. Little information was made public at the time for what officials said were reasons of state security

Mr Berlusconi abruptly switched the summit venue from La Maddalena to a police barracks in L’Aquila in April, saying he wanted to draw attention to the central city’s plight after an earthquake that month. However, commentators also suggested that the venue was moved because La Maddalena was not ready. Most facilities, built on the site of a former naval base, are still unfinished after an expenditure of €327m, according to media reports.

Mr Bertolaso, one of Mr Berlusconi’s most trusted and capable aides, is the public face of the government in times of crisis, well known for his organisation of the rescue and rebuilding operation in L’Aquila and for tackling the Naples rubbish crisis in early 2008 that played an important part in Mr Berlusconi’s election victory that spring.

Mr Berlusconi spoke last month of giving Mr Bertolaso the rank of minister, voicing support for his aide just days after he had caused a diplomatic incident by makingscathing criticism of the US-led relief effort in Haiti.

The government has tabled legislation that would give greater resources to the Civil Protection agency and change its status. Critics said the reorganisation would provide less transparency in issuing contracts. The centre-left opposition on Wednesday called for the legislation to be put on hold because of the corruption investigation.

Mr Bertolaso, 59, said he would give his full co-operation to the investigation and make available all documents in his possession.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e38f9da8-164a-11df-8d0f-00144feab49a.html

The secret of Silvio Berlusconi's popularity

Richard Owen in Rome February 11, 2010 From Times Online

Outside Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is often seen as a gaffe-prone buffoon engulfed by sex scandals, who is using — or abusing — his power to change the law to avoid being put on trial for corruption. A leader who, many argue, is undermining the judiciary and endangering democracy in his attempt to avoid appearing in court.

Inside his home nation though, the Italian Prime Minister remains a popular conservative leader who has so far overcome all the scandals over escorts and tax fraud allegations and is likely to survive — if not triumph — at regional elections to be held next month.

At rallies this week Mr Berlusconi’s usual ebullience was restored. He showed no sign on his face of the injuries caused by an assailant who threw a souvenir of Milan cathedral at him in December. He dismissed speculation about the carve up of his business empire as the result of his impending divorce, saying that he had "nothing to repent" in his relations with women ("I have always acted with a sense of responsibility and respect," he said) and joked that he would be sending Valentines Day messages "to all my girlfriends".

So what explains the endurance of the Berlusconi phenomenon? In part the answer lies in his control of the media. Eighty per cent of Italians get their information only from television, according to official figures. Mr Berlusconi not only owns the three main commercial television channels but as Prime Minister also exercises sway over RAI, the public broadcaster, which tends to be deferential towards him and downplay negative news about his actions.

Then there is the lack of an alternative: the Centre Left has been weak and divided since its defeat at the hands of the Centre Right a year and half ago and the departure from the political scene of Romano Prodi, the only man to have beaten Mr Berlusconi at the polls (in 1996, and again in 2006). Gianfranco Fini, co-leader of the ruling People of Liberty party and Speaker of the Lower House, is on frosty terms with Mr Berlusconi, but has yet to challenge him openly.

But the key to Mr Berlusconi's survival is his knack of being in tune with the popular mood. For all his wealth and power, he manages to convey an image of himself as an "ordinary guy", a self-made man who loves football and the company of beautiful women, and who gets away with breaking the rules in a country where out-foxing the state bureaucracy is a national sport.

He is also a consummate politican and communicator who turns setbacks to his advantage — portraying the Milan attack, for example, as the result of a "hate campaign" against him by the press and magistrates and turning it into a quasi-religious event by showing his bloodied face to the crowd and then forgiving his assailant.

The idea that the press and the judiciary are merely doing their job by trying to bring him to account is countered by the portrayal of Mr Berlusconi by his supporters as a victim under constant persecution. His use of escorts and parties involving scantily dressed showgirls from his television empire has engendered growing protests by feminists, as has his habit of offering political posts to attractive women with a showbusiness background.

But many Italians — and not only men — regard his divorce and sex scandals as "a private matter", saying they judge him by his political outlook, based on individual freedom and visceral anti-communism. As for corruption, well, Italy has a long history of shady politicians, and the system survives thanks to family ties and the black economy.

There are however clouds on the horizon: last year Italy suffered a 5 per cent drop in GDP, unemployment among young people is high, and today the Bank of Italy said that average family incomes had dropped by 4 per cent in two years. Mr Berlusconi has vowed to cut taxes, but has also admitted that there is no chance of doing so in the immediate future.

Caught off guard without his perma-tan make-up Mr Berlusconi, who will be 74 in September, sometimes appears tired (he suffers from chronic neck pain). His hopes of becoming head of state have been dashed by the scandals, and a poll this week in Corriere della Sera showed his approval rating had fallen back to 48 per cent after jumping to 56 per cent in a wave of sympathy after the Milan attack.

His attempts to push through new laws to restore his immunity from prosecution and annul the two revived corruption trials against him are running into opposition not only from the judiciary but also from President Napolitano. Mafia supergrasses continue to claim in court that Mr Berlusconi got his start in both business and politics thanks to Cosa Nostra backing — a charge he denies.

In a further blow Guido Bertolaso, one of Mr Berlusconi's most valued right-hand men as head of the Civil Protection agency, was this week placed under investigation over suspected corruption involving prostitution and kickbacks related to the building of facilities at La Maddalena in Sardinia at a cost of €327 million (£287 million) for last year’s G8 summit, which in the end Mr Berlusconi switched to L'Aquila.

Above all, the crunch will come in two weeks' time when the Supreme Court is due to decide whether to uphold the conviction last year of David Mills, Mr Berlusconi's former British tax lawyer and estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, for taking a $600,000 bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in the 1990s.

Mr Berlusconi is himself on trial for allegedly giving the bribe, and has said that he will make a rare appearance in court at a hearing in Milan two days after the Supreme Court verdict. If Mr Mills's conviction is upheld as definitive, Mr Berlusconi will need all his showman's skill to persuade Italians yet again that he is — as he repeatedly claims — the victim of unjust persecution by a politically biased judiciary.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/world_agenda/article7023283.ece

Berlusconi ally Guido Bertolaso accused of swapping contracts for sex

From The Times February 13, 2010

Richard Owen in Rome

Another sex scandal has hit the Government of Silvio Berlusconi, with accusations that one of the Prime Minister’s right-hand men was offered “megagalactic” sex parties in return for illegally awarding public contracts.

Guido Bertolaso, 59, the head of the Civil Protection Agency, who became a national hero for overseeing the rescue efforts after the earthquake in Abruzzo last year, offered to resign twice this week after prosecutors said that he was under investigation over alleged sex parties and bribes for public contracts.

The claims relate to the construction of a €327 million (£285 million) complex at the former US naval base of La Maddalena in Sardinia, which was meant to host the G8 summit. Mr Berlusconi moved the summit to L’Aquila, the main city in Abruzzo, as a gesture to the earthquake victims, although critics said that it was because the Sardinia site was not ready.

Mr Bertolaso, who is married with two children, denied any involvement in sex scandals or corruption and called the “terrible and defamatory” accusations against him “a big misunderstanding”.

He admitted visiting the Salaria Sport Village at Settebagni, but said that he had gone there only for physiotherapy. He said that he had never betrayed the Italian people and had not been responsible for awarding the G8 site contracts.

Police arrested Angelo Balducci, 62, the head of the state public works office, two other public works officials and Diego Anemone, 39, a Rome construction businessman, this week. Mr Anemone and Mr Balducci’s son Filippo founded the spa, which Mr Bertolaso went to and at which he “on numerous occasions made use of sexual services” provided by masseuses, according to magistrates.

Mr Berlusconi — thought to regard Mr Bertolaso as a potential successor — said that slandering people who worked for the good of Italy had become a national sport, and “small irregularities” by those who worked for the public good should be overlooked.

According to telephone calls intercepted during the inquiry and published in the Italian media, in September 2008 the health centre manager told Mr Anemone he was organising a “megagalactic” private party for Mr Bertolaso. Two months later Mr Bertolaso called the manager and asked if “Francesca, the usual girl” was available, adding: “I would love to have a good going-over (ripassata)”.

Massimo Cialente, the Mayor of L’Aquila, said he was disgusted that businessmen allegedly involved in the G8 scandal had been overheard in the telephone taps discussing the profits to be made from earthquake reconstruction in Abruzzo.

Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family, said it was deplorable that political correctness was creeping into Italy. It said that even rich and powerful men were fragile and needed sexual comfort.

Mr Berlusconi, who faces regional elections next month, is popular despite sex scandals and revived corruption charges.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7025719.ece

Un grupo de 'basiyís' intenta asaltar la embajada de Italia en Teherán

Los manifestantes también protestan frente a la legación de Francia.- Acusan a estos países de interferir en los asuntos internos

EL PAÍS - Madrid - 09/02/2010

Un grupo de unos 100 estudiantes basiyís ha protestado hoy frente a las embajadas de Francia e Italia en el centro de Teherán, por la interferencia de ambos países en asuntos internos, informa la agencia semioficial Fars. Sin embargo, desde Roma, el ministro de Exteriores italiano, Franco Frattini, ha ido más allá y ha denunciado que los milicianos han intentado asaltar la sede diplomática de su país.

Durante una comparecencia en el senado en Roma, Frattini ha explicado que los manifestantes, que iban "vestidos de civil", como es habitual entre losbasiyís, gritaron proclamas como "Muerte a Italia, muerte a Berlusconi" y que cuando trataron de asaltar la embajada, la policía iraní logró evitarlo,informan medios italianos . Frattini ha dicho que también se han registrado manifestaciones en otras legaciones diplomáticas, que no especificó.

Fuentes diplomáticas europeas han informado de que los manifestantes se dirigían también hacia las legaciones de Alemania y Holanda, lo que provocó el despliegue de efectivos policiales. Sin embargo, los basiyís se han disuelto antes de llegar a estas sedes.

Las embajadas de Francia e Italia están ubicadas en dos edificios contiguos de la calle Neauphle-le-Château, en el centro de la capital iraní. Como todas las representaciones extranjeras cuentan con la protección de agentes de la policía diplomática. Además, unos bloques de hormigón impiden el aparcamiento en la acera colindante.

Según la agencia Fars, los manifestantes eran estudiantes de la Universidad de Teherán que han coreado eslóganes como "muerte a EEUU", "muerte a Reino Unido" y "muerte a los monafegh", un término que literalmente significa hipócritas, pero que tiene graves connotaciones en la República Islámica, ya que es como se conoce a los disidentes del grupo Muyahidin Jalq, pero desde el pasado verano se está utilizando para quienes contestan la releección de Mahmud Ahmadineyad, con el fin de descalificarlos. Como es habitual en este tipo de actos, los participantes portaban imágenes del ayatolá Jomeini y banderas de la República Islámica.

Esta protesta se produce en víspera de sendas manifestaciones convocadas para este jueves, cuando Irán celebra el 31 aniversario de la Revolución Islámica. El país se ha visto sacudido por numerosas protestas desde el pasado junio, cuando en unas elecciones calificadas de fraudulentas por la oposición, fue reelegido el presidente Ahmadineyad. La represión que ha ejercido el régimen contra la oposición ha desembocado en cientos de detenciones de políticos, estudiantes y periodistas, despertando la condena de la comunidad internacional.

Asimismo, Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea están apurando la aplicación de nuevas sanciones económicas contra la República Islámica por sus intenciones de enriquecer uranio al 20% en su territorio, echando por tierra un posible acuerdo en materia nuclear.

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"Fuera Roma", primer socio comercial de Teherán

El ministro de Exteriores iraní ha convocado al embajador italiano en Teherán, Alberto Bradanini, para transmitirle su protesta formal contra las palabras pronunciadas por Silvio Berlusconi en la Knesset durante su reciente visita a Israel, informa la agencia Ansa. Según ha afirmado en el Senado el ministro de Exteriores italiano, Franco Frattini, Roma dio instrucciones a su embajador para que no asista el jueves a la celebración oficial del aniversario de la revolución islámica de Jomeini.

Frattini ha anunciado que otras cancillerías europeas como Londres y Bonn estudian ausentarse también de los fastos para enviar una suerte de observador diplomático.

La tensión entre Italia e Irán ha subido muchos grados tras la polémica y reciente visita de Berlusconi a Israel. Teherán afirmó el domingo a través de la televisión oficial que Italia está "al servicio de los señores israelíes" después de que el primer ministro italiano definiera ante Benjamin Netanyahu el ataque israelí a Gaza como un "acto justo" de represalia (para equiparar ese mismo día en Belén ante Mahmud Abbas a las víctimas del Holocausto con las de la franja).

Berlusconi afirmó además en la Knesset que algunos dirigentes actuales, en referencia a Mahmud Ahmadinejad, "recuerdan a personajes infames del pasado" (en evidente alusión a Adolf Hitler). Pero Teherán está sobre todo molesta porque Berlusconi afirmó que el deber de Italia es "sostener y ayudar a la oposición" en la República Islámica, y quizá porque, durante su viaje, Israel pidió a Berlusconi que reduzca sus relaciones comerciales con Irán.

Pese a la retórica desplegada en Jerusalén, Italia sigue siendo el primer socio comercial del régimen islamista. Tras rebasar a Alemania en 2006, el volumen total de negocio bilateral superó en 2007 los 6.000 millones de euros. Y en los primeros seis meses de 2009, Roma mantuvo el liderazgo al exportar bienes y servicios por 894 millones (datos del Istat).

En este momento, un millar de empresas italianas comercian con Irán, comandadas por gigantes energéticos, de la automoción y la siderurgia como Eni, Fiat-Ansaldo, Technimont o Danielli-Duferco. La crema del capital italiano, de Mediobanca a Telecom, Capitalia, Montedison o Falck, sigue presente en el país. Todo ello ha llevado al diario israelí Debka File (cercano a círculos del Mossad) a afirmar: "El comercio entre Italia e Irán prospera, y sostiene el programa nuclear de Teherán".

MIGUEL MORA | Roma

Suit ability: Tailoring your language

By Vanessa Friedman

Published: February 4 2010

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s recent trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority proved an effective argument for Italy’s tailoring expertise, if not its diplomatic know-how.

Indeed, the photo of Mr Berlusconi standing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was a case study in the tactical benefits bestowed by a well-cut suit: two buttons instead of three, with the related longer lapels, creates an optical illusion of stature, as do the clearly demarcated trouser creases; by contrast, Mr Abbas appears less in control of his own garments and more, well, boxed in.

(Admittedly, this could be purposeful, suggesting that Mr Abbas has more pressing things to think about than ironing his trousers, and is physically restricted, much as his people – though as a sartorial message, that seems overly convoluted. On the other hand, it’s fun to think about.)

In any case, Mr Berlusconi didn’t stop representing his country at the suit, but also modelled the Italian executive knot as favoured by Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli, a deft display of nationalism as well as a good way to keep one’s tie straight. The net effect is to convey a sense of patriotic purpose – Italy is at your side! – even if it was not quite as subtle as the mirroring that occurred during Mr Berlusconi’s speech in the Knesset, when his dark blue tie and blue/white shirt neatly referenced the blue and white Israeli flag placed behind him.

And if Mr Berlusconi did put his foot in his mouth when he compared the difficulties of the Palestinians in Gaza to the difficulties of Holocaust victims, at least it was covered in a well-polished black leather lace-up.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/ec913a2e-11bd-11df-9d45-00144feab49a.html

Berlusconi in hot water over Gaza ‘suffering’

By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem

Published: February 4 2010

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, courted fresh controversy on Wednesday by comparing the plight of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to the suffering of victims of the Holocaust.

After an official visit to Israel, Mr Berlusconi said in the Palestinian city of Bethlehem that, “just as it is right to cry for the victims of the Shoah [the Holocaust], it is right to show pain for what happened in Gaza”.

The remark, which appeared to link Israel’s war against the Hamas-controlled territory last year with the murder of millions of Jews in Nazi concentration camps, will be seen as offensive by many in Israel, even if no provocation was intended.

Mr Berlusconi is regarded as a staunch ally of the Jewish state. He has repeatedly spoken out against the dangers of Holocaust denial, and publicly defended Israel’s actions in Gaza as “justified”.

The Italian leader has also called for Israel to be admitted to the European Union, hailing the country on Wednesday as “not only the biggest example of democracy and liberty in the Middle East, but the only example”.

A spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, declined to comment on Mr Berlusconi’s remarks in Bethlehem. Mr Netanyahu told the Italian leader this week: “I don’t think there’s a better friend [of Israel] in the international community.”

It is not the first time that Mr Berlusconi has raised eyebrows with remarks about the Holocaust. In the European parliament in 2003 the prime minister told a German deputy he would be “perfect” for the role of a concentration camp guard – a remark he later said was intended to be ironic.

Mr Berlusconi has also faced criticism for insensitive remarks about the skin colour of Barack Obama, US president, and the victims of an Italian earthquake.

His comments about the Gaza war come at a particularly sensitive time. Israel is engaged in a diplomatic and legal effort to counter a United Nations report that accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during last year’s conflict in Gaza.

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, is due to tell the general assembly on Friday whether the parties have complied with the report’s recommendations, notably the establishment of an independent investigation into the allegations. Israel rejects the report and has until now refused to allow an independent probe into the war.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/69e9ea10-1110-11df-a6d6-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

Berlusconi sulla stampa israeliana: non piace l'acccostamento Gaza-Shoah

Peres e Berlusconi (AP)

YEDIOT AHRONOT: «HA FATTO UNO SHOW AL PRANZO DI GALA DA PERES»

Haaretz evita di commentare, Maariv ironizza sul comportamento bizzarro di «Silvio-Cesare»

TEL AVIV - Berlusconi sulla stampa israeliana il giorno dopo il suo discorso alla Knesset (Parlamento) e la sua visita in Cisgiordania dal presidente dell'Autorità nazionale palestinese, Abu Mazen.Haaretz online ha dato più spazio al discorso pronunciato a Gerusalemme, evidenziando l'espressione «fratelli maggiori» utilizzata per descrivere il rapporto fra israeliani e italiani e il passaggio in cui il premier italiano si è riferito all'operazione Piombo Fuso dello scorso anno a Gaza come a una «giusta» reazione contro i lanci di razzi di Hamas. Nello stesso articolo la testata parla anche della visita a Betlemme e del «dolore per le vittime di Gaza» espresso da Berlusconi così come per le vittime dell'Olocausto, frasi che Haaretz evita di commentare.

CRITICHE - Maariv invece non ha apprezzato l'accostamento Olocausto-Gaza e ironizza su «Silvio-Cesare» per il suo «comportamento bizzarro», lamentando come improprio il fatto che «appena giunto nei territori abbia paragonato Gaza alla Shoah». Yediot Ahronot dà spazio a quello che chiama il «Berlusconi show», con ampio risalto a un articolo di colore sul pranzo di gala nella residenza del presidente Shimon Peres allietato da aneddoti e «imitazioni» del presidente del Consiglio, oltre che dall'annuncio del regalo di un suo Cd di canzoni. Il Jerusalem Post ha invece preferito titolare sugli aspetti politici della visita e in particolare sull'apprezzamento rivolto dal primo ministro Benyamin Netanyahu a Berlusconi, salutato come «un leader coraggioso che è sempre dalla parte d'Israele».

FINANCIAL TIMES - Un giornale non israeliano come il Financial Times, parlando della visita di Berlusconi in Israele, dice che il primo ministro italiano è «nei guai» («hot water») per le sue dichiarazioni in cui accosta le vittime di Gaza a quelle della Shoah. Il quotidiano finanziario dice che il premier israeliano Netanyahu non ha commentato la frase di Berlusconi.

Redazione online

http://www.corriere.it/esteri/10_febbraio_04/stampa-israele-berlusconi_a9431530-118b-11df-806e-00144f02aabe.shtml