Libya chaos threatens Berlusconi-Gaddafi chumminess (News Feature)

By Peter Mayer Feb 23, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Rome - Silvio Berlusconi has sought to strengthen Italy's ties with nearby Libya by cultivating a close personal friendship with Moamer Gaddafi. But the Italian premier's strategy could yet backfire in the wake of the popular uprising in the North African country.

Berlusconi this week followed other European leaders in condemning the brutal repression of anti-government protesters by Libyan

security forces.

However, the statement issued by the Italian premier's office followed earlier remarks - much criticised by Italy's centre-left opposition - in which Berlusconi suggested it would be inopportune to 'disturb' Gaddafi during such difficult times.

Berlusconi's awkwardness in reacting to the Libyan crisis comes just five months after he hosted Gaddafi in Rome amid much pomp, ceremony, and controversy.

In what was their 11th meeting in two years, Gaddafi, long-shunned by the West for his alleged support of terrorism, was treated by the Italian premier to a spectacular equestrian show that celebrated the second anniversary of a friendship treaty between their countries.

During his sojourn, Gaddafi also put his customary flamboyance on display by meeting dozens of young, attractive Italian women who were hired by a hostess-booking company to hear him speak on the Koran. He subsequently expressed hope that Islam would become the main religion of Europe.

Appalled, critics, including women's rights groups and Catholic politicians, slammed Berlusconi for allowing Gaddafi to put on such a 'spectacle'.

But the Italian premier dismissed the criticism, pointing to what he said was the 'substance' of his conservative government's pursuit of good relations with Libya.

Since Berlusconi's election victory in 2008, Italy has re-asserted its position as Libya's main trading partner. The oil-rich North African nation, for its part, has continued to purchase stakes in Italian companies.

The state-controlled Libyan Investment Authority is a major shareholder in Italy's largest banking group, Unicredit, while other investments span the Italian telecommunications, textile, building and automobile sectors. There is even a Libyan stake in the country's most popular football club, Juventus.

Italy imports about 25 per cent of its oil and 33 per cent of its natural gas from Libya, where Italian state-controlled energy giant Eni has a strong presence.

But at the heart of the Rome-Tripoli friendship pact is what some critics say amounts to a gigantic bribe that allows Berlusconi's government to fulfill an election promise to combat illegal immigration.

The agreement committed Italy to pay Libya some 5 billion dollars, ostensibly as compensation for transgressions committed during three decades of Italian colonial rule.

In exchange, Gaddafi pledged to accept the immediate deportation to Libya of would-be immigrants intercepted in international waters.

The Catholic Church and rights groups have slammed the so-called 'push-back' provision, saying it violates the rights of asylum-seekers, since deportations are made without determining whether or not people are eligible for refugee status.

But Italian officials have claimed the agreement has been a success, with the number of immigrant arrivals since 2009 - when the treaty was enacted - down to several hundred compared to the thousands of previous years.

But as Gaddafi faces the most serious challenge to his decades- long rule, it remains to be seen if Libya will continue to honour the pact with Italy.

Signals coming from Libya's neighbour Tunisia will hardly encourage officials in Rome.

The toppling last month of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali triggered an influx of thousands of Tunisians to Italy, many of whom have landed on the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa.

The Italian government has sought help from other European Union states to deal with the emergency, but officials such as Interior Minister Roberto Maroni have warned the situation could get much worse given the extent of the uprisings sweeping North Africa.

Maroni compared the disturbances, which have also included the forced resignation of Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak. to the 'Fall of the Berlin Wall.'

The end of Communist rule in Eastern Europe brought with it a wave of democracy. If something similar were to happen in North Africa, Berlusconi may find it more difficult to find acquiescent leaders with whom to strike deals.

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