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The re-election of Silvio Berlusconi restores a good friend of America and a good friend of Israel to power in Italy. With Sarkozy in France and Merkel in Germany, Berlusconi brings Italy into the circle of European countries – the important countries of Old Europe – governed by people with a serious appreciation for America, small-d democrats, freedom and straight talk.
And Israel.
The re-election of Silvio Berlusconi restores a good friend of America and a good friend of Israel to power in Italy. With Sarkozy in France and Merkel in Germany, Berlusconi brings Italy into the circle of European countries – the important countries of Old Europe – governed by people with a serious appreciation for America, small-d democrats, freedom and straight talk.
And Israel.
The Associated Press reports that Berlusconi announced his first foreign trip as Prime Minister would be to Israel, to mark the Jewish State’s 60th anniversary. He called it a show of support for “the only real democracy in the Middle East.” We were surprised, frankly, at how emotional we were to hear the leader of an important European country tell a simple truth about the State of Israel – indicative, perhaps, of how accustomed we have become to hearing Israel vilified in Western Europe. We even imagine he will visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem; something President Bush’s “handlers” have hinted will be too controversial.
From the U.S. point of view, the election of Berlusconi ensures that American concerns about the future of Iraq – and Iran – will be heard. Berlusconi has said he will not reverse the Italian decision to remove its troops from Iraq, although they are still training Iraqi soldiers (and Italian troops serve in Afghanistan). He will surely not agree with the U.S. on all things, but it is hard to imagine Italy not doing its best to ensure that our government and the Iraqi government have support in Europe. And Berlusconi is not one to minimize the destructive potential of Iran.
His domestic plate will be full when he takes office. Trash in Naples, a slow economy, tax evasion, streamlining government and electoral reform will have to be his priorities – because that is what the Italian people expect. In these, we wish him well.
But even as he turns his attention first to domestic politics, we are vastly reassured and happy to have a straight thinker and straight talker back in office in Rome.
For some time there was a tendency in Europe to think of the problems of Islamic radicalism, Saudi and Iranian support for terrorist organizations, al Qaeda, the future of Iraq and the future of Muslim small-d democratic thinking, as issues that came with President Bush and would (happily for them) disappear with President Bush. In France and Germany – and now in Italy as well – voters have elected leadership that understands that those problems confront all of the Western world, and millions of allies in the Muslim world who may not have a voice but who wish anyhow for freedom and liberty. The enemies of the United States are their enemies; the allies of the United States are their allies. The big war will be won or lost together.
America’s current president, and our next president, should be reassured by the new constellation of leadership in Europe.