Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ROME1125
2005-04-01 17:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Rome
Cable title:  

ITALY: CENTER-LEFT'S PRODI NOT PREDICTING 2006

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C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001125 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1-HUMAN
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON IT EUN MEPP ITALIAN POLITICS ITALY NATIONAL ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: ITALY: CENTER-LEFT'S PRODI NOT PREDICTING 2006
VICTORY, BUT WOULD "COORDINATE CLOSELY" WITH EU IF ELECTED

REF: A. ROME 1058

B. MILAN 135

C. FLORENCE 62

D. FLORENCE 15 (NOTAL)

Classified By: THE AMBASSADOR, REASON 1.4(D).

-------
SUMMARY
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L ROME 001125

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 25X1-HUMAN
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON IT EUN MEPP ITALIAN POLITICS ITALY NATIONAL ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: ITALY: CENTER-LEFT'S PRODI NOT PREDICTING 2006
VICTORY, BUT WOULD "COORDINATE CLOSELY" WITH EU IF ELECTED

REF: A. ROME 1058

B. MILAN 135

C. FLORENCE 62

D. FLORENCE 15 (NOTAL)

Classified By: THE AMBASSADOR, REASON 1.4(D).

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------

1. (C) At a farewell dinner hosted by the Ambassador,
center-left leader Romano Prodi predicted his coalition would
take at least three additional regions in April 3-4 regional
voting. He surprised the Ambassador by not predicting his
own victory in next year's national balloting. Despite
efforts to pin him down on differences between Prodi and
Berlusconi governments' foreign policies, Prodi remained
vague -- but conceded that if elected, he would coordinate
Italian policies more closely within the European Union,
including policies vis-a-vis the United States. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Expected center-left standard bearer in 2006
national elections, and former European Commission President
(1999-2004),Romano Prodi joined the Ambassador at a farewell
dinner at Villa Taverna on March 31. Prodi was accompanied
by his political adviser, Dr. Riccardo Franco Levi. DCM and
PolMinCouns accompanied the Ambassador. Throughout the
evening, Prodi was relaxed and cordial. He was notably more
animated when discussing the European Union than in
discussing Italian policy.

--------------
REGIONAL ELECTIONS
--------------

3. (C) Of the fourteen Italian regions voting April 3-4,
Prodi predicted the center-left would hold the six regions it
already controls (Emilia Romagna, Tuscany, Marche, Umbria,
Campania and Basilicata). He acknowledged the center-right
would keep Lombardy and Veneto. He was optimistic that the
center-left would take the "three smaller regions" of
Liguria, Calabria, and Abruzzo, and characterized Lazio,
Piedmont, and Puglia as being "too close to call." (Comment:
Consulate Naples suggests that current information more
realistically puts Calabria in the too-close-to-call
category, and Puglia as likely to remain with the
center-right. End Comment.)



4. (C) Asked by the Ambassador about the significance of
the regional vote, Prodi said Lazio (Rome's region) is
symbolically important. The fact that Berlusconi has joined
campaigning in Lazio (Ref A) is not surprising, Prodi said.
He will also campaign in the region.

--------------
NATIONAL ELECTIONS
--------------

5. (C) Prodi surprised the Ambassador by not predicting
that his coalition would win 2006 national balloting. It is
too early to forecast the outcome, Prodi, the presumed
standard bearer, said; the elections are still a year away.
It is true that many voters are disillusioned with PM
Berlusconi, he continued, but "that does not mean they will
trust me more."

--------------
FOREIGN POLICY -- BERLUSCONI VS. PRODI
--------------

6. (C) The Ambassador probed repeatedly for specifics on
how a Prodi-led government's foreign policy would differ from
that of the Berlusconi government. Prodi danced around the
issue, repeatedly changing the subject. "I was opposed to
the Iraq war," he said directly. "That has not changed."
However, there are many issues on which it is vital that the
United States and Europe work together, he added. He
referred to the "many issues" on which the U.S. and Europe
worked successfully during his EC Presidency, mentioning
Galileo and steel as examples. Pressed again, Prodi finally
conceded that an Italy led by his coalition would coordinate
its policies more closely with the EU, including its policies
toward the United States.


7. (C) PolMinCouns noted that Berlusconi has made Italy's
dealings with the Palestinians and Israel more even-handed;
this, we believe, has increased Italy's effectiveness in the
MEPP. Would Prodi change this approach? No, Prodi
responded, but he would like to see the EU and the Quartet
"more active" in the MEPP. (COMMENT: So would the current
government.) Pressed for what that might mean in practice,
he changed the subject.

--------------


EUROPEAN UNION
--------------

8. (C) Throughout the conversation, the former EC President
was more animated in his discussion of the European Union
than of Italy.

-- He stressed the importance of EU enlargement. His
presidency set the goal of enlargement by ten members and
stuck to it; that was strategically important.

-- He personally believed it was a mistake to delay
Croatia's candidacy because of its non-cooperation with The
Hague. There would always be reasons to delay, but
enlargement is a strategic objective.

-- It is unfortunate, but unavoidable, that the press for
Turkey's candidacy comes at the same time as ratification of
the new European Union constitution. It will certainly
increase votes against the constitution in France.

-- If French voters reject the constitution, "there is no
Plan B." The Union will continue with current procedures.
It would not be the first great crisis the EU has faced,
Prodi said, but French rejection would be a serious setback.

-- We do not know where China will be in 15 years; will it
work within the international system, or remain outside? It
is an important challenge that the U.S. and EU should meet
together.

--------------
ITALIAN ECONOMY
--------------

9. (C) The Ambassador asked Prodi (an economist) how he
would make the Italian economy more competitive. In the
past, Italy could use devaluation to relieve economic
pressures, Prodi said, but this had allowed the country to
avoid changing its practices and its way of thinking. Italy
needs innovation, he insisted. He agreed with the
Ambassador's litany of complaints from business
(unpredictable judicial system, excessive government
bureaucracy, lack of government investment in research and
technology),and asserted such problems should be addressed,
but offered no specifics on what he would do, if elected.

--------------
UNIVERSITY REFORM
--------------

10. (C) During the course of the evening, the conversation
touched on university reform. Prodi, a university professor,
observed that it would be three times easier to reform the
government bureaucracy then that of the universities. A plan
for university restructuring could not go into his political
platform, Prodi said. Everyone knows there is a problem, but
no one knows how to tackle it. In a recent meeting with
coalition partners to discuss platform issues, Prodi
suggested higher fees for students of cinematography than for
those of electric engineering. Silence and averted gazes met
him around the table. Italian universities are fossilized,
no longer centers of excellence, he complained.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------

11. (C) Prodi was relaxed and friendly throughout the
meeting. He emphasized that he had worked well with the U.S.
as Prime Minister and as European Commission President.
Despite our best efforts to draw him out on foreign policy
issues, he seemed reluctant to say anything that we would
report in a negative light to Washington. He was vague on
any details related to his political plans. A year prior to
the national elections, the center-left's leader and expected
candidate was muted in his optimism about his own chances and
that of his coalition.


12. (C) While Prodi wanted to avoid being pinned down, he
made two telling comments. In one, he referred to Italy as a
"second-tier country." The other was his admission that a
center-left government led by him would coordinate more
closely with the EU than with the U.S. Both reflect the
influence of his stint in Brussels. We wonder if he has
absorbed the French and German prejudices toward the country
he now proposes to lead. We fear that if he were elected,
Prodi would assure us he was doing all that he could to
support issues of importance to us behind the scenes -- but
he would not challenge French and German EU hegemony. END
COMMENT.

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2005ROME01125 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL