ITALY: RUTELLI DISCUSSES CENTER-LEFT FOREIGN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ROME 000371

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2015
TAGS: PREL PTER MOPS PGOV IZ IT ITALIAN POLITICS ITALY NATIONAL ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: ITALY: RUTELLI DISCUSSES CENTER-LEFT FOREIGN
POLICY FOCUS

REF: ROME 122

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald Spogli for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. At a February 3 lunch with Daisy Party leader
Francesco Rutelli, the Ambassador stressed the importance of
NATO to the Transatlantic Alliance and registered our concern
that a future center-left government not look to Europe at
the expense of Italy's historically strong bilateral
relationship with the U.S. Rutelli tried to assure the
Ambassador that an Italy influential inside Europe was also
in the U.S. interest and said the center-left believes in
strong relations with both Europe and the U.S. He said NATO
is essential to European security policy. However, Rutelli
admitted the actual policies will depend on the relative
strength of the political parties that form the center-left
after all votes are counted. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The Ambassador hosted Daisy party leader Francesco
Rutelli for lunch February 3. The atmosphere was relaxed and
friendly with Rutelli earnestly trying to display his desire
for partnership with the U.S. should the center-left win the
April 9 national elections. Rutelli was accompanied by Daisy
Foreign Affairs Director and Europarliamentarian Lapo
Pistelli and Member of Parliament Gianni Vernetti. The
Ambassador was accompanied by POL M/C and Poloff.

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BETTER EUROPEAN RELATIONS: CONTINUED STRONG US TIES
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3. (C) The Ambassador noted that center-left leaders spoke
frequently of a need to increase Italy's influence in Europe
and expressed concern that the center-left's turn to Europe
not come at the expense of historically strong U.S-Italian
relations. Rutelli said that Italy's strength inside Europe
had diminished under PM Berlusconi and that the center-left's
priority would be to fortify its relationship in Europe
without weakening its ties to the U.S. Pistelli recognized
that, from the U.S. perspective, U.S-Italian relations have
never been stronger than in the past four years. However, he
continued, Italy has lost influence inside Europe and this
has made Italy a less useful friend to the U.S. It would be
in the U.S. interest, he suggested, for the U.S. to have a
close friendship with an Italy that also carries weight
inside Europe.


4. (C) Rutelli expanded on the "useful friend" theory by
noting that Europe is passing through a transition period in
which Italy can play a critical role. He said that Angela
Merkel is dramatically changing Germany's foreign policy
focus; that changes might occur in the leadership of the
United Kingdom in the near future; and that France was
politically paralyzed until elections in 2007. This provides
Italy a unique moment to wield substantial influence in
Europe. Rutelli added that Jacque Chirac does not want to be
remembered as the President who stalled EU integration, so
the time might be ripe for compromise on tricky integration
issues, including the EU budget. Rutelli favors a seat for
the EU in the UN Security Council and said a Prodi government
would use its rotating seat in 2007 for that purpose.


5. (C) Rutelli said there is no such thing as a multipolar
world in which the U.S. and the EU compete for influence with
one another. He said the U.S. and the EU are the same pole.
To Rutelli's apparent surprise, Pistelli admitted that the
Union platform makes reference to a multipolar world with
competing U.S.-EU interests and referred to that as a
compromise that he was forced to accept.

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NATO AND DEFENSE ISSUES
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6. (C) The Ambassador expressed concern that NATO does not
figure prominently in the Union platform. Rutelli responded
that Italy must increase its defense spending but it will be
difficult to find the resources to do so given Italy's
current budget constraints. He expressed support for a
common EU defense policy and said this will help make NATO
stronger. Rutelli responded that Europe and the
Transatlantic Alliance are two fundamental pillars of the
Daisy Party defense policy. Pistelli continued that it is
inconceivable to imagine European security without NATO and
commented that it would not even be technologically possible
for at least twenty years. Pistelli, expressing his belief
that Washington remains unsure as to the future role of NATO,
also commented that the "coalition of the willing" had
weakened NATO. Rutelli dismissed concerns that radical
elements of the Union opposed to Italy's membership in NATO
could influence defense policy. He said Union PM candidate
Romano Prodi is committed to NATO and is close to the U.S.
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ITALIAN TROOPS IN IRAQ
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7. (C) Rutelli actually opened the substantive portion of the
conversation by referring to the frank conversation he had
had with the Ambassador on Italian troop deployments in Iraq
(A). Rutelli asked what the difference was between the
center-left's intention to announce a troop withdrawal and
Defense Minister Martino's actual announcement of troop
withdrawals by the end of 2006. The Ambassador noted that
campaign theatrics probably affected the government's
announcement but made it clear that we understand current
troop withdrawals to be conditions-based. He noted that a
source close to Prodi had indicated there would be a clear
deadline for completing the center-left's withdrawal plans
and we would consider telegraphing a specific end point a
very unhelpful signal to send. The Ambassador also noted
that Prodi's most recent announcement had failed to mention
the need to consult with the U.S. prior to taking action.
Rutelli seemed surprised, but Pistelli confirmed the
Ambassador's statement. COMMENT: Prodi's standard line on
Italian troop withdrawals from Iraq generally includes
reference to consultations with the U.S. Not all members of
his coalition agree with this, and it is likely Prodi was
playing to his audience of leftist Europarliamentarians when
he made this most recent comment. END COMMENT.
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ITALIAN ENGAGEMENT IN THE WORLD
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8. (C) Rutelli said Italy should be actively engaged in the
world with an emphasis on the Middle East where Italy should
not be a mere spectator but actively involved. He said Italy
has had a large military presence in the Balkans and spent
considerable amounts of money but has not been part of the
political decision-making process. Rutelli said that would
change with a Prodi government. He predicted a potentially
nuclear-armed Iran would be the biggest foreign policy
challenge of the next few years. He credited Berlusconi for
improving the Italian relationship with Israel but said Italy
has ceded too much space to Spain in Latin America. He said
Italy is a natural partner of many Latin American countries
because of the large Italian population there.

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DEALING WITH HAMAS
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9. (C) Rutelli said that Hamas must be willing to set aside
its militia if it intends to govern. Pistelli espoused a
firm but flexible approach but cautioned that the
international community cannot expect Hamas to do in a week
what many Arab countries still have not formally done:
publicly recognize Israel's right to exist. He said Hamas
must do so eventually but that it could not happen
immediately. All agreed with Pol M/C that Hamas cannot
participate in government while supporting the use of
terrorism as a political tool, and that Hamas' participation
in the Palestinian Authority would mean implicit acceptance
of a product of the Oslo Peace Accords, and thus acceptance
of the result of a process of negotiations with Israel.
Rutelli noted that Hizbollah has participated in the
government in Lebanon while not renouncing violence though he
recognized that Hizbollah's violence is directed at Israel
and not Lebanon.

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COUNTER TERRORISM/INTELLIGENCE REFORM
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10. (C) Rutelli expressed full support for Minister of
Interior Pisanu's policy of expelling Muslim imams who
espouse violence. He criticized the independent magistracy's
uncoordinated approach to prosecuting terrorists and terror
sympathizers and said Italy needs to establish a centralized
counter terrorist magistracy modeled after the anti-mafia
magistracy. Without providing details, Rutelli also said
Italy's intelligence services are still structured to combat
the cold war and must be reformed.

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WHAT IS THE UNION COALITION
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11. (C) When challenged on whether Prodi would be able to
maintain the relatively moderate foreign policies promoted by
the Daisy Party and the Democrats of the Left (DS),Rutelli
generally responded that the two parties form 85 percent of
the Union coalition and would set the general program.
However, he frequently hedged when pressed, saying the actual
policy will not be known until votes are counted on April 9
and the relative strengths of each coalition member are known.

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COMMENT
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12. (C) COMMENT: Rutelli sought out this meeting and, as in
previous occasions, tried earnestly to portray himself and
the center-left as a reliable partner for the U.S. on
important foreign policy issues and in the war on terrorism.
He was especially eager, if not fully convincing, to explain
that a center-left move toward Europe would not come at the
expense of relations with the U.S. He was also adamant that
NATO should sit at the core of European defense policy, even
if he claimed nobody is yet sure what the future of NATO
looks like. We generally agree with his assessment that the
Daisy and DS form a core of the Prodi coalition that would
independently develop policies relatively compatible with
U.S. interests. However, like Rutelli, we believe their
ability to proceed with those policies will depend on the
relative strength of the hard left. END COMMENT.
SPOGLI