Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MILAN56
2009-03-09 10:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Milan
Cable title:  

PDL STALWARTS TALK POLITICS ALLA MILANESE

Tags:  PGOV PREL PINR IT 
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ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 091017Z MAR 09
FM AMCONSUL MILAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1707
INFO RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 8748
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 0194
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0192
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000056 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IT
SUBJECT: PDL STALWARTS TALK POLITICS ALLA MILANESE

REF: MILAN 31

MILAN 00000056 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CG Daniel Weygandt for Reasons 1.4 (b, d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000056

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IT
SUBJECT: PDL STALWARTS TALK POLITICS ALLA MILANESE

REF: MILAN 31

MILAN 00000056 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CG Daniel Weygandt for Reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (U) This is a joint Consulate General Milan/Embassy Rome
cable.


2. (C) Summary: Blunt assessments of local, national, and
foreign policy issues emerged from a lunch the Consul General
hosted for senior Milan-based national and EU political
figures. In Milan, the imbroglio over the EXPO is exposing
the Mayor's weaknesses and tensions with Rome. Nationally,
the collapse of the center-left opposition may also weaken
Berlusconi's coalition. On foreign policy the guests
delivered clear messages: the United States should engage
Syria and Italy was doing all it can in Afghanistan. We plan
to host additional events like this to try and elicit
viewpoints from national figures that may differ from those
heard in Rome. End summary.

Looks Who's Coming to Lunch


3. (C) Three senior Milan-based national politicians from
Berlusconi's People of Liberty (PdL) coalition ) former
Milan mayor Gabriele Albertini, local journalist turned
parliamentarian Giorgio Stracquadanio, and Lombardy Senator
(and Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs) Alfredo Mantica )
sat down with the Consul General on February 23. Though all
are now working in Rome or Brussels, they give a
Milan-flavored point of view on local, national, and foreign
policy priorities.

Milan - EXPO 2015 Stalemate


4. (SBU) Planning for EXPO 2015, which Milan was awarded with
great fanfare nearly a year ago, has become a political briar
patch for Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti. As we'll report in
septel, EXPO management problems illustrate fundamental
tensions between Milan's leadership and the national
government in Rome ) a tension that we've also seen flare up
in the context of the restructuring of Alitalia (see reftel
for details).


5. (SBU) All agreed that the lack of progress on plans for
the EXPO is a serious problem for Mayor Moratti. The failure
of the Mayor to get her nominee (and right-hand man) Paolo
Glisenti approved as a managing director for the project has
been politically embarrassing. Equally embarrassing has been
her inability to get the treasury to release funds

desperately needed to get the show on the road. Though the
funding iceberg may be melting, the quid pro quo appears to
be Glisenti's head ) a Pyrrhic victory for the Mayor. All
around the table agreed that whatever popular acclaim Moratti
gained from winning the EXPO for Milan has all but worn off.


6. (SBU) We note that at least Albertini's views on this may
be tainted by his own political ambitions. He remains very
popular from his time as mayor prior to Moratti. Though
prevented by term limits from extending his tenure, he may be
preparing a return to Milan politics, possibly as the center
right candidate for the Province of Milan in the June
elections.

Coming Together is Difficult without a Common Foe


7. (C) Turning to national political issues, our guests
talked at length about the future of the PdL in the absence
of a real opposition movement. None doubted that the merger
between Forza Italia (FI) and National Alliance (AN) parties
would go ahead, but they noted that the weakness of the
center left was not necessarily a benefit for Berlusconi.
With a solid majority and no real opposition the governing
coalition can pass easily through parliament anything it
wants. Ironically, according to Stracquadanio, therein lies
the problem. Though allies on the center right, AN and FI
(still separate forces in the PdL) and coalition partner the
Northern League do not agree on much.


8. (C) Embassy contacts in Rome have pointed to the fact that
a working opposition is also necessary for the government to
push through some of its major planned reforms, including
judicial reform and parliamentary procedure reform. We note
that without a credible opposition, the center right will be
less focused on its agenda and will spend more time on
internal bickering. In the north, PdL particularly fears
losing support to the Northern League. As AN continues its
progress toward the mainstream, some AN militants have told
the Embassy that the Northern League is increasingly
attractive because of its tough law and order and
anti-illegal immigrant positions.

MILAN 00000056 002.2 OF 002



Frank Foreign Policy Advice


9. (C) As the meal proceeded, the Consul General took on
board some rather unexpected foreign policy advice. Most
notably, Mantica stressed that the time for engagement with
Syria was now. He said the Syrians would be open to a
dialogue and could be helpful on the Israeli-Palestinian
question. He lamented that we thought it necessary for the
Syrians to pull out immediately from Lebanon, saying they had
provided stability there for years. A better approach would
have been a staged pullout over a number of years to give the
Lebanese time to adjust. He mentioned, however, that Syria
could still play a positive role in Lebanon. We note that
the decision for Italian troops to go into Lebanon under
UNIFIL was made by the previous center-left government.
Mantica's statements, thus, may be based on the desire to
find a graceful way to pull out Italian troops.


10. (C) On Afghanistan, Mantica was skeptical about progress
towards a fully functioning democracy in that country. He
maintained that Afghanistan still had not made any serious
steps beyond tribalism. He highlighted Italian support for
the Afghan mission to date, but said that more important than
the number of the Italian soldiers was their function. He
stated that the Italian government had basically shifted its
presence from a peacekeeping force to what he characterized
as a "full-on attack" group. He implied that the GOI was
extremely satisfied with its presence in Afghanistan and was
not prepared to do more. We note that MFA Undersecretary
positions are political plums that are distributed within the
ruling coalition but they are not always particularly
influential. Though Mantica's take on both Syria and
Afghanistan is not an uncommon one, the thrust of official
MFA policy in both areas is much more positive and closely
aligned with our own.

Biographical Notes


11. (SBU) Alfredo Mantica was born July 17, 1943 in Rimini.
He is currently the Undersecretary for Foreign affairs
responsible for relations with European and former Soviet
states. Has been politically active in AN since 1987 and is
known as one of Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa's main men
in Milan. He has a reputation for being analytical and
incisive. He is a strong supporter of the United States and
focuses on strengthening and using his friendships with
international leaders.


12. (SBU) Gabriele Albertini was born on July 6, 1950 in
Milan. He graduated with a law degree in 1974 and took over
the family's metalworking business. He was elected to two
terms as mayor of Milan (1997-2006). Even after leaving
office, he has remained active on local issues such as
traffic and pollution. He is known for his independent
disposition and retains a strong popular backing in Lombardy.
He is currently an EU parliamentarian with Forza Italia.


13. (SBU) Giorgio Stracquadanio was born on March 22, 1959 in
Milan. Before being elected to the Senate in 2006, he was a
journalist, contributing primarily to the newspapers "Libero"
and "Il Tempo." He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in

2008. Since 2007 he has been the deputy chairman of
Fondazione Italia USA. He represents Forza Italia and is
close to Berlusconi. He is known in the media as "The Spin
Doctor" and for being PM Berlusconi's ghostwriter.

Comment: Back Home in Milano


14. (C) Though these three individuals have made it on the
broader political stage, and have close ties to the ruling
class of Rome, their Milan connections remain strong. Back
home ) freed from the confines of Rome and Brussels ) they
advanced points of view on national and foreign policy issues
that differ from the official line. The Consul General has
scheduled events with similar political figures from the
Northern League and the Democratic Party in hopes of
encouraging an equally open "just between us Milanese"
dialogue.
WEYGANDT