Washington loves Silvio Berlusconi, the lounge singer turned media mogul and president.
Today’s WikiLeaked cables reveal the reasons for Washington’s love affair with the sybaritic Silvio, a good friend of both the Foggy Bottom political agenda and the corporate intellectual property regime so relentless pushed by administrations both Republican and Democrat.
WikiCable I: An ambassador’s farewell love note
Our first offering is the valedictory cable from Rome from Ambassador to Italy Ronald P. Spogli to newly installed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, offering his take on Berlusconi.
While overwhelmingly laudatory of the Bunga Bunga man, Spogli does offer this:
Italian leaders’ unwillingness and inability to address many of the chronic problems that plague their society – an non-competitive economic system, decaying infrastructure, rising debt, and endemic corruption – have caused concern among Italy’s partners and given the impression of feckless and inefficient governance. PM Silvio Berlusconi has inadvertently come to symbolize this image. His frequent verbal gaffes and poor choice of words have offended nearly every demographic in Italy and many EU leaders. His perceived willingness to put personal interests above those of the state, his preference for short-term solutions over long-term investment, and his frequent use of public institutions and resources to gain electoral advantage over his political adversaries has harmed Italy’s reputation in Europe and has provided an unfortunately comic tone to Italy’s reputation in many quarters of the U.S. government.
Classified CONFIDENTIAL/NOFORN, the cable was dispatched on 5 February 2009 and is posted online here.
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NOFORNFROM THE AMBASSADOR TO THE SECRETARY
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TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO ITSUBJECT: FINAL THOUGHTS ON THE U.S.-ITALY RELATIONSHIP: WHAT WE CAN ASK FROM…
Classified By: Ronald P. Spogli, Ambassador, for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).¶1. (C/NF) Madame Secretary, as I depart Rome after three and a half years, permit me the privilege of passing on my thoughts to you on the state of U.S. – Italian relations. Throughout the post-war period, in particular since the end of the Cold War, Italy has been a staunch, reliable, and serious partner to the U.S. on the international issues that matter most to us. When all is said and done, Italy has come through every time, providing substantive contributions to our shared tasks operationally and politically, although we have not always given the GOI the level of recognition offered to other important allies. Given the strategic tasks ahead and the asks we will shortly make of Italy on issues ranging from Afghanistan to the shutdown of Guantanamo, it would be worth expending a little capital up front to smooth the way.
¶2. (C/NF) Italy is one of the pillars of our relationship with Europe and is indispensable to any effort to harness European resources to address our common global concerns. As a member of NATO, the European Union, and the G8, Italy has participated in the heavy-lifting of international efforts to defeat the Taliban and establish a democratically-based government in Afghanistan, to end the bloodshed and bring stability to the Balkans, to protect Israel from the effects of extremist attacks and provide stability to Lebanon, and to help Iraq recover from years of repression by assisting in the economic and political development of the country, in particular in the development of its security sector. Italy provides a unique geostrategic platform within Europe for U.S. forces, allowing us to reach easily into troubled areas throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe. And because of that advantage, Italy is home to the most comprehensive set of military capabilities – from the 173rd Airborne to cutting edge Global Hawks – that we have anywhere outside the United States. Most importantly, Italy has shown a willingness, and even an eagerness, to partner with the U.S. in addressing many of the most pressing global challenges of our age.
¶3. (C/NF) This is not to say that Italy is always an ideal partner for U.S. efforts. Italy’s slow but real economic decline threatens its ability to play in the international arena. Its leadership frequently lacks strategic vision – a characteristic developed through decades of unstable and short-lived coalition governments. Italy’s institutions are not as well- or as properly-developed as one would expect for a modern European country. Italian leaders’ unwillingness and inability to address many of the chronic problems that plague their society – an non-competitive economic system, decaying infrastructure, rising debt, and endemic corruption – have caused concern among Italy’s partners and given the impression of feckless and inefficient governance. PM Silvio Berlusconi has inadvertently come to symbolize this image. His frequent verbal gaffes and poor choice of words have offended nearly every demographic in Italy and many EU leaders. His perceived willingness to put personal interests above those of the state, his preference for short-term solutions over long-term investment, and his frequent use of public institutions and resources to gain electoral advantage over his political adversaries has harmed Italy’s reputation in Europe and has provided an unfortunately comic tone to Italy’s reputation in many quarters of the U.S. government.
¶4. (C/NF) That said, on foreign policy, Italy has made many efforts – some serious and some not – to maintain a position of global relevance and influence. Italy often has not allocated sufficient military, economic, or diplomatic resources to lead, or often even to participate, in many of the international community’s challenges, but when asked by us, has come through and supported our leadership, whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the Middle East. While stagnant growth has produced budgetary pressures, much more worrisome is the GOI’s unwillingness to make smart choices in support of alliance requirements. Frequently, Italy has tried to compensate for its lack of resource allocation by proposing to be the world’s great mediator – a self-appointed role which politicians (particularly Berlusconi) believe can confer great visibility with virtually no expense. With no outside coordination, Italian leaders have tried to mediate the West’s relationship with Russia, engage with Hamas and Hizballah, establish new channels of negotiation with Iran, and expand the G8’s agenda and mandate beyond recognition.
¶5. (C/NF) The combination of Italy’s economic decline and political idiosyncrasies have caused many European leaders to denigrate the contributions of Berlusconi and Italy. We should not. We should recognize that a long-term engagement with Italy and its leaders will provide us important strategic dividends now and in the future. Italy’s influence in the Balkans will help us consolidate gains painstakingly made over the last two decades. Italian troops will continue to play an important role in peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and Afghanistan. With the establishment of AFRICOM, Italy has become an even more significant partner in our power projection calculations. As we look to the future, we must recognize that Italy’s buy-in will be crucial to any common U.S.-EU energy security policy to counter Putin’s increasingly blatant and aggressive use of energy as a tool for increasing Russia’s influence (a Kremlin strategy that Italy’s energy players have been supporting, unfortunately). Italian economic pressure, if we make a serious push, could be critical in sending a clear and powerful message to Tehran as we look to resolve the nuclear issue, and Italy’s voice will be important as the EU and NATO look to forge stable, prosperous and democratic nations out of aspirant countries. Already, they are preparing for what they believe will be among the first U.S. requests – resettlement of Guantanamo detainees and making a broader and deeper effort in Afghanistan.
¶6. (C/NF) PM Berlusconi regularly stresses the significance of Italo-American ties. While he is not as attuned to our political rhythms as he is wont to believe, he is genuinely and deeply devoted to the relationship with the U.S. His re-entry into national politics last spring brought about almost overnight a palpable improvement in our ability to get things done on an operational level. FM Frattini is a serious and experienced statesman. As Berlusconi becomes increasingly absorbed in domestic (i.e., economic) challenges confronting Italy, Frattini is increasingly charting the course of Italian foreign policy. Both are eager to engage with you and seek direction on many of the world’s immediate problems. Behind them you will find a cadre of politicians and government officials who see coordination and contact with U.S. leaders and officials as fundamental to forging Italy’s policy path in the world, and even within the EU. To the degree you and your closest advisors maintain close contact and coordination with Italian leaders, I am convinced you will reap great dividends. To the degree you find ways to include Italy in the group of nations that we work with most closely on key issues – in particular in the Middle East, Iran, and Afghanistan – I am convinced that you and the President will find myriad ways to harness Italy’s great potential in support of U.S. strategic goals. Most importantly, I would say, from a vantage point of having come to know Italy and its people over the course of some forty years, that it is well worth looking beyond the occasional misfires or missteps by Italian officials to recognize a close ally and a true friend, ready and indeed eager to renew a relationship of close collaboration.
¶7. (C/NF) It has been an enormous privilege to serve the American people and government here. I wish you and the President the best of luck and success in working with this great ally.
SPOGLI
WikiCable II: Running government for private profit
As we’ve noted before, American entertainment and pharmaceutical companies have relentlessly pushed other governments into introduction of new copyright and patent regimes designed to ensure their maximum profits.
In many cases, the new agenda, pushed through during the Uruguay round of GATT negotiations, have forced significant changes in foreign laws, transferring weight of copyright laws from the benefit of creators into the hands of the corporation.
One target set squarely in Disney’s sights was Italy, where the company that Walt built was bothered by bootleg screenings of their “Golden Age” cartoons.
Silvio Berlusconi, that eagerly obedient lapdog of Washington, embraced the agenda, but with a twist designed to ensure still greater profits for his corporate media empire, as revealed in this CONFIDENTIAL 3 February 1010 cable from Ambassador David Thorne, Spogli’s replacement.
A notable quote:
Advocates of Internet freedom have repeatedly warned us that Italy’s traditional elites — on both sides of the political spectrum — are very uncomfortable with the Internet’s ability to bypass the traditional media that they control. Becasue [sic] this new bill seems to address these kinds of concerns, and because it also serves Berlusconi’s business interests, it is conceivable that this seemingly improbable legislation might actually come into force in Italy.
Indeed, after passage of the legislation, enforcement measures are now being devised which would implement many of the sections singled out by critics in the ambassador’s cable. For more, see here and here.
The cable is posted online here.
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Classified By: Classified by DCM Elizabeth Dibble for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Opponents of a new bill before Italian parliament that would further regulate the Internet say it endangers free speech and is a threat to Italian democracy. The bill also appears to favor PM Berlusconi’s Mediaset television service while disadvantaging Sky, one of its major competitors. The GOI says the bill is intended to implement an EU directive that harmonizes media regulation and that the provisions being criticised are designed to establish greater protection of copyrighted material, to protect children from inappropriate broadcasts, and to keep consumers from paying twice by being subjected to excessive advertising on pay-TV channels. Opponents say the law far exceeds the scope and spirit of the EU law and severely restricts free expression on the Internet. Due to advertising and content regulation in the bill, some have read it as an effort to give Berlusconi greater control over communication and to drive out Mediaset’s competitors. Implementation of the bill has been postponed from its original date of January 27 and parliament is holding hearings on the matter. The GOI appears open to discussion of the bill’s text. While reaction to the bill has been strong among opposition politicians and telecom professionals, the issue has not made it to the front pages of newspapers so there has been no strong public reation. Despite GOI protestations, the bill is troubling as it appears to have been written to give the government enough leeway to block or censor any Internet content. END SUMMARY
¶2. (SBU) According to the GOI, the Romani Bill (named for Paolo Romani, Deputy Economic Development Minister, who covers communications issues) is designed to implement EU Directive 2007/65CE, which aims to harmonize media regulation in the EU. Many telecom sector professionals, however, believe that the bill vastly exceeds the scope and spirit of the EU law. The bill is complex, but there are three primary areas of concern: limits to uploading on the Interet, television advertising ceilings, and limits to content aimed for adults, which would also restrict films judged by the Italian rating system as being for those 14 and older. This would likely include the vast majority if not all U.S.-produced PG-13 movies.
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LIABILITY FOR VIDEO ON THE INTERNET
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –¶3. (U) Provisions contained in the bill would make Internet service providers (ISPs), and hosting sites such as Blogspot and YouTube, liable for content in the same way a television station is. In the strictest interpretation of the law, the sites and ISPs would have to monitor all content on their sites, content which is uploaded by millions of individual users. This is widely viewed as impossible both in practical and economic terms. The Italian Communications Authority (AGCOM) would be responsible for oversight of the law, and some have interpreted the bill as requiring government permission before a video could be uploaded.
¶4. (C) Antonello Busetto, director of institutional relations for Confindustria Servizi Innovativi e Tecnologici, a business association representing the interests of IT companies, said the measure would mean “the death of the Internet in Italy.”
¶5. (U) Italian communications commissioner Nicola D’Angelo was quoted in the press as saying, “Italy will be the only Western country in which it is necessary to have prior government permission to operate this kind of service…This aspect reveals a democratic risk, regardless of who happens to be in power.” Likewise, AGCOM president Corrado Calabro has said that Italy would be unique in the West as imposing Internet restrictions until now only imposed by authoritarian governments.
¶6. (SBU) The GOI says the measure is aimed at protecting copyrighted material from being uploaded and downloaded
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illegally, as well as at monitoring other potentially illegal activity on the Internet. The copyright industry has expressed some limited approval of the bill. Enzo Mazza, president of the Italian Music Federation, said the music industry is generally in favor of making ISPs and sites more responsible for protecting copyrighted material, though, he added that his industry’s analysis of the bill was focused on this aspect and not other implications.
¶7. (SBU) Because this could make ISPs and opinion sites liable for defamation in the way television broadcasts are, some see this as an effort to control political discourse on the Internet. Others see a commercial angle aimed at limiting the video and TV available on the Internet as Mediaset moves into the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) market. Alessandro Gilioli, who writes a blog for the liberal weekly magazine Espresso wrote “It’s the Berlusconi method: Kill your potential enemies while they are small. That’s why anyone doing Web TV — even from their attic at home — must get ministerial approval and fulfill a host of other bureaucratic obligations.”
¶8. (SBU) AGCOM would have the authority to enforce the law. Among the authority’s powers would be the ability to block traffic into Italy of sites whose content did not meet the requirements of the law. For example, YouTube could be blocked because the content was not uploaded with government approval. AGCOM would also be able to levy fines of up to 150,000 euros against foreign companies violating the law. Though AGCOM is theoretically an independent agency, many fear that it may not be strong enough to resist political pressure.
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ADVERTISING CEILINGS
– – – – – – – – – – –¶9. (C) The bill would place limits on advertising on pay-TV channels that exceed the EU directive. It would reduce the EU ceiling of 20% to 12% in Italy by 2012. The provision would penalize Sky in particular. Some argue that the measure is designed to favor PM Berlusconi’s free-to-air Mediaset channels, which would not be subject to the limit. Mediaset’s pay channels would be subject to the advertising ceiling, but Mediaset’s channels currently have less than 12% each hour dedicated to ads. In addition, reducing the overall possibility to advertise on pay-TV would push advertising towards free channels operated by Mediaset and by the Italian state network RAI. Busetto said this would allow Berlusconi to earn more money and also to exercise greater control of public information.
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ADULT CONTENT
– – – – – – – – –¶10. (SBU) The bill places stringent time restrictions on broadcasting of so-called “adult content,” virtually prohibiting it between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Pay channels such as those offered by Sky would be subject to the restrictions; it appears pay-per-view content would be as well. Because they obtain a significant part of their income from pay adult content, pay-TV would suffer financially from this restriction. The bill would limit broadcast of any film rated for viewers above age 14 to after 10:30 p.m. One press report said this would make films such as Saturday Night Fever unavailable until late-night. Again, some opponents worry that the objective is to hurt Mediaset’s competition.
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EU OPINION
– – – – – – – –¶11. (U) Opinion at the EU appears to be conflicting. According to press reports, the EU is threatening to start an infraction procedure against Italy for failing to swiftly implement the media directive. At the same time, other press reports say the restrictions in the Italian bill would likely violate the EU e-commerce directive.
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– – – – – – –¶12. (C) In official statements the government insists the bill is in no way intended to stifle free speech. Opponents are vocal and using alarmist language, but outside of telecom industries their numbers appear to be small. There has been no visible public outrage, and even Beppe Grillo, a public personality usually outspoken about government regulation, especially that involving the Internet, has said very little.
¶13. (C) After Berlusconi was attacked in Milan in December and a Facebook fan page for his attacker quickly amassed fans, the GOI expressed the need for regulation of social networking sites. At that time, Romani said the government would work with ISPs and sites to develop a method of self-regulation and that there would be no attempt to legislate internet content. Despite Romani’s prior statements, this bill appears to have been written to give the government enough leeway to block or censor any Internet content it deems defamatory or to be encouraging criminal activity.
¶14. (C) For years, the USG has urged the GOI to take action to protect copyrighted material on the Internet, in particular encouraging the establishment of clear notice-and-takedown procedures and cooperation among rights holders and ISPs to prevent illegal filesharing. Italy has done very little. Now, this bill skips over collaboration, and suddenly moves directly to very stern regulation. In light of its reluctance to take action on this issue in the past, and also given the many commercial advantages that this law appears to give Mediaset and state TV, the GOI claim that Internet provisions of this law are aimed at copyright protection alone are suspect.
¶15. (C) In all liklihood, if this bill were to become law as it is currently written, little would change immediately in the way Internet sites operate in Italy, and the average 11th grader uploading video to his blog would never be targeted for legal action. It would, however, provide a basis for legal actions against media operators that proved to be commercial or political competition for government figures. Over the last three years we have seen several GOI efforts to exert control over the Internet, including one infamous effort to require bloggers to obtain GOI journalism licenses.
¶16. (C) Advocates of Internet freedom have repeatedly warned us that Italy’s traditional elites — on both sides of the political spectrum — are very uncomfortable with the Internet’s ability to bypass the traditional media that they control. Becasue [sic] this new bill seems to address these kinds of concerns, and because it also serves Berlusconi’s business interests, it is conceivable that this seemingly improbable legislation might actually come into force in Italy. We note that officers from SKY have told us that Deputy GOI Minister Romani (for whom the new bill is named) has been leading efforts within the GOI to help Berlusconi’s Mediaset and to put SKY at a disadvantage. This represents a familiar pattern: Berslusoni and Mediaset have been using government power in this way ever since the days of Prime Minister Bettino Craxi. In addition, this bill would set precidents [sic] that nations such as china could copy or cite as justification for their own crackdowns on free speech.
THORNE
eats shoots 'n leaves 