By CLAIRE ELLICOTT and SAM GREENHILL
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi acted like a ‘jilted lover’ after being left out of talks between the UK, France and Germany.
The colourful Italian leader took his exclusion so personally that he threatened to challenge Britain’s EU rebate at every opportunity.
Files released to the National Archives show that that he was particularly ‘hurt’ by the behaviour of Tony Blair because he had backed the UK over the invasion of Iraq.
They reveal that Britain’s ambassador to Rome, Sir Ivor Roberts, said he was ‘taken aback’ at the strength of feelings when he met Mr Berlusconi’s foreign affairs adviser, Giovanni Castellaneta.
‘The gist of what he had to say was that Berlusconi was feeling badly let down by the prime minister,’ he reported.
‘He actually used the image of a jilted lover (very Berlusconi) and added that there was something of the Southern Italian about Berlusconi which made him quite vindictive when he thought his affections had been misplaced or betrayed.
‘The word “tradito” (betrayed) came up quite often.’
Mr Berlusoni even managed to enlist US President’s support.
Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi acted like a ‘jilted lover’ after being excluded from talks between the UK, France and Germany
Berlusconi was particularly ‘hurt’ by the behaviour of Tony Blair because he had backed the UK on invading Iraq
The files show that in a conservation between Mr Bush and Mr Blair, the US president had ‘expressed some concern in a jokey way, on Berlusconi’s behalf, over Italy’s exclusion’ from the talks in Berlin.
Mr Blair’s meeting in Berlin with president Jacques Chirac and chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2004 was an attempt to boost relations with the EU’s main figures.
But the plan infuriated other leaders, and the former PM felt compelled to visit Rome. He sent his special adviser on Europe, Roger Liddle, ahead to ‘calm Italian nerves and pour oil on troubled waters’.
Mr Liddle said that the Italians had ‘threatened’ the UK with plans to bring up their rebate from the EU at every meeting following the talks.
‘I was deliberately and somewhat pompously threatened that Foreign Minister Frattini has issued an instruction that the future of the British rebate should be questioned at every available European meeting,’ he reported back.
Mr Blair’s meeting in Berlin with president Jacques Chirac (pictured, left) and chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in 2004 was an attempt to boost relations with key EU figures
‘These reactions are frankly petty, but there is a substantial problem you have to find a way round. Next week, it is no good offering Berlusconi a photo-op without substance. Equally, you can’t allow him to veto trilateralism.’
But after Mr Blair had apparently soothed Italian nerves, an Italian newspaper reported that Mr Schroeder had announced a second trilateral meeting in London.
In an emotional phone call, Mr Berlusconi complained to Mr Blair that the paper’s front page coverage and accompanying cartoon had ‘destroyed’ all that his foreign policy had tried to achieve, showing Italy ‘had no weight in Europe’.
Mr Blair had to assure him that no such meeting had been agreed.
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Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi acted like a ‘jilted lover’ after being left out of talks between the UK, France and Germany, state papers reveal
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Publish date : 2024-12-30 17:03:00
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