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### Viewing cable 08MILAN73, ITALY: PRIORITIES FOR PROBABLE DEFENSE MINISTER

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
08MILAN73 | 2008-04-23 08:29 | 2011-04-08 11:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Consulate Milan

`

    VZCZCXRO5316
    PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
    DE RUEHMIL #0073/01 1140829
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    P 230829Z APR 08
    FM AMCONSUL MILAN
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1464
    INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
    RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 8389
    RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 0164
    RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0161
    RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
    RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
    RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MILAN 000073

    SIPDIS

    SIPDIS

    STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/PPD

    E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2018
    TAGS: PGOV PREL TBIO MARR MCAP IT

    SUBJECT: ITALY: PRIORITIES FOR PROBABLE DEFENSE MINISTER

    MILAN 00000073  001.2 OF 003

    Classified By: CG Daniel Weygandt.  Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

    -------
    Summary
    -------

    ¶1.  (C) Ignazio La Russa is the most likely candidate for
    Minister of Defense in Berlusconi's government.  If given
    this portfolio, he said he would work to quickly increase
    MOD's budget, increase Carabinieri police patrols for
    domestic security, and try to establish military summer camps
    for Italian youth.  He promised to travel to Afghanistan
    within seven days of taking office to highlight the
    importance of Italy's mission there.  He said the USG no
    longer needs to worry about its military bases in Italy, and
    he is eager to work with the USG on a range of issues.  He
    expects a cooperative relationship between the People of
    Liberty Party and the Northern League in the governing
    coalition.  End summary.

    -----------------------------------
    Priorities for the Defense Ministry
    -----------------------------------

    ¶2.  (C) Ignazio La Russa, former National Alliance (AN)
    politician and current member of Berlusconi's People of
    Liberty Party (PdL), confirmed to the Consul General he was
    virtually certain to be named Berlusconi's Minister of
    Defense as press reports have been speculating.  He gave
    three priorities he will focus on as Minister:  increasing
    the budget for the military, enhancing cooperation between
    the state police and the Carabinieri (police under MOD
    control) to enhance domestic security, and opening domestic
    Italian military bases to youth in the summer to instill a
    sense of civic pride and participation.

    -------------------------------
    Bigger Budgets from Berlusconi?
    -------------------------------

    ¶3.  (C) La Russa was clear that Italy must shoulder more of
    the military burden internationally.  He stated his top
    priority if he were Minister of Defense would be to push for
    an increased military budget.  He would use the additional
    funds to purchase more arms and to modernize Italy's military
    services.  He was confident that he could secure such an
    increase from Berlusconi because of his independent political
    base (as a popular former AN politician in the Milan area)
    and his personal relationship with him.  He insisted that the
    increase must not only be an increase in monetary terms but
    also in percentage of GDP.  (Comment: It would still be an
    uphill battle to get any significant budget increase given
    Italy's sluggish economic growth.  End comment.)

    -----------------------
    Cleaning up the Streets
    -----------------------

    ¶4.  (C) La Russa described domestic security as a critical
    issue for the Italian electorate; however, he characterized
    it more as a matter of perception than reality (he called
    Italy's street crime rates among the lowest in the world).
    He relayed that he had already spoken with Berlusconi's
    probable choice for Minister of Interior, Roberto Maroni
    (Northern League-LN), on this issue.  He said they agreed to
    mesh state police (controlled by the Ministry of the
    Interior) and Carabinieri (controlled by Defense) efforts to
    increase the visibility of police patrols at night in major
    cities.  La Russa noted he might need to justify the military
    police patrols as measures to control off-duty Italian
    servicemen, but that the increased patrols would be a
    deterrent to crime and cause an immediate change in public
    perceptions whatever the justification.

    ---------------------
    Military Summer Camps
    ---------------------

    ¶5.  (C) Coming from a generation that served compulsorily in
    the military, La Russa lauded the spirit of civic
    responsibility and pride that military service can instill.
    While he by no means suggests a return to mandatory service,
    he proposes that domestic military bases in Italy open their
    doors to young people each summer for thirty day internships.

    MILAN 00000073  002.2 OF 003

     He hoped this would promote military service as a career for
    some, but also a sense of national identity and service to
    country.  He said the program could indirectly serve to
    combat petty crime and drug use among young people.

    ----------------------------
    To Afghanistan Within 7 Days
    ----------------------------

    ¶6.  (C) La Russa asked the Consul General on advice for where
    he should make his first trip as Minister of Defense:
    Afghanistan or Lebanon.  At the Consul General's urging, he
    promised to visit Afghanistan within seven days of his
    appointment.  He said it is one thing to praise Italian
    forces in Afghanistan and call for a more productive role,
    but that visiting the troops there immediately would send an
    even stronger message.

    -------------------------------
    No Need to Worry for U.S. Bases
    -------------------------------

    ¶7.  (C) Turning to the military bases in Italy, and
    especially the base expansion project in Vicenza, La Russa
    was adamant that the U.S. need not worry with the newly
    elected government.  He did not go into specific details, but
    it was clear he is well acquainted with, and supports, U.S.
    military installations in Italy.  He literally described
    himself as pro-American.  He related his involvement in the
    youth wing of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) in the late
    1960s as an example of his pro-U.S. sentiment.  He said the
    movement was split into two camps: one pro-Palestinian and
    the other pro-American (and pro-Israeli).  He called himself
    a leading exponent of the latter.

    --------------------------------------------- -
    Berlusconi's the Boss: Internal Party Politics
    --------------------------------------------- -

    ¶8.  (C) La Russa painted a clear picture of the PdL as a
    party with Berlusconi on top with no second tier leaders.  He
    called this a strength, but also a weakness.  He noted that
    Forza Italia had been an amorphous party with key positions
    handed out at Berlusconi's whim.  La Russa said he would work
    to organize the PdL into a coherent, stable party.  He used
    the fate of Lombardy Region President Roberto Formigoni as an
    example of Berlusconi's leadership style.  Formigoni has been
    widely discussed in the press as a possible minister in
    Berlusconi's government.  La Russa noted that PdL leadership
    met and Berlusconi had decided to have Formigoni continue as
    regional president rather than become a minister.  Still, La
    Russa said the final decision would be made in a one-on-one
    meeting between Berlusconi and Formigoni, and that it is, in
    fact, quite possible to change Berlusconi's mind.

    -------------------------------
    La Russa: In Love with Politics
    -------------------------------

    ¶9.  (C) La Russa noted that he had been asked to be a
    Minister in the last Berlusconi government, but that he
    preferred to serve as the head of the AN parliamentary group.
     In this way, he was able to work on the full range of
    government issues rather than being constricted to a certain
    portfolio.  Calling himself ""in love with politics,"" he said
    he enjoyed his time in the opposition.  He noted it was
    ""extremely gratifying"" to righteously point out the flaws of
    the government.  He jokingly said he would have preferred to
    remain in the opposition for his entire career instead of
    being in government.  Still, he wanted to be a minister this
    time around to give a noble end to his political career.

    -----------------
    Justice Minister?
    -----------------

    ¶10.  (C) As a lawyer, he called himself perhaps more adapted
    to serving as Minister of Justice, a role apparently floated
    by Berlusconi.  He blatantly stated that he would not want to
    be the person between Berlusconi and the magistrates, wryly
    noting that PdL's rising young female leader Mariastella
    Gelmini would be more suitable as she would do whatever
    Berlusconi wanted.  (Note: Financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore
    predicted in its morning edition that Gelmini would likely be

    MILAN 00000073  003.2 OF 003

    named Minister of Justice.  End note.)  He mentioned his
    fascination with the military and his brief military service
    in the Folgore Regiment (Italian paratroopers) as reasons why
    he sought the defense portfolio.

    ----------------------------------
    In League with the Northern League
    ----------------------------------

    ¶11.  (C) Relations between the PdL and the Northern League
    will not be a problem, according to La Russa.  The two
    parties collaborated in the last Berlusconi government and
    had worked together in regional and city governments for over
    a decade.  He compared the rhetoric of the Northern League to
    excessively loud music at a disco club.  If you do not go to
    clubs regularly, you can barely understand what is going on
    and can barely hear the music.  If you turn down the volume
    (or are used to the atmosphere), the music is not too bad.
    Likewise, the party faithful of the Northern League
    appreciate the harsh rhetoric and policy statements, but if
    you tone it down a bit, the LN platform is not too far off
    from that of the PdL.  Some disagreements are clear such as
    LN's original call for secession or an independent foreign
    policy, but PdL got the LN to back off on those demands years
    ago.  LN's xenophobic rants and proposals remain the primary
    irritant between the two parties.

    -----------------------------
    Comment: Ready to Get to Work
    -----------------------------

    ¶11.  (C) La Russa is clearly eager and willing to work with
    the U.S. on a range of priorities from increased Italian
    support in Afghanistan to our bases here in Italy.  Further,
    the fact that he already has a list of priorities before
    being named Minister of Defense gives hope that he will be
    more proactive and less bureaucratic than his predecessors.
    While his background and proposal for military youth programs
    carry a bit of the scent of fascism, he seems convinced that
    centrist politics are the future for serious political
    parties.

    --------
    Bio Note
    --------

    ¶11.  (C) La Russa is talkative, energetic and likes to tell
    jokes to illustrate his points.  He has traveled often in the
    U.S. and calls New York City his favorite vacation spot.  He
    speaks English and German.  He is a flamboyant personality
    and freely admits he enjoys being in the limelight.  He is
    married with three sons.
    WEYGANDT
    "

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