ROME — Italy came to terms with its colonial past on Wednesday in a somewhat surreal news conference with two of the world’s most colorful politicians, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Colonel Qaddafi arrived on Wednesday for a four-day trip to Rome, one of his few visits to the West since economic sanctions were lifted in 2003, after Libya agreed to denounce terrorism and pay $1.5 billion to relatives of the victims of Pan Am Flight 103.
His visit comes just months after Italy agreed to pay Libya $5 billion in reparations as part of a treaty nominally about healing colonial wounds but in practice more about helping business and stemming illegal immigration.
In rambling remarks, Colonel Qaddafi praised Italy as the “only colonial state” that had “cleaned up its past from expansionist and colonialist policies.” Mr. Berlusconi, at turns weary and ebullient, declared “a new era of peace and friendship and collaboration” between the countries.
In one of the least notable colonial histories in Europe, Italy ruled Libya from 1911 to 1943.
Earlier, Mr. Berlusconi greeted Colonel Qaddafi at Rome’s Ciampino airport, where the North African leader was flanked by his trademark cadre of female bodyguards, whom the Italian news media referred to as “Amazons.”
In recent weeks, Mr. Berlusconi has been in hot water over his own alleged cadre of women, specifically the nature of his relationship with an 18-year-old. The intense scrutiny was seen as costing his coalition several percentage points in last weekend’s elections for the European Parliament, which it won anyway.
On Wednesday, it was back to business.
Colonel Qaddafi arrived with a provocation pinned to one lapel of his baggy military uniform: a black-and-white photograph of a Libyan resistance leader, Omar al-Mukhtar, who was hanged by the Italians in 1931.
“This hanging is like the crucifixion of Christ for Christians,” Colonel Qaddafi said at the news conference. “For us, this image is a bit like the cross that some of you wear.”
But Italy had practical goals in mind. The financial crisis has led Italian blue-chip companies like the bank Unicredit and the energy utility ENI to rely more on Libyan investment.
So in exchange for the $5 billion in reparations it is due to receive over 20 years, Libya will provide Italy with more oil, make it easier for Italian companies to conduct business there and place Italian companies “in first place” to win infrastructure contracts, Mr. Berlusconi said.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/11/world/europe/11italy.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=berlusconi&st=cse
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