G8 leaders will play on Silviov Berlusconi’s weaknesses to win concessions

When Gordon Brown goes to the Italy for the G8 summit on Wednesday, he will be consoled that his host is in even more trouble at home than he is. Mr Brown and the other G8 leaders will not mention in public the scandal embroiling Silvio Berlusconi, whose wife has asked for a divorce because of his involvement with a series of young, glamorous women — but negotiators hope to capitalise on the Italian Prime Minister’s weakness and win concessions on key policies, including development aid and climate change. Mr Brown knows that three days in Italy will have little impact on his standing at home. His chairmanship of the G20 summit in London in March won widespread international praise but there was a complete absence of a “bounce” in the polls afterwards.Close allies say, however, that he is looking forward to a week on the world stage, which begins with an Anglo-French summit in Evian on Monday. Mr Berlusconi’s fellow leaders are unimpressed with his presidency of the G8 so far. Aid for the developing countries is a big priority for this, as for all G8s, but Italy’s performance in this area is a “total disgrace”, according to one summit planner

Continue ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6633126.ece