Berlusconi should not be leading the G8

Sleaze is not the biggest problem; the Italian Prime Minister has failed to keep his aid promises.

Silvio Berlusconi was born in 1936, the same year that Hitler hosted the Summer Olympics. It would be fair to say that the bevy of women now talking of their steamy nights with the Italian leader probably don’t even remember Italia 90, let alone anything pre-Anschluss. And so the Commedia dell’Arte rumbles on, with Mr Berlusconi’s lawyer playing the unlicensed court fool. All this could just be another seedy tale if it wasn’t for the fact that the Prime Minister of Italy not only leads this merry dance but is chairing next week’s G8 summit in L’Aquila. Despite Mr Berlusconi’s position as longest-serving G8 leader, this old boys’ club of rich nations should surely be embarrassed that the Italian leader is playing host. Not, of course, because France, Canada, the US, UK, Japan, Russia and Germany have taken a moral stance on the Italian leader’s entanglement in sleaze. No, for a more important reason still: the G8’s agenda has Africa and development firmly at its centre but Mr Berlusconi has failed to keep his aid promises. The billionaire tycoon has directed his national gaze inwards, causing Italy to shrink in international stature. His moral failings in the treatment of the world’s poor rather than his poolside parties mean that his place at the top table deserves to be threatened.

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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6605079.ece