Romano Prodi

Where Angels Fear to Tread: Choosing a President

angels in marble (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009

The suggestion that Massimo d'Alema could be the social democratic choice for High Representative for Foreign Affairs in the European Union has been pushed more and more forcefully in the last few weeks. At first just a piece of chitchat in political and technical circles it is now being discussed in mainstream press articles with details of which social democrats are supporting the candidacy and why...

On the European presidency, climate change, sand exports, Latvia, Thailand, managing banks, Easter Island, military advice

The Economist (Free subscription) | 29/10/2009

SIR – As someone who sought to defend Romano Prodi in his unhappy five years as the European Commission’s president, I thought his dig in your letters page (October 24th) at Britain’s policy towards the European Union was petty. Tony Blair could have risked a referendum on the euro after he became prime minister, but the result would have been the same as in Sweden—a resounding...

The godfather of Europe

Spectator - The Magazine (Free subscription) | 26/10/2009

At first, the European Union’s critics had high hopes for José Manuel Durão Barroso. If Jacques Delors represented Brussels’s unbridled ambition and Romano Prodi its weakness for buffoonery and bumbling incompetence, then this soft-spoken Portuguese lawyer seemed to bring some modesty to the post of president of the European Commission. His appointment, some fancied, showed...

Silvio Berlusconi: the last battle , Geoff Andrews

Open Democracy (Free subscription) | 16/10/2009

The latest legal verdict on Silvio Berlusconi is - it would seem - a cause for cheer among democrats in Europe, and indeed all those who believe in press freedom, the rule of law, transparency and accountability. For in its ruling of 7 October 2009, Italy's constitutional court decided that that the law passed in 2008 by a simple parliamentary majority granting parliamentary immunity to the Italian...

Silvio Berlusconi denies Italy bribed the Taliban

The First Post (Free subscription) | 16/10/2009

Both Silvio Berlusconi and his predecessor Romano Prodi have issued denials following the report in the Times yesterday that 10 French servicemen died in Afghanistan last year…

Did Italy pay off the Taliban?

FP Passport (Free subscription) | 15/10/2009

The Times makes a very serious allegation against the Italian government today in a piece suggesting that the Italian secret service had been secretly paying Taliban leaders to keep an area it was patrolling quiet. Worse, they reportedly didn't tell the French soldiers who took the area over, resulting in an ambush that killed ten French soldiers: The clandestine payments, whose existence was hidden...

Italy’s love affair with the showman Silvio Berlusconi turns sour

Times Online (Free subscription) | 08/10/2009

In April last year Silvio Berlusconi was swept to power for a third term as Prime Minister, capitalising on public disenchantment with the fractious and inept government of his great rival Romano Prodi.

• Berlusconi gets busted: Italy’s love affair ends - Crikey Politics Etc RSS

Afghan journalists want inquiry into killing of Sultan Munadi and compensation for his family

Jon Slattery (Free subscription) | 15/09/2009

A blog by Bob Dietz, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia program coordinator, says a large group of Afghan journalists met on Sunday in Kabul, angry about the death of Sultan Munadi, the Afghan journalist killed in the military raid which rescued New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell from the Taliban. After the meeting, they sent Dietz a list of demands in a statement and a biography of Munadi...

WaPo Whapping

Wheat & Weeds (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009

WaPo's been on an embarrassing tear trying to undo the GOP gubernatorial candidate in VA. The Weekly Standard's take on that is amusing. Occasionally, however, WaPo does redeem itself, as witness this story related to Congressman Wilson's "Liar!" moment, in which we learn how other Parliaments treat their PMs, just by way of comparison. At least Joe Wilson didn't slice President Obama's sausage....

Hamas: The terror elite

Power Line (Free subscription) | 22/07/2009

Not long ago, I heard a senior European diplomat describe Hamas as a relatively moderate organization in the context of the Middle East. Moreover, while perhaps not characterizing Hamas as "moderate" overall, American politicians such as John Kerry and Jimmy Carter and Europeans such as Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and Britain's Tony Blair have spoken of "engaging with moderates"...

Silvio Berlusconi’s age wins him support over alleged affairs

Times Online (Free subscription) | 22/07/2009

If soldi, sport e sesso — riches, sport and sex — were politically indispensable in Italy, the unlamented former Prime Minister Romano Prodi would never have won so much as a council seat.

On the Elgin marbles, Romano Prodi, clearing houses, wine, drugs, fund management, voters, meritocracy

The Economist (Free subscription) | 09/07/2009

SIR – I chuckled at your use of the term “moral clarity” when describing the Greek request that the British Museum return the Elgin marbles to Athens (“Snatched from northern climes”, June 27th). Athens was the force behind the Delian League of Greek city-states in the 5th century BC, which was founded to provide money for the common defence against Persia. The funds...

Election platform of the "European Left": Pious wishes and right-wing policies

Indybay newswire (Free subscription) | 08/06/2009

Saturday, June 6, 2009 : took part in the Romano Prodi government, whose programme of budget cuts prepared the way for the return to power of the right wing led by Silvio Berlusconi. In Germany, the Left Party is part of a coalition with the SPD in the Berlin Senate that has implemented drastic cuts to balance the city's budget.

Romano Prodi urges voters to 'save Italian dignity'

Times Online (Free subscription) | 04/06/2009

Romano Prodi, the former Italian Prime Minister, has broken his silence over the scandals engulfing his successor Silvio Berlusconi and urged Italians to "save Italian democracy and dignity" by voting for the centre left opposition in elections tomorrow.

SPQR hedge fund gatecrashes BlueGem Capital pact with Panmure Gordon

Times Online (Free subscription) | 08/05/2009

A Maserati-driving multimillionaire yesterday went toe-to-toe with a close associate of Romano Prodi, the former Italian Prime Minister, for a significant stake in Panmure Gordon, the stockbroker.