This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000536 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM KISL IT ITALIAN POLITICS ITALY NATIONAL ELECTIONS
SUBJECT: CARTOON-WEARING MINISTER RESIGNS 
 
REF: (A) TRIPOLI 58 (B) TRIPOLI 55 (C) ROME 460 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor David D. Pearce, 
for reasons 1.5 (b)(d) 
 
 ¶1.  (C)  Summary.  Italy's Reforms Minister resigned 
February 18 following violent protests against the Italian 
consulate in Benghazi.  The minister, Roberto Calderoli 
of the Northern League, had won notoriety for wearing 
T-shirts emblazoned with cartoons that had triggered 
protests in Islamic countries.  PM Berlusconi reportedly 
will not fill Calderoli's position before April elections. 
Meanwhile, seventy Italians were evacuated from Libya. 
Berlusconi called Qaddafi and the two agreed the incident 
was serious but should not disrupt bilateral relations. 
Emergency intra-party talks on the center-right concluded 
that Calderoli's resignation would not undermine the 
Northern League's position within the ruling coalition. 
In fact, the Northern League won Berlusconi's support 
for a five-point electoral program that included key 
pro-Christian and anti-immigrant planks of the League's 
platform.  Growing concern about attacks on Christians is 
feeding the center-right's family/Italian values campaign. 
Rome magistrates are investigating Calderoli for violating 
laws that prohibit expressing contempt for religion. 
But the minister's publicity stunt probably earned both 
votes and support for the Northern League's anti-immigrant, 
particularly anti-Muslim, policies.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U)  Following violent demonstrations February 17 
against the Italian consulate in Benghazi (Refs A and B) 
which resulted in at least 11 deaths, Northern League party 
Minister for Reforms Roberto Calderoli conceded to pressure 
and tendered his resignation February 18.  Italy evacuated 
70 citizens from Libya over the weekend, although FM Fini 
is quoted as suggesting the demonstrations were sparked 
more by domestic opposition to Qaddafi than by the 
cartoons.  PM Berlusconi called Qaddafi February 18 to 
confirm the GOI considered the attack on the consulate 
serious but said that the incident would not disrupt 
bilateral relations.  Qaddafi reportedly offered guarantees 
that Libya would continue to provide Italy with natural gas 
supplies.  The MFA continues to carefully monitor reaction 
to the cartoons in Islamic countries. 
 
League Wins Support 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C) Berlusconi announced that he will not fill 
Calderoli's position before the April elections.  However, 
Calderoli's actions led to an emergency meeting of the 
center-right that confirmed the resignation will not 
undermine the Northern League's position in the ruling 
coalition.  In fact, the League won support from Berlsuconi 
for its five-point electoral platform.  The planks include: 
a defense of Italy's Christian roots; "fiscal federalism" 
that translates into the ability of regions to collect 
taxes on their own; pro-family policies to include tax 
benefits for having children and recognition for only 
heterosexual marriages; immigration policy aimed against 
"clandestini" (illegals) and legal immigration under quotas, 
but only for countries that reflect Italian "cultural" 
values; 
and, a promise to support the upcoming referendum on 
devolution (not all members of the coalition share the 
League's passion on this topic). 
 
Mixed Messages 
-------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Rome magistrates announced they will open an 
investigation of whether Calderoli violated laws that 
prohibit expressing contempt for religion.  Berlusconi was 
quoted in the weekend papers as being concerned that the 
Calderoli incident not alienate moderate Muslims, and Fini 
paid a surprise visit to the Rome mosque.  The Minister of 
Interior's Muslim Consultative Council has condemned the 
cartoons but called for only peaceful, legal demonstrations 
against them.  Pope Benedict has publicly called for an end 
to the violent reactions to the cartoons. 
 
¶5.  (C) On the other hand, the T-shirt debacle, combined 
with press coverage of global attacks on priests and 
Christian churches, is fueling a growing public and private 
chorus of concern about defending Christianity from Islam. 
The murder of an Italian priest in Turkey and reported 
attacks against churches and Christians in Nigeria and 
Libya has increased public concerns.  Senate President Pera 
warned that "if we genuflect to them, we are lost." 
Editorials are questioning the limits of tolerance and 
wondering if Italy should stop succumbing to the Stockholm 
syndrome of defending its captors.  This drumbeat also 
coincides neatly with the center-right's family 
values/Italian identity electoral campaign.  And Calderoli 
certainly calculated the effect of his publicity stunt, 
which was designed both to attract votes and bolster his 
position within the Northern League party.  Since Umberto 
Bossi's stroke in 2004, there has been a growing power 
struggle over leadership of the League. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Comment:  The Calderoli affair has spurred public 
debate over defending Christian identity and values. 
Inevitably, the discussion has also tied in immigration 
policy.  And while Calderoli may have stepped down from 
government, his actions probably earned both votes 
and support for the Northern League's anti-immigrant, 
and particularly anti-Muslim, policies. 
SPOGLI