VZCZCXRO0028
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHRO #0246/01 0591627
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281627Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9892
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 2918
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 9259
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 3070

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000246 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL IT

SUBJECT: ITALY: PD LEADER VELTRONI SEES NO FOREIGN POLICY 
DISAGREEMENTS WITH U.S. IF HE WINS ELECTIONS 
 
ROME 00000246  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Ronald P. Spogli for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 


SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.(C/NF) Democratic Party (PD) PM candidate Walter Veltroni 
told the Ambassador February 26 he did not think the U.S. 
would have foreign policy disagreements with his government 
should he win April 13-14 parliamentary elections.  Free from 
the constraints of the far left, Veltroni said his government 
could more warmly embrace the Trans Atlantic relationship; do 
more militarily in Afghanistan; be tougher on Iran; have 
closer relations with Israel; and seek greater energy 
independence from Russia.  Veltroni was optimistic about his 
chances for victory, though he did not rule out an eventual 
agreement with former PM Silvio Berlusconi after the 
elections.  End Summary. 


VELTRONI OPTIMISTIC ABOUT VICTORY 
--------------------------------- 

¶2. (C/NF) The Ambassador hosted Democratic Party (PD) 
Secretary and PM candidate Walter Veltroni for lunch February 
 
SIPDIS 
¶26.  A relaxed and optimistic Veltroni styled himself as a 
new brand of politician who is bridging the generational 
divide between Italy's aging political class and its 
disenfranchised youth.  Veltroni said PD internal polls place 
him at most six percentage points behind People of Liberty 
(PdL) candidate Silvio Berlusconi and noted that he is 
gaining a few points weekly.  Veltroni conceded Italy's 
complex electoral laws might force some sort of bipartisan 
political arrangement between himself and Berlusconi, but he 
did not envision any formal agreement on anything beyond 
limited institutional and electoral reforms. 

VELTRONI SEES NO FOREIGN POLICY DISAGREEMENTS 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C/NF) Veltroni told the Ambassador that he did not think 
the U.S. would have foreign policy disagreements with his 
government should he win April 13-14 parliamentary elections. 
 Veltroni emphasized that his decision not to run in a 
coalition with the far left would enable his government to 
talk openly about the importance of the Trans Atlantic 
relationship for Italy. 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Iran:  The Ambassador told Veltroni the U.S had a 
mostly good relationship with current PM Prodi but said 
Italy's Iran policy was the single most difficult issue. 
Citing a September 2007 Veltroni op-ed calling for a 
containment of Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Ambassador made 
the case for economic sanctions and criticized the Prodi 
government for its frequent high level meetings with Iranian 
leaders. Veltroni stated that Iran represents a ""clear 
threat,"" said continued sanctions are vital and agreed high 
level meetings with Iranian officials weakens and undermines 
the international community's message. 
 
¶5. (C/NF) Afghanistan:  Veltroni acknowledged the problems 
NATO is facing in Afghanistan and said Italy can and will do 
more there. 
 

¶6. (C/NF) MEPP: Veltroni was harshly critical of D'Alema's 
treatment of Israel, specifically saying that ""you cannot do 
business with terrorist organizations"" like Hamas and 
Hizbollah. 

¶7. (C/NF) Cuba:  The Ambassador showed Veltroni the statement 
D'Alema issued congratulating Raul Castro on his assumption 
of power in Cuba.  Veltroni appeared embarrassed and said 
that D'Alema's ideological background often shows through in 
his statements. 
 

¶8. (C/NF) Energy Security:  The Ambassador told Veltroni that 
Italy needs to worry about its energy security and is 
becoming overly dependent on Russia for its energy needs. 
Veltroni agreed that Italy must limit its energy dependence 
on Russia and that Italy needs to develop a midterm solution 
(4 -7 years) including the construction of re-gasification 
plants and other infrastructure.  Veltroni lamented that 
environmental permits and overlapping bureaucracies slow down 
project development and said he hopes to streamline the 
process. 


COMMENT 
------- 

¶9. (C/NF) The U.S relationship with the Prodi government has 
 
ROME 00000246  002.2 OF 002
 
been good despite some significant differences on a few 
issues.  Veltroni outlined a relationship that would clearly 
be better if he is indeed able to govern free from the 
influence of the far left.  End Comment. 
SPOGLI 
"