VZCZCXRO5316
PP RUEHAG RUEHROV
DE RUEHMIL #0073/01 1140829
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 230829Z APR 08
FM AMCONSUL MILAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1464
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 8389
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 0164
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 0161
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MILAN 000073 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/WE, EUR/PPD 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/22/2018 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TBIO MARR MCAP IT

SUBJECT: ITALY: PRIORITIES FOR PROBABLE DEFENSE MINISTER 
 
MILAN 00000073  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Classified By: CG Daniel Weygandt.  Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 

------- 
Summary 
------- 
 

¶1.  (C) Ignazio La Russa is the most likely candidate for 
Minister of Defense in Berlusconi's government.  If given 
this portfolio, he said he would work to quickly increase 
MOD's budget, increase Carabinieri police patrols for 
domestic security, and try to establish military summer camps 
for Italian youth.  He promised to travel to Afghanistan 
within seven days of taking office to highlight the 
importance of Italy's mission there.  He said the USG no 
longer needs to worry about its military bases in Italy, and 
he is eager to work with the USG on a range of issues.  He 
expects a cooperative relationship between the People of 
Liberty Party and the Northern League in the governing 
coalition.  End summary. 
 


----------------------------------- 
Priorities for the Defense Ministry 
----------------------------------- 
 

¶2.  (C) Ignazio La Russa, former National Alliance (AN) 
politician and current member of Berlusconi's People of 
Liberty Party (PdL), confirmed to the Consul General he was 
virtually certain to be named Berlusconi's Minister of 
Defense as press reports have been speculating.  He gave 
three priorities he will focus on as Minister:  increasing 
the budget for the military, enhancing cooperation between 
the state police and the Carabinieri (police under MOD 
control) to enhance domestic security, and opening domestic 
Italian military bases to youth in the summer to instill a 
sense of civic pride and participation. 


 
------------------------------- 
Bigger Budgets from Berlusconi? 
------------------------------- 
 

¶3.  (C) La Russa was clear that Italy must shoulder more of 
the military burden internationally.  He stated his top 
priority if he were Minister of Defense would be to push for 
an increased military budget.  He would use the additional 
funds to purchase more arms and to modernize Italy's military 
services.  He was confident that he could secure such an 
increase from Berlusconi because of his independent political 
base (as a popular former AN politician in the Milan area) 
and his personal relationship with him.  He insisted that the 
increase must not only be an increase in monetary terms but 
also in percentage of GDP.  (Comment: It would still be an 
uphill battle to get any significant budget increase given 
Italy's sluggish economic growth.  End comment.) 
 


----------------------- 
Cleaning up the Streets 
----------------------- 
 

¶4.  (C) La Russa described domestic security as a critical 
issue for the Italian electorate; however, he characterized 
it more as a matter of perception than reality (he called 
Italy's street crime rates among the lowest in the world). 
He relayed that he had already spoken with Berlusconi's 
probable choice for Minister of Interior, Roberto Maroni 
(Northern League-LN), on this issue.  He said they agreed to 
mesh state police (controlled by the Ministry of the 
Interior) and Carabinieri (controlled by Defense) efforts to 
increase the visibility of police patrols at night in major 
cities.  La Russa noted he might need to justify the military 
police patrols as measures to control off-duty Italian 
servicemen, but that the increased patrols would be a 
deterrent to crime and cause an immediate change in public 
perceptions whatever the justification. 
 


--------------------- 
Military Summer Camps 
--------------------- 
 

¶5.  (C) Coming from a generation that served compulsorily in 
the military, La Russa lauded the spirit of civic 
responsibility and pride that military service can instill. 
While he by no means suggests a return to mandatory service, 
he proposes that domestic military bases in Italy open their 
doors to young people each summer for thirty day internships. 
 
MILAN 00000073  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 He hoped this would promote military service as a career for 
some, but also a sense of national identity and service to 
country.  He said the program could indirectly serve to 
combat petty crime and drug use among young people. 
 


---------------------------- 
To Afghanistan Within 7 Days 
---------------------------- 

 
¶6.  (C) La Russa asked the Consul General on advice for where 
he should make his first trip as Minister of Defense: 
Afghanistan or Lebanon.  At the Consul General's urging, he 
promised to visit Afghanistan within seven days of his 
appointment.  He said it is one thing to praise Italian 
forces in Afghanistan and call for a more productive role, 
but that visiting the troops there immediately would send an 
even stronger message. 


 
------------------------------- 
No Need to Worry for U.S. Bases 
------------------------------- 

 
¶7.  (C) Turning to the military bases in Italy, and 
especially the base expansion project in Vicenza, La Russa 
was adamant that the U.S. need not worry with the newly 
elected government.  He did not go into specific details, but 
it was clear he is well acquainted with, and supports, U.S. 
military installations in Italy.  He literally described 
himself as pro-American.  He related his involvement in the 
youth wing of the Italian Social Movement (MSI) in the late 
1960s as an example of his pro-U.S. sentiment.  He said the 
movement was split into two camps: one pro-Palestinian and 
the other pro-American (and pro-Israeli).  He called himself 
a leading exponent of the latter. 


 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Berlusconi's the Boss: Internal Party Politics 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 

¶8.  (C) La Russa painted a clear picture of the PdL as a 
party with Berlusconi on top with no second tier leaders.  He 
called this a strength, but also a weakness.  He noted that 
Forza Italia had been an amorphous party with key positions 
handed out at Berlusconi's whim.  La Russa said he would work 
to organize the PdL into a coherent, stable party.  He used 
the fate of Lombardy Region President Roberto Formigoni as an 
example of Berlusconi's leadership style.  Formigoni has been 
widely discussed in the press as a possible minister in 
Berlusconi's government.  La Russa noted that PdL leadership 
met and Berlusconi had decided to have Formigoni continue as 
regional president rather than become a minister.  Still, La 
Russa said the final decision would be made in a one-on-one 
meeting between Berlusconi and Formigoni, and that it is, in 
fact, quite possible to change Berlusconi's mind. 
 


------------------------------- 
La Russa: In Love with Politics 
------------------------------- 
 

¶9.  (C) La Russa noted that he had been asked to be a 
Minister in the last Berlusconi government, but that he 
preferred to serve as the head of the AN parliamentary group. 
 In this way, he was able to work on the full range of 
government issues rather than being constricted to a certain 
portfolio.  Calling himself ""in love with politics,"" he said 
he enjoyed his time in the opposition.  He noted it was 
""extremely gratifying"" to righteously point out the flaws of 
the government.  He jokingly said he would have preferred to 
remain in the opposition for his entire career instead of 
being in government.  Still, he wanted to be a minister this 
time around to give a noble end to his political career. 
 


----------------- 
Justice Minister? 
----------------- 
 

¶10.  (C) As a lawyer, he called himself perhaps more adapted 
to serving as Minister of Justice, a role apparently floated 
by Berlusconi.  He blatantly stated that he would not want to 
be the person between Berlusconi and the magistrates, wryly 
noting that PdL's rising young female leader Mariastella 
Gelmini would be more suitable as she would do whatever 
Berlusconi wanted.  (Note: Financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore 
predicted in its morning edition that Gelmini would likely be 
 
MILAN 00000073  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
named Minister of Justice.  End note.)  He mentioned his 
fascination with the military and his brief military service 
in the Folgore Regiment (Italian paratroopers) as reasons why 
he sought the defense portfolio.

 
 
---------------------------------- 
In League with the Northern League 
---------------------------------- 
 

¶11.  (C) Relations between the PdL and the Northern League 
will not be a problem, according to La Russa.  The two 
parties collaborated in the last Berlusconi government and 
had worked together in regional and city governments for over 
a decade.  He compared the rhetoric of the Northern League to 
excessively loud music at a disco club.  If you do not go to 
clubs regularly, you can barely understand what is going on 
and can barely hear the music.  If you turn down the volume 
(or are used to the atmosphere), the music is not too bad. 
Likewise, the party faithful of the Northern League 
appreciate the harsh rhetoric and policy statements, but if 
you tone it down a bit, the LN platform is not too far off 
from that of the PdL.  Some disagreements are clear such as 
LN's original call for secession or an independent foreign 
policy, but PdL got the LN to back off on those demands years 
ago.  LN's xenophobic rants and proposals remain the primary 
irritant between the two parties. 
 


----------------------------- 
Comment: Ready to Get to Work 
----------------------------- 
 

¶11.  (C) La Russa is clearly eager and willing to work with 
the U.S. on a range of priorities from increased Italian 
support in Afghanistan to our bases here in Italy.  Further, 
the fact that he already has a list of priorities before 
being named Minister of Defense gives hope that he will be 
more proactive and less bureaucratic than his predecessors. 
While his background and proposal for military youth programs 
carry a bit of the scent of fascism, he seems convinced that 
centrist politics are the future for serious political 
parties. 
 


-------- 
Bio Note 
-------- 
 

¶11.  (C) La Russa is talkative, energetic and likes to tell 
jokes to illustrate his points.  He has traveled often in the 
U.S. and calls New York City his favorite vacation spot.  He 
speaks English and German.  He is a flamboyant personality 
and freely admits he enjoys being in the limelight.  He is 
married with three sons. 
WEYGANDT 
"