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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/04/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR IT
SUBJECT: PDL STALWARTS TALK POLITICS ALLA MILANESE 
 
REF: MILAN 31 
 
MILAN 00000056  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: CG Daniel Weygandt for Reasons 1.4 (b, d) 
 
¶1. (U) This is a joint Consulate General Milan/Embassy Rome 
cable. 
 
¶2. (C) Summary: Blunt assessments of local, national, and 
foreign policy issues emerged from a lunch the Consul General 
hosted for senior Milan-based national and EU political 
figures. In Milan, the imbroglio over the EXPO is exposing 
the Mayor's weaknesses and tensions with Rome.  Nationally, 
the collapse of the center-left opposition may also weaken 
Berlusconi's coalition.  On foreign policy the guests 
delivered clear messages: the United States should engage 
Syria and Italy was doing all it can in Afghanistan.  We plan 
to host additional events like this to try and elicit 
viewpoints from national figures that may differ from those 
heard in Rome.  End summary. 
 
Looks Who's Coming to Lunch 
 
¶3. (C) Three senior Milan-based national politicians from 
Berlusconi's People of Liberty (PdL) coalition ) former 
Milan mayor Gabriele Albertini, local journalist turned 
parliamentarian Giorgio Stracquadanio, and Lombardy Senator 
(and Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs) Alfredo Mantica ) 
sat down with the Consul General on February 23.  Though all 
are now working in Rome or Brussels, they give a 
Milan-flavored point of view on local, national, and foreign 
policy priorities. 
 
Milan - EXPO 2015 Stalemate 
 
¶4. (SBU) Planning for EXPO 2015, which Milan was awarded with 
great fanfare nearly a year ago, has become a political briar 
patch for Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti.  As we'll report in 
septel, EXPO management problems illustrate fundamental 
tensions between Milan's leadership and the national 
government in Rome ) a tension that we've also seen flare up 
in the context of the restructuring of Alitalia (see reftel 
for details). 
 
¶5. (SBU) All agreed that the lack of progress on plans for 
the EXPO is a serious problem for Mayor Moratti.  The failure 
of the Mayor to get her nominee (and right-hand man) Paolo 
Glisenti approved as a managing director for the project has 
been politically embarrassing.  Equally embarrassing has been 
her inability to get the treasury to release funds 
desperately needed to get the show on the road.  Though the 
funding iceberg may be melting, the quid pro quo appears to 
be Glisenti's head ) a Pyrrhic victory for the Mayor.  All 
around the table agreed that whatever popular acclaim Moratti 
gained from winning the EXPO for Milan has all but worn off. 
 
¶6. (SBU) We note that at least Albertini's views on this may 
be tainted by his own political ambitions.  He remains very 
popular from his time as mayor prior to Moratti.  Though 
prevented by term limits from extending his tenure, he may be 
preparing a return to Milan politics, possibly as the center 
right candidate for the Province of Milan in the June 
elections. 
 
Coming Together is Difficult without a Common Foe 
 
¶7.  (C) Turning to national political issues, our guests 
talked at length about the future of the PdL in the absence 
of a real opposition movement.  None doubted that the merger 
between Forza Italia (FI) and National Alliance (AN) parties 
would go ahead, but they noted that the weakness of the 
center left was not necessarily a benefit for Berlusconi. 
With a solid majority and no real opposition the governing 
coalition can pass easily through parliament anything it 
wants.  Ironically, according to Stracquadanio, therein lies 
the problem.  Though allies on the center right, AN and FI 
(still separate forces in the PdL) and coalition partner the 
Northern League do not agree on much. 
 
¶8. (C) Embassy contacts in Rome have pointed to the fact that 
a working opposition is also necessary for the government to 
push through some of its major planned reforms, including 
judicial reform and parliamentary procedure reform. We note 
that without a credible opposition, the center right will be 
less focused on its agenda and will spend more time on 
internal bickering. In the north, PdL particularly fears 
losing support to the Northern League. As AN continues its 
progress toward the mainstream, some AN militants have told 
the Embassy that the Northern League is increasingly 
attractive because of its tough law and order and 
anti-illegal immigrant positions. 
 
MILAN 00000056  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
Frank Foreign Policy Advice 
 
¶9.  (C) As the meal proceeded, the Consul General took on 
board some rather unexpected foreign policy advice.  Most 
notably, Mantica stressed that the time for engagement with 
Syria was now.  He said the Syrians would be open to a 
dialogue and could be helpful on the Israeli-Palestinian 
question.  He lamented that we thought it necessary for the 
Syrians to pull out immediately from Lebanon, saying they had 
provided stability there for years.  A better approach would 
have been a staged pullout over a number of years to give the 
Lebanese time to adjust.  He mentioned, however, that Syria 
could still play a positive role in Lebanon.  We note that 
the decision for Italian troops to go into Lebanon under 
UNIFIL was made by the previous center-left government. 
Mantica's statements, thus, may be based on the desire to 
find a graceful way to pull out Italian troops. 
 
¶10.  (C) On Afghanistan, Mantica was skeptical about progress 
towards a fully functioning democracy in that country.  He 
maintained that Afghanistan still had not made any serious 
steps beyond tribalism.  He highlighted Italian support for 
the Afghan mission to date, but said that more important than 
the number of the Italian soldiers was their function.  He 
stated that the Italian government had basically shifted its 
presence from a peacekeeping force to what he characterized 
as a "full-on attack" group.  He implied that the GOI was 
extremely satisfied with its presence in Afghanistan and was 
not prepared to do more.  We note that MFA Undersecretary 
positions are political plums that are distributed within the 
ruling coalition but they are not always particularly 
influential. Though Mantica's take on both Syria and 
Afghanistan is not an uncommon one, the thrust of official 
MFA policy in both areas is much more positive and closely 
aligned with our own. 
 
Biographical Notes 
 
¶11. (SBU) Alfredo Mantica was born July 17, 1943 in Rimini. 
He is currently the Undersecretary for Foreign affairs 
responsible for relations with European and former Soviet 
states. Has been politically active in AN since 1987 and is 
known as one of Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa's main men 
in Milan.  He has a reputation for being analytical and 
incisive. He is a strong supporter of the United States and 
focuses on strengthening and using his friendships with 
international leaders. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Gabriele Albertini was born on July 6, 1950 in 
Milan. He graduated with a law degree in 1974 and took over 
the family's metalworking business.  He was elected to two 
terms as mayor of Milan (1997-2006).  Even after leaving 
office, he has remained active on local issues such as 
traffic and pollution.  He is known for his independent 
disposition and retains a strong popular backing in Lombardy. 
He is currently an EU parliamentarian with Forza Italia. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Giorgio Stracquadanio was born on March 22, 1959 in 
Milan.  Before being elected to the Senate in 2006, he was a 
journalist, contributing primarily to the newspapers "Libero" 
and "Il Tempo."  He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 
¶2008. Since 2007 he has been the deputy chairman of 
Fondazione Italia USA. He represents Forza Italia and is 
close to Berlusconi. He is known in the media as "The Spin 
Doctor" and for being PM Berlusconi's ghostwriter. 
 
Comment: Back Home in Milano 
 
¶14. (C) Though these three individuals have made it on the 
broader political stage, and have close ties to the ruling 
class of Rome, their Milan connections remain strong.  Back 
home ) freed from the confines of Rome and Brussels ) they 
advanced points of view on national and foreign policy issues 
that differ from the official line.  The Consul General has 
scheduled events with similar political figures from the 
Northern League and the Democratic Party in hopes of 
encouraging an equally open "just between us Milanese" 
dialogue. 
WEYGANDT