VZCZCXRO9078
PP RUEHFL RUEHNP
DE RUEHRO #1032 2471600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 041600Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2626
INFO RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN PRIORITY 0205
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE PRIORITY 3775
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES PRIORITY 3984
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ROME 001032 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL OVIP IT
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR THORNE PRESENTS CREDENTIALS TO 
PRESIDENT NAPOLITANO 
 
¶1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 


¶2. (SBU) Ambassador David Thorne presented his credentials to 
President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano at the 
Quirinale Palace, Rome, on September 4.  During a 
wide-ranging discussion of foreign policy and U.S. domestic 
politics, Napolitano stressed repeatedly the importance of 
the U.S.-Italy relationship and his admiration for President 
Obama.  Ambassador Thorne underscored his commitment to 
strengthening the bilateral relationship and to working 
together with Italy to help address the economic and 
political challenges facing the world. 
 

¶3. (SBU) Noting the role that Ambassador Thorne's father had 
played as the Administrator of the Marshall Plan in Italy in 
the 1950s, President Napolitano stressed the importance that 
U.S. assistance had played in the reconstruction and 
stabilization of Italy in the post-war period.  Ambassador 
Thorne's lifelong personal connection to Italy, he said, will 
stand him in good stead over the term of his appointment. 
Napolitano reiterated his pleasure in meeting President Obama 
just prior to the G8 Summit, and affirmed that the 
President's strong voice in foreign affairs had done much to 
repair the image of America in the world, an image that had 
been eroded by the course U.S. policy had taken after 
September 11.  Obama's America is dedicated to listening, he 
said, not just talking. 
 

¶4. (SBU) Sounding a theme he has stressed on previous 
occasions, Napolitano highlighted the importance of the EU as 
a positive force for stability and prosperity not only for 
the EU's neighbors to the east, but for the broader region in 
general.  He praised President Obama for his recognition of 
the importance of the EU, and urged that the U.S. not forget 
Europe even as our attention is drawn increasingly to the 
Middle East, Asia and Africa.  Obama's speeches in Cairo and 
Istanbul, he noted, had done a great deal to create a new 
dynamic in the Middle East and in Europe.  Napolitano was 
also pleased to learn that Speaker Pelosi would be visiting 
Italy September 11-14. 
 

¶5. (SBU) On the Economic front, Napolitano and the Ambassador 
agreed on the importance of the U.S. and Europe working 
closely together to bring about a recovery.  Napolitano asked 
about the health care debate in the U.S., which he has 
followed closely, and conveyed his hope that President Obama 
will be successful in his attempts to get the reform package 
through Congress.  The Ambassador agreed that this is one of 
the President's most important challenges, and noted that 
Senator Kerry has taken up the baton of health care reform 
advocacy held for so many years by the late Senator Kennedy. 
Napolitano closed by stressing that his door is always open 
and that he hoped to see the Ambassador often. 
 

¶6. (SBU) Comment: President Napolitano showed clearly why he 
is so highly regarded in Italian politics.  He is a serious, 
thoughtful figure, an intellectual eminence grise who exerts 
great moral influence from above in an often fractious 
Italian political arena.  End Comment. 
THORNE 
"