THE NOODLE SPINED:

Pasta and fries: Italian anti-Americanism costs Romano Prodi his job (The Economist, 2/22/07)

Behind the defeat lay profound divisions over foreign policy within Mr Prodi's government. In recent weeks two largely separate issues have become perilously entwined. One is Italy's contribution to Afghanistan's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Since Mr Prodi pulled Italian forces out of Iraq last year, the left-most members of his sprawling, nine-party coalition, which includes Greens, Christian centrists, ex-communists and radical leftists, have increasingly focused their attention on ISAF. Though the mission has a United Nations mandate, it is NATO-run, jarring the Italian left's strong pacifist and anti-American sensibilities. Three ministers walked out of the cabinet rather than sign off extra funding for the Afghan force, which has yet to be endorsed by parliament. [...]

The day before the Senate vote, Mr Prodi sealed a deal with the majority of the doubters in his camp by promising to use a meeting on Afghanistan in Rome, due by May, to prepare a future peace conference (to which some on the left would like to invite the Taliban). But this proved too little for two far-left senators, who withheld their votes.

They and other radicals were equally exercised by the government's readiness to agree to the expansion of an American military base at Vicenza in northern Italy. On February 17th, some 70,000 people--including leading figures in the governing coalition--marched in protest at the plan. Mr Prodi swiftly declared that he did not intend changing a 50 year-old defence policy, based on the three pillars of the European Union, the UN and NATO.

Fine words. But barely a week later, that once-uncontroversial approach to Italy's alliances had ended in disaster.

The Democrats are so trapped in the past they still think the Europeans are our allies.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 22, 2007 10:35 AM