Blair flies to Rome to soothe Berlusconi
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tony Blair flew to Rome yesterday afternoon for a fleeting summit with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, the underlying message of which was that the two leaders were once again firm friends.
A little over two weeks ago Mr Berlusconi described a summit meeting between the leaders of Britain, France and Germany in Berlin as a pasticcio, a mess. Europe he said "has no need of any directorate". Yesterday Mr Blair went out of his way to agree. "There is not and never has been any question of a self-appointed directoire," he said in answer to a question. "That's not what we should be about."
Mr Berlusconi, with his support for the war in Iraq and commitment, on paper at least, to thoroughgoing economic reform in Europe, is Mr Blair's oldest and most reliable EU ally. But the Berlin meeting on 18 February went down badly in Rome. Several other EU members also criticised the meeting, but the mercurial Italian media tycoon was by far the most outspoken.
The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to Iraq, where Italy's peace-keeping force in the south makes it one of the most committed members of the US-led coalition. Mr Blair appeared to admit that the timetable for the handover of political control to Iraqis, scheduled for 30 June, might slip after the devastating attacks on Shia worshippers this week. "There is always debate over the timetable," he said, "but we should do our best to stick to it."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments