Berlusconi the admirer of dictators

The Italian Prime Minister didn’t raise a question of human rights in Belarus during his meeting with last Europe’s dictator Lukashenka in Minsk. The issues of free elections, political prisoners, and freedom of speech weren’t discussed.

Silvio Berlusconi never felt uncomfortable to establish working contacts with authoritarian regimes (he has enough clouds on his reputation). The parties discussed only economic issues: Belarusian banks, insurance business, oil refining, chemical enterprises.

Berlusconi’s visit to Minsk, ended late in the evening yesterday, was planned to be short – only three hours. It is surprising how the Italian MP managed to find time for the trip at all as he is involved in three legal proceedings in Italy. Two of them are connected with details of his private life, the third one is criminal (charges with contacts with mafia) that threats to be the end of his career of such an unsinkable politician he seems to be.

This short working visit of Berlusconi has become the first visit of a western leader to Belarus for the last 15 years. After Brussels had frozen visa bans on Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the Belarusian dictator received an opportunity to pay visits to European Union (he visited Italy on invitation of Berlusconi in spring) and European Commission officials sometimes go to Minsk. But it was the first time when the head of a west-European state (moreover, the head of G7 state) has visited Belarus.

Experts say this would mean establishing warmer relations towards Lukashenka if it were not for one detail, in particular, if it weren’t Silvio Berlusconi but another European leader. Italy has traditionally cooperated with defective democracy states. Besides, if Berlusconi stands trial within a week, the meeting with dictator Lukashenka won’t damage his political reputation against the background of his problems, experts believe.

“It is also important that Berlusconi has warm relations with Russia’s leadership, so his contacts with Lukashenka won’t be taken by Moscow as a hostile stance and an attempt to draw Belarus over into the Western orbit,” Timofei Bordachev, the director of Center for European Policy Studies at Higher School of Economics, told in an interview to RBK daily.

The experts asked agree on one thing: Berlusconi arrived in Minsk to lobby interest of Italian capital.

Leader of the United Civil Party Anatol Lyabedzka thinks Berlusconi represents the policy of European pragmatism in Minsk, not the policy of European values. Lyabedzka met and talked with Silvio Berlusconi before and has own opinion on his personality:

“Berlusconi is a scandalous politician. He resembles Alyaksandr Lukashenka; he is inclined to political adventurism. In my view, he made this visit as a businessman, though he is the leader of the EU country. Berlusconi regards everything, including European values, as goods that have prices. I rule out the possibility that the issue of free elections was discussed with Lukashenka. He is not interested in it. he didn’t speak about freedom of press in Belarus – the Italian press is a real headache for him,” Lyabedzka told in an interview to Radio Svaboda.

Politologist Andrei Fyodarau doesn’t think Berlusconi’s visit is a breakthrough in Belarus–West relations:

“The European Union is not an organization where one person, even the leader of such a powerful country as Italy, is able to make decisions. Moreover, we know that Berlusconi is a rather extravagant person and he’s faced certain problems in Italy due to his behaviour. I think the relations with West won’t change much. After Berlusconi’s trip, we should expect other western leaders to visit Minsk. The rest will be more careful. The fact the EU sanctions have been extended proves the Union is still wary of the events here,” the expert told in an interview to Radio Svaboda.