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Why Berlusconi should not lead the G8

Silvio Berlusconi

Sleaze is not the biggest problem - the Italian Prime Minister has failed to keep his aid promises, says Joanne Green, CAFOD head of policy

Silvio Berlusconi was born in 1936, the same year Hitler hosted the Summer Olympics. It would be fair to say the bevy of women now talking of their steamy nights with the Italian leader probably don't even remember Italia 90, let alone anything pre-Anschluss.

And so the present Commedia dell'Arte rumbles on with Berlusconi's lawyer the unlicensed court fool.

It isn't too late for the other government based in Rome to also lead with moral authority by promising to get its aid promises back on track at this year's G8

Leading a merry dance

All this could just be another seedy tale if it wasn't for the fact that the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic not only leads this merry dance but is chairing this month's G8.

In the earthquake-ravaged town of L'Aquila - which seemed to show its displeasure with a further rumble last week - Berlusconi intends to extend his hubris beyond the bounds of his own electorate.

With development and Africa firmly at the heart of this year's G8 agenda, the Italian PM's failure to keep aid promises should threaten his place at the top table.

Despite Berlusconi's position as longest-serving G8 leader, this old boys' club that holds the wealth of nations as the only credible leverage for power is surely starting to turn its shoulder on this embarrassment.

Not, of course, because France, Canada, the US, UK, Japan, Russia and Germany have a moral take on the Italian leader's involvement in sleaze.

It's much more that the billionaire tycoon has directed his national gaze inwards, causing Italy to shrink in international stature and clout.

Four years ago in Gleneagles, leaders promised to double their aid to Africa by $25bn a year by 2010. Even before the financial crisis the Italian government had shown little commitment, having increased its giving by just 3% when a whopping 145% is needed from now to reach its aid target.

And recently they announced their intention of making devastating cuts in their aid budget, blaming the financial crisis.

Based on 2008 figures and due to their smaller Gross National Income (GNI), the Italians give less total aid than any other G7 (without Russia) country. And now it's likely they will be giving less aid than any other country as a percentage of their GNI.

Italy's obfuscatory tactic is a new initiative called the "whole of country" approach. This aims to assess and bundle together not just what each rich country government gives in aid, but what their civil society, private sector, trade links and individuals contribute to the development pot.

Italy even wants Vatican aid donations to be included as part of the new accounting. Non-G8 nations Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain all give more aid than Italy, have a more progressive approach to other development issues and, one could argue, have at least equal amounts of global influence.

If we are to have a G8 with any credibility, shouldn't one of these countries slip into Berlusconi's warm seat?

The Vatican is about to ask world leaders to act on poverty with Pope Benedict's first social justice encyclical calling for a new economic order respecting the dignity of every human being.

It isn't too late for the other government based in Rome to also lead with moral authority by promising to get its aid promises back on track at this year's G8.

A version of this comment article was published in The Times

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CAFOD is the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales

Why Berlusconi should not lead the G8

Leading a merry dance