Hakki Alacakaptan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Print/0,3858,4289900,00.html
Plot cry falls on deaf ears Defences are up as Italy's leading politicians ward off critics from home and the rest of Europe, writes Philip Willan Philip Willan Thursday November 1, 2001 The Guardian (...) Mr Berlusconi himself has also been the butt of European media criticism and has now decided to cry foul. Snubbed by other world leaders, vilified by the press - to which he now refuses to speak - and the victim of an anti-Italian lobby: it's simply not fair. Even the Corriere della Sera has noticed this sad state of affairs, commenting recently: "It's unpleasant to point out, but it seems that Berlusconi is becoming, for a portion of European public opinion, a little Milosevic to be kept under constant democratic vigilance." (...) But if Mr Berlusconi has failed to cut a dash on the international stage since taking office four months ago, it may not be entirely the fault of a prejudiced press. Belgium's foreign minister gave him nought out of 10 for his performance, the same mark as for the Taliban, after his public gaffe about western cultural superiority over Islam. And his government's record at home has not exactly added lustre to his image. A law making international judicial cooperation more difficult, which critics say was intended to assure the prime minister's acquittal over embarrassing charges of corrupting Rome magistrates, is beginning to have practical effects. Lawyers representing Mafia bosses and the country's top international cigarette smuggler have announced they will invoke the new law to have evidence struck out that was acquired from abroad under the old rules. This week the widely respected head of the national anti-racket organisation, which encourages businessmen to denounce Mafia demands for protection money and compensates them in the event of financial losses, resigned from his post. Tano Grasso was indignant at being flanked in his work by a police officer appointed by the new government. "The appointment of a new commissioner has seriously undermined my role in an activity that does not permit the slightest weakening, because the lives and hopes of the victims of extortion and usury are at stake," Mr Grasso wrote in his letter of resignation. Charismatic leaders of the anti-Mafia struggle were kept waiting all day by the interior minister when they gathered in Rome last week to express solidarity with Mr Grasso. His departure is almost universally seen as a serious setback for the war on crime. (...)