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Aftershocks put summit in jeopardy
Silvio Berlusconi faces embarrassment over ‘unready’ conference site for G8 summit in L’Aquila and further showgirl photos
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faces further derision as a series of aftershocks have rocked the Italian town of L'Aquila, where the G8 summit is due to be held this week having been moved from Sardinia. The tremors in recent days have reached 4.1 on the Richter scale, reportedly sending crockery crashing to the floor in the police barracks hastily remodeled to accommodate the G8 delegations.
Many observers felt it was bizarre decision of Berlusconi's to move the summit there following the earthquake in April which left 300 dead, 53,000 homeless and the medieval town in ruins. As a result of the aftershocks, all the leaders' helicopters will have to be on permanent standby for a swift evacuation in the event of a new quake.
Even without the aftershocks, preparations for the summit appear chaotic. A reporter who visited the town for the Guardian on Saturday found the area looking like a war zone, with workmen labouring frantically to ready the site for the two-day summit starting Wednesday. At Berlusconi's insistence, a basketball court had been created for President Obama's use, but was not actually ready.
As for how the G8 delegations will get to L'Aquila, the reporter discovered that they have to fly into a tiny airport converted from a flying club. It is ringed by mountains and the first planes to touch down last week were having to make "spine-tingling turns" in order to line up with the runway.
Little wonder that the First Wives are reported to be planning to stay in Rome and have nothing to do with the trip to the conference proper in L'Aquila.
According to a report in the Mail on Sunday, given the absence of Mrs Berlusconi, Veronica Lario. who is seeking a divorce from the PM, the leaders' spouses will be looked after by Italy's Equal Opportunities Minister, former calendar girl Mara 'La Bella' Carfagna. While this may cheer up German Chancellor Angela Merkel's husband, Joachim Sauer, it will probably not impress Carla Bruni, Sarah Brown, Michelle Obama et al.
Meanwhile, Berlusconi faces yet further embarrassment over showgirl photographs taken at his Sardinian holiday home, the Villa Certosa. Several European magazines are reported to be bidding for the photos by Antonello Zappadu, which are said to show the prime minister grinning broadly while two young women put on a 'lesbian clinch' for his benefit. ·
