Berlusconi loses a pawn in Brussels, but does he care?

Silvio Berlusconi, also due to his anti-European campaign, has lost an important asset in Brussels. Mario Mauro, the leader of the People of Freedom movement (Pdl) in the European Parliament, announced leaving the Cavaliere to line up with Mario Monti.

The news arrived during a European People’s Party (EPP) parliamentary meeting; more than once the group had expressed being uncomfortable with Berlusconi’s return to the stage, instead they openly leaned toward Monti. Mauro’s European colleagues hailed his decision with a standing ovation, honoring the choice made by a man with moral integrity and intellectual honesty, not to mention his sincere and passionate Europeanism which are unequivocally recognized and appreciated in Brussels. This passion and approach brought him a step away from becoming President of the Parliament in 2009 if only Berlusconi hadn’t burned him. Perhaps a partnership that had lasted since 1999 was already beginning to dissolve. During that time, as a member of Comunione and Liberazione (a mainstream catholic association) in Brussels, he was one of the Cavaliere’s most loyal squires. He was the man, who at that time, was first to weave difficult relations with the European Union, paving the way and fixing mistakes, creating his own masterpieces of diplomacy in attempt to save his leader for Europe and also to avoid extra damage to Italy. Mauro, Europeanist, democratic and above all catholic, never hid his reservations about the excessiveness of the People of Freedom’s leader, in politics and his private life. His rectitude is also a reason Mauro is one of the most respected politicians in Europe, even José Manuel Barroso, the President of European Commision, consults him on the most delicate political issues.

 Mario Mauro, Milanese but born in San Giovanni Rotondo (near Foggia -from where he maintained a noticeable accent), was alone yesterday, the portrayal of the loser (politically speaking). In 2009 exclusively because of Berlusconi, he did not become President of the Parliament. Now he is without a party and, until now, out of his 25 People of Freedom European deputies, “his own” deputies, no one followed him. Gabriele Albertini is out, but of his own accord; some will move to “Fratelli d’Italia” but he’s the only one going to Monti. He decided, he explained in an interview with journalists, based on Berlusconi’s “populist deviation and anti-Europeanism”, who also committed “a tragic error” allying himself with the Northern League again. “If these elections become a referendum of for or against Europe, I choose Europe”, highlighting, and not hiding, he does not deny his past: “I will always feel responsible about what was not accomplished: this is the real political problem. The rise of the center right promised to complete a series of reforms that were not realized. It is a 20 year long history in which much was said but little was done”.

 “I will commit to the electoral campaign of Senator Monti, but am still reflecting on my candidacy, the decision has not yet been made”, he explains. But he does not have many options open, although esteemed and well thought of, without a party with enough supporters behind him, the roads in Strasbourg are closed. And who knows how many Euro MP’s Monti could elect next year with the proportional system… (We read this morning in the Italian press that the Prime Minister announced the candidatute of Mauro to the Senate in Lombardy. As expected.)