Several nations in Europe, Italy in particular, nurtured a close relationship with the Libyan dictator in recent years in pursuit of lucrative business interests. Kadafi's crackdown on protesters now puts the Europeans in a tight spot.Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi ardently pursued the approval of Libyan strongman Moammar Kadafi in a relationship that has been a pillar of Italian foreign policy. Flattering him has been key to Italy's continued access to Libya's oil and gas supplies — worth billions of dollars — and to keeping Libyan refugees away from Italian shores.
The 2009 visit was Kadafi's first to Italy, so Berlusconi pulled out all the stops, allowing him to pitch a tent in the middle of a park in Rome and arranging a party for him attended by hundreds of Italian women. After Kadafi left, Italy's place as Libya's No. 1 trading partner seemed secure. But two years later, Kadafi's brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters has put Berlusconi in an awkward position and embarrassed Italy and other European nations that have eagerly embraced Libya's despotic leader with an eye to trade possibilities and his country's abundant natural resources.
Many of these nations stand accused of naivete at best and greedy opportunism at worst in their willingness to accept that the onetime pariah had changed. Despite little evidence that Kadafi was easing his grip on power or allowing political reform, several European nations busily strengthened their ties with Libya and pursued lucrative commercial interests in recent years, even as they continued to profess lofty ideals of promoting democracy and human rights.
"The speed with which Europe turned its back on him after he ordered his troops to shoot at his people says nothing good about us," the Portuguese newspaper Publico wrote this week. "It only confirms our reverence for money and our scant regard for the freedom of others."
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