Concern over the presence of the Northern League and its influence over the forthcoming government is often cited in reports from Italian all-news satellite channel Al-Jazeera, which has however taken a standard approach so as not to throw petrol onto the fire. Again, with regards to the Northern League, Talal Khrais, at the end of a lengthy editorial in Lebanese paper As-Safir, addresses the league’s players; “Berlusconi is back in the government, and with him the Northern League are back too, noted for their extremist faces such as the honourable Roberto Calderoli, who has insulted both Islam and Muslims and wore a T-shirt depicting cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.” The reasons behind the defeat of the centre-left and especially of Veltroni are another outstanding topic in reports in the Arab media. According to newspaper Annahar, Veltroni’s defeat was due to Prodi’s ‘failure’ in ‘resolving the country’s economic problems’.

In the Arabic version of satellite channel France 24, an interesting debate on the inconceivable exclusion and lack of every socialist and communist reference in the next parliament has been heavily reported. According to Talal Khrais in As-Safir, the absence of the left in Parliament is due to a transversal alliance between Silvio Berlusconi and Walter Veltroni. Meanwhile only Turkey is celebrating out loud. The headline in the Harriyet was ‘our greatest promoter has returned’, and the paper stresses how news of the victory is also seen by the country as some kind of guarantee on the international field. For Silvio Berlusconi it would be in his interest to invest in relations with the Arab world, first however he will have to shake off his now widespread image within Arab societies of a man who is too pro-American, who sent troops to Iraq, who declared he wanted to make his first foreign state visit to Israel, and who made the unfortunate remark on the superiority of Western civilization over the Arab-Islamic world.

Yet beyond the actual intentions of the future Prime Minister, international geopolitical conjunctures such as the blossoming economy of countries in the Gulf, the volatile nature of petrol prices, and the need to ‘make plans’ with neighbouring Maghreb countries on matters relating to illegal immigration, will inevitably force Silvio Berlusconi to compromise with his Arab neighbours. And we are also certain that he will know to make use of his acknowledged gift of being a great communicator. On this occasion, all the grovelling ‘Salaams’ will be permitted.

Translation by Helen Waghorn