The next target?

Italy and terrorism

Jul 14th 2005 ROME
From The Economist print edition

Terrorism is “knocking at Italy's door”, says the interior minister. Most Italians need no persuading

THERE is a widespread conviction among Italians that, after London's bombs, they are next. It could be felt in the Rome metro this week, where seats were free in carriages that are normally packed. It could be read in a poll for the Corriere della Sera daily, which found that 82% of Italians saw a serious risk of terrorist attacks. Sensing the mood, the government presented a raft of security measures, including new border checks—without going as far as France, which has suspended the Schengen accord on free movement.

Danes also fear an attack—75% of them, says one poll. But while Denmark has 530 troops in Iraq, Italy has 3,000, reflecting the support of Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, for American policy. Since the departure of Spain's José María Aznar, that policy has been identified with the “three Bs”: Bush, Blair and Berlusconi. Not least among the reasons why Muslims dislike Mr Berlusconi is that, after September 11th, he lauded the “superiority” of western civilisation. A statement claiming the London bombs specified Rome as a target, calling it the seat of a “collaborating government” and “capital of the infidels”.

The government's response has been energetic, if less so than some would have liked. After a meeting lasting almost 24 hours, involving civil servants, parliamentary leaders and intelligence chiefs, Giuseppe Pisanu, the interior minister, set off for talks with the Libyans. Many migrants entering Italy illegally from the Middle East arrive via Libya, and Mr Pisanu was seeking help in blocking the movement of suspected extremists. On his return, Mr Pisanu unveiled a raft of new measures. Some can be implemented immediately; others need parliamentary approval. Police will get the right to hold terrorist suspects for 24 hours without turning them over to a magistrate, twice as long as now. The intelligence services will be given broader access to the records of telephone companies and internet service providers. Investigators will be able to offer residence permits to informers. And the authorities will get the power to sequestrate assets of firms suspected of financing terror.

Suspects already under investigation now risk expulsion. More police are to be deployed on anti-terrorist duties. Checks on mosques and Islamic centres are to be stepped up, as are patrols on public transport and surveillance of the Austrian and Slovenian frontiers. This week the police carried out some 200 raids, ratcheting up the pressure on terrorist suspects. And a judge convicted two Islamic militants on terrorism charges dating from 2002.

Mr Pisanu seems sure to get the bipartisan support he needs for his measures. The opposition feared a draconian new anti-terrorist law, but Mr Pisanu reassured them: “We cannot curb the freedom of the public to combat the enemies of freedom.” Centre-left lawmakers applauded this statement. Their unofficial leader, Romano Prodi, praised a set of “serious, targeted” measures. Mr Pisanu may have more trouble with his coalition partners. The formerly neo-fascist National Alliance would like police to be able to hold suspects for 72 hours. The Northern League called for a motion to declare Italy at war.

What many would like to have seen was a move to improve co-ordination of anti-terrorism efforts. Italy has three police forces, each with a unit responsible for anti-terrorist investigations. Individual inquiries are led by prosecutors who do not automatically share findings with each other or with the intelligence services.

The Northern League is pressing for a special ministry similar to America's Department of Homeland Security. Others believe the portfolio is best left with the Interior Ministry, but want a chief anti-terrorist prosecutor. A former president, Francesco Cossiga, plans to propose a bill to create a figure similar to Italy's chief anti-Mafia prosecutor. He or she could count on emergency legislation like Britain's.

For many Italians, the surest way to stave off a terrorist attack would be to get out of Iraq. Others fret that such a move could send a disastrous message to Muslim extremists, similar to that relayed by Spain's 2004 election, when voters dumped the pro-American People's Party government days after bombers struck Madrid. Speaking soon after the London bombings, Mr Berlusconi confirmed a plan to withdraw 300 troops in September. Poland's foreign minister, Adam Rotfeld, called this a mistake, though he later withdrew his criticism after learning that partial withdrawal had been announced earlier. Yet he was not alone in seeing the timing as unfortunate. Mr Berlusconi's first pledge, in March, was a “plan if an agreement is reached between the allies and the Iraqi government”. Many Italians assumed it had been shelved when the foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, said two months later that Italy's troops could stay until 2006. Even Tempo, a daily which stands four-square behind the government, smelt a whiff of appeasement and accused the prime minister of “slyness”.

At the least, Mr Berlusconi must now be uncomfortable about Italy's involvement in the American-led coalition. An election is due by next spring, and the opposition is calling for a troop withdrawal. Italy risks drifting into a situation dismayingly like the one before terrorists struck at Spain, killing almost 200 people. Which may explain a quirk of the poll in Corriere della Sera. Only 16% thought that an attack was imminent; but 66% said there could be one “within several months”.

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