Connie Lawn: President Obama's Italian Adventure

Click to enlarge
White House Photo, 7/8/09, Chuck Kennedy

The Obama family went from a fascinating, and largely successful, Russian Summit to a G 8 conference in Italy. The Group of 8 is composed of leaders from the top 8 industrialized nations, but the Chinese leader left to deal with ethnic violence in part of his country. At the end of the formal summit, leaders from a total of 17 nations joined in. Many of them will also be present at future economic and climate meetings in the US and Copenhagen, and will meet with APEC leaders.

President Obama did more than just attend meetings. The Summit was held in L’Aquila, Italy; the section which was devastated in April by earthquakes. 296 people died and thousands are homeless. As aftershocks continued to shake the region, the American and world leaders pledged more help to the people of the historic, culturally rich area.

He was taken on a tour of the destruction by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconni, along with other Italian officials. Most of the Summit leaders appeared embarrassed by Berlusconni, whose juicy sex scandals continue to fascinate many in Italy.

As is the usual case, the G 8 summit was partially successful. The world wide recession, climate change, Iran, and North Korea dominated the meetings. Violence in Iraq and Afghanistan received some attention. There was a plethora of positive statements and press releases, as there always is on such occasion. Most of them are hammered out and printed in advance by the so-called “sherpas,” the assistants who get them up to the Summit!

The leaders denounced Iran for its brutality towards election protestors. They also expressed anger about the Iranian nuclear program. It is unclear how that will be resolved. President Obama says more sanctions may be imposed when the G 20 leaders meet in the US this September, unless the UN takes firmer action before then.

The leaders will try to prevent global temperatures from rising more that 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above levels of 100 years ago. China, India, and many in the United States refuse to go along with too many restrictions on greenhouse gasses. President Obama says there is still time to close the gap, and make genuine climate progress. He said the US is genuinely committed to easing global warming.

As for the economy, there is little that can be done at a Summit, expect issue calls for open trade, a limit on tariffs, and greater regulation of the financial markets.

President Obama had a departing news conference at the end of the G –8 (most other leaders did the same). The President said the leaders pledged to add 20 billion dollars to efforts to produce more food, try to ease world hunger, and insure the safety of food.

The President said he is as supporter of the UN, but would like to see it reformed and revitalized. He also says these other world bodies should be streamlined, so there are not so many meetings. He said the groups should also include China, India, and African nations.

The Obamas met with the Pope in Rome, after the G –8 meetings. The President’s family and some selected advisors had a brief, group meeting with the Pope. Then he and the President met for 30 minutes. White House officials said they discussed many topics, including the Mideast, the Arab-Israeli disputes, Cuba, Hondorus, the outreach to Muslims, bioethics, stem cell research, and abortion. They agree on most issues, but respectfully disagree on others, including abortion and embryonic stem cell research. At the end of the meeting, President Obama gave the Pontiff a letter from Senator Ted Kennedy and asked for prayers for him. The Senator is suffering from brain cancer. After the meeting, President Obama phoned Senator Kennedy, and conveyed messages from the Pope.

No one knows how effective these meetings really are. But, the leaders got to know each other better, and they ate some delicious Italian food.

Connie Lawn, (jealously watching from Washington)

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

© Scoop Media