It sounds as though Berlusconi's team has focused more on locating women for his parties than on the affairs of state. Italy is a wonderful country but in business, you never really get the impression that anything ever makes progress. It just drifts aimlessly. The talk of Spain as a replacement sounds interesting and at first glance sounds like a much better choice. Berlusconi really is leaving his mark on the country. The Guardian:
In the last few weeks before the summit, and in the absence of any substantive initiatives on the agenda, the US has taken control. Washington has organised "sherpa calls" (conference calls among senior officials) in a last-ditch bid to inject purpose into the meeting.
"For another country to organise the sherpa calls is just unprecedented. It's a nuclear option," said one senior G8 member state official. "The Italians have been just awful. There have been no processes and no planning."
"The G8 is a club, and clubs have membership dues. Italy has not been paying them," said a European official involved in the summit preparations.
The behind-the-scenes grumbling has gone as far as suggestions that Italy could be pushed out of the G8 or any successor group. One possibility being floated in European capitals is that Spain, which has higher per capita national income and gives a greater percentage of GDP in aid, would take Italy's place.
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