Italy's PM turns cold shoulder to Winter Games

Berlusconi’s office denies he has shunned the Games but acknowledges he has not yet decided whether to attend the first Winter Olympics in Italy in 50 years. "Berlusconi’s agenda is set day by day," a spokesman said.

EXTRACTING ADVANTAGE

For a former crooner on cruise ships skilled in extracting advantage from the media -- his family controls Italy’s largest private broadcaster, Mediaset -- Berlusconi’s apparent indifference to the limelight might seem out of character.

He is no stranger to the dividends that sport can pay a politician. He built AC Milan into a world football powerhouse, then launched a political career and a party, Forza Italia (Go Italy), named after a soccer cheer.

The kinder critics say Berlusconi is like many Italians -- crazy for football, not for niche snow sports.

"He has never skied in his life. He doesn’t even know what snow is," said Vittorio Feltri, editor of Libero newspaper. "He only understands football."

Others say that faced with elections that opinion polls say he will lose, Berlusconi sees little political benefit from Olympics held in the northwest corner of the country and unable to date to generate a national outpouring of support.

Said Merlo: "The Games do not depend on him. He might have shown more interest if he saw it as a big success."

Berlusconi’s sterner critics accuse him of playing bald politics -- Turin as well as the surrounding province and the Piedmont region are all run by centre-left administrations.

Said Turin pensioner Arnaldo Brunetti: "Turin is left-wing while he is on the right."

’NO INTEREST’

Local politicians say he masterminded last-minute cuts in national funding for the Turin organising committee.

"It’s clear that we have been punished because the political majority in Piedmont has shifted," Piedmont president Mercedes Bresso said last month.

"He’s shown no interest, either positive or negative," Bresso told Reuters this week, adding: "Right now he has to be on television. He’s involved in other things."

Others offer two more reasons for Berlusconi’s apparent indifference. Mediaset does not own TV rights to the Games.

Also, the self-made billionaire has never been close to the Agnelli family, which founded the Fiat car company based in Turin and which offered crucial backing for the city’s bid.

Olympic president Jacques Rogge said Berlusconi has been extremely supportive of the Games. "I paid him three visits. Each time I came with a problem and each time he found me an answer not later than a couple of days," Rogge said on Monday.

But Turin Mayor Sergio Chiamparino said: "Berlusconi doesn’t seem particularly engaged."

Berlusconi’s supporters note that his opposition rival Romano Prodi -- a cycling enthusiast who recently ran a marathon -- has not exactly pulled out the stops for the Games either.

Asked if Prodi would attend the Olympics, a spokesman was non-committal: "His agenda is full of commitments."

(Additional reporting by Sophie Hardach in Turin, Antonella Ciancio in Milan, Crispian Balmer in Rome)