Italy: The presidency at work?

At the beginning of the European Convention, some observers feared that the Italian delegation would fail to form a common position (Fabbrini 2004). Although this clearly changed during the Convention and the IGC for most of the delegates (Fabbrini 2004), the profile of Prime Minister Berlusconi remained rather low (Fabbrini 2004). Ironically, Italy was foreseen as the next country to take over the presidency of the European Council and to host the concluding IGC. On the other hand, the “shadow of the IGC” probably helped the Italian actors to set back power struggles.