Silvio Berlusconi’s resignation sparked particular interest in Russia. The longest serving Italian prime minister has been widely seen, and with good reason, as a close personal friend of the Russian head of government, which is why many in Russia fear that Russian-Italian relations will change now that he has stepped down. Berlusconi, an extrovert by nature, has been replaced by a man who seems the polar opposite in all respects: Mario Monti, a technocrat appointed to oversee the austerity policy.
Germany encountered something similar several years ago when Gerhard Schroeder resigned and the election of Angela Merkel stripped the country’s international relations of these elements of personal friendship. Jacques Chirac’s decision not to seek a third term as France’s president was another notable change this past decade. Chirac, who advocated active ties with Russia, was also succeeded by a radically different kind of man: Nicolas Sarkozy.
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