Dear Sir,
Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing allies in the European parliament defeated - by a single vote - a Liberal Democrat resolution calling for freedom of the media in Italy and throughout the EU. But it is worth noting both the significance of that lost vote and the role that British MEPs played in it. The Italian prime minister controls private and public media in Italy to a degree that would have turned Erich Honecker green with envy. That's why Italian citizens are looking to the EU to uphold their right to freedom of expression. Instead, the European parliament has handed Berlusconi an apparent fig leaf of legitimacy and an undoubted political and media coup. It was deeply embarrassing to watch Tory MEPs rush to Berlusconi's defence. Perhaps they were afraid Rupert Murdoch would drop his newly given support? Cameron should feel as embarrassed about this as about his other distasteful European friendships.
Sarah Ludford MEP
Lib Dem, London
(Published in The Guardian on Friday 23 October 2009.)
Follow the party's activity on...