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Transmission

Too Much Love For Lukashenka

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December 01, 2009

It wouldn't be a state visit if Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi didn't make at least one controversial quip. So on his recent trip to Belarus, Berlusconi was true to form after meeting President Alyaksandr Lukashenka -- although this time he managed to avoid being sexist or racist.

"Thank you and thanks to your people who, I know, love you, as is demonstrated by the election results which everybody can see," Berlusconi told Lukashenka, in power since 1994 and once tagged "Europe's last dictator" by the George W. Bush administration.

Belarus's elections have regularly been criticized as being neither free nor fair and in March 2006 Lukashenka won a whopping 83 percent of the vote.

Later that year, Lukashenka -- cavalier to the end -- joked that he had actually won a greater share of the vote, but he had reduced it to a more acceptable "European" figure.

In the cartoon above, from our Belarus Service's De Les, Lukashenka offers Berlusconi some Belarusian spaghetti along with a glass of "Dialogue wine."

As one reader suggested, the cartoon should be captioned: "He swallowed it down."

-- Belarus Service/Luke Allnutt

Tags: Lukashenka , belarus

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by: Johann from: USA
December 02, 2009 11:40
I have some Belorussian friends her in USA and some of them for some reason vote for Lukashenka. One of them tells me that Luka got rid of all criminals in Belarus and Belarus has no oligarchs. He ( Boris) does not like the development in Russia where criminals control everything.
He also points out Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and tells me that people are much better of in Belarus, than this countries.
I personally has highest respect for the Italian premier and think media should ease on criticize him so much. At least economy in Italy is better of than many other countries ( The Baltic countries)
by: Francesco from: Italy
December 03, 2009 19:22
I have been stayed many times in Belarus. Lukashenka could be that doesn't reach the 90% of vote, but i'm sure that he reachs about 70% of majority vote.
The people is convinced that the belarusian way of reform of Lukashenka is a better way than the russian way. In Belarus there is no mafia, like in russia.
People are really at the same level of census, also if many problems become from alcholism and a low level of census.
Probably Lukashenka is not democratic as we in Europe/USA think about democracy, but in Belarus Lukashenka for majority of people represent "the state for the people".

About This Blog

Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org