So where do the Tories stand on civil liberties?

Hugh Muir makes an excellent point in his diary piece in the Guardian today, which again highlights the disparity between what the Conservatives say in the UK and how they vote in the European Parliament.

Muir neatly juxtoposes David Cameron’s professed distaste for ID cards with the news that most of his Tory MEPs voted against a resolution in the European Parliament which condemned Silvio Berlusconi’s plans to fingerprint Roma children - a far more drastic measure, introduced in a discriminatory way against a particular group.

Of all the Tories present, just one didn’t back Berlusconi’s plans to ethnically profile the Roma. Last week’s vote of course took place in the same week as David Davis’s re-election to the Commons. Presumably this was the Tory MEPs' contribution to his debate on civil liberties.

The return of Berlusconi

I was very disappointed to see the election (for a third time) of Silvio Berlusconi, this time with a sizeable majority in both Italian houses of parliament. In contrast to last month's successful re-election of Jose Zapatero's PSOE party in Spain, this is a serious setback, not just for the left, but for democrats in general.

Berlusconi uniquely combines economic power (reportedly Italy's richest man), media power (owning the main private national TV channels and several newspapers) and political power. He has unashamedly used the latter to help the former, adopting laws during his previous stint as Prime Minister to help his media, insurance and construction interests and to give himself immunity from some of the corruption charges he faced in the courts.

He even owns one of Italy's most successful football clubs, AC Milan, currently European Champions having been allowed in last year's Champions League against the wishes of UEFA who were powerless to ban them despite the fact that they had been found guilty of bribing referees - something Leeds United fans will have something to say about given the referee's role in AC Milan's victory over them in the 73 European Cup Winners' Cup final - as will Liverpool fans given the way the referee whistled an early end to last year's Champions League final when Liverpool were on the verge of equalising.

Berlusconi is often portrayed in the UK media as an almost lovable gaffe-prone buffoon, but his election does have serious consequences that could reverberate around Europe. Berlusconi's main allies include members of the xenophobic Northern League, which campaigns on an anti-immigration ticket and for independence for "Padania" (a name they coined for Northern Italy). Having gained 8% of the vote, the League is in a strong bargaining position and will have seats in government.

At EU level, Berlusconi also has form, notoriously comparing Socialist group leader Martin Schultz to a Nazi commandant during a debate in the European Parliament. In 2004, he attempted to impose Rocco Buttiglione as Italy's nominee for the Commission, where he was envisaged as Commissioner for Justice despite his views on the role of women and on homophobia, causing a major political row and his rejection by the European Parliament. He was replaced by Franco Frattini, who is now likely to return to Rome as foreign minister and the nomination of his successor will be highly politically sensitive, especially if Berlusconi expects him or her to succeed to Frattini's Justice and Home Affairs portfolio. Any nomination must be agreed by Commission President Barroso and must appear before the European Parliament for a confirmation hearing, so watch this space if there is a controversial nominee.