Italy bristles at Libyan warning

Italy's Foreign Minister yesterday attacked Libya's warning against appointing a far-right lawmaker to a ministerial post as "intolerable" interference in internal affairs, adding to a growing political outcry over the issue.

Italian lawmakers have been angered by a Libyan charity's warning of "catastrophic repercussions" to bilateral ties if Roberto Calderoli - a maverick lawmaker known for his anti-Islamic rhetoric - becomes reforms minister as expected.

"I find the interference of a foreign country on the formation of the Italian government intolerable," outgoing Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told Italian television.

The issue now risks becoming the first diplomatic headache for Silvio Berlusconi's new government. Franco Frattini, who as the next Foreign Minister may have to sort out the row, also called for respect on internal decisions.

"It is up to us to understand the worries of governments and friendly people and listen to their advice," Mr Frattini told La Repubblica daily in an interview published yesterday. "But respecting decisions of those elected to the government by their people is a pillar of internal and international democracy."

The Gaddafi International Foundation - which made a similar warning on bilateral ties when the riots erupted in 2006 - is chaired by Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, widely thought to play a major role in Libya's diplomacy with Western states.