Sonia Gandhi Marines’ Biggest Hurdle

Mrs Gandhi was most against negotiating with Italy, says official involved in case. Being Italian a handicap for Congress leader

NEW DELHI - The question that must be running through the minds of the two marines held in New Delhi, and certainly one that is high on the list Italian diplomats want to answer, is this. Would it be better if Sonia Gandhi and her party won the current elections or would the - likely - victory of nationalist Hindu leader Narendra Modi be preferable? A glance at the facts shows that Italian Sonia Gandhi, president of the governing Congress Party, has been by far the biggest obstacle to a negotiated solution.

Underlying her behaviour is the well-known fact that being Italian works against her. She is held up by the opposition as a foreigner in power because she married into the country’s leading family, the Nehru-Gandhis, who have produced three prime ministers since 1947 and in Rahul have a possible fourth. For her enemies, Ms Gandhi is a cuckoo in the nest. A few days ago, Mr Modi had no compunction about attacking her Italianness over the marines, whom he said had been treated with kid gloves. In consequence, Sonia steers well clear of anything to do with Italy or which could make her look anything except 100% Indian. She never speaks Italian even when she meets Italian politicians or diplomats. She was furious when the two marines’ arrest became a political football, a Congress Party official said.

It was March 2013 and the Monti government - fleetingly - decided that the two marines, who had been allowed to return to Italy to vote, would not go back to New Delhi as promised. That was when the affair became a head-to-head battle between Italy and India. Ms Gandhi was dragged into the dispute and immediately saw the political dangers. She called the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, who issued a harshly worded statement instructing the party to treat the issue with extreme firmness. He made protests to Rome, claiming that the Italian government’s defiant actions were “utterly unacceptable”. No country could afford to humiliate India, he said. All possible means should be used to ensure that the Italian government would “honour its commitment” to return the marines to India.

The Indian supreme court ordered the Italian ambassador, Daniele Mancini, not to leave India and his photograph was sent to airports. The opposition attacked the government. However, the most intransigent stances were taken by members of the government itself, with the partial exception of the foreign minister, Salman Khurshid, who was concerned about India’s international reputation. The unexpectedly harsh reaction demanded by Ms Gandhi achieved one short-term objective. On 22 March 2013, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre were sent back to New Delhi. But it also secured another longer-term aim. Since then, the Congress Party and its administration know that they cannot appear weak over the affair. Sonia Gandhi’s Italianness must not become a political Achilles heel. As the Indian elections approach - voting began yesterday and will end on 12 May - the hard line has become harder. “Mrs Gandhi was the first not to want to give in to negotiations with Italy”, said one official involved in case.

There is no point in asking him what election result the two marines would prefer but the Italian authorities now know two things. The first is that this case will not be closed before the Indian elections are over and a new government formed. Faced with pressure from a possible unilateral Italian appeal to international justice, the new Indian government might then opt for a quick solution to get fix the embarrassing issue of the two marines. The other point is that should the Congress Party win, it would be wishful thinking to hope for any sympathy from Ms Gandhi. If, as the polls suggest, Mr Modi were to win, he at least has no Italian clothes in his wardrobe. The problem is that knowing two things is not the same as knowing everything.