If you go around hanging out with world leaders, this type of thing is bound to happen. In the latest rock star to be caught up in the Wikileaks affair, an American embassy cable has claimed that Bono’s relations with Italian President Silvio Berlusconi were ‘strained’ after the singer of Irish rock stars U2 had his image used on a political brochure sent to Italian homes.
The brochure claimed that Bono was ‘grateful’ for Italy’s part in attempting to eradicate world poverty. According to William Meara, an economic adviser to the American embassy in Rome, Berlusconi then considered increasing the country’s foreign aid budget in 2009 to avoid a ‘tongue lashing’ from Bono.
Bono wrote an open letter saying he felt ‘exploited’ by Berlusconi, and when there was a shortfall in the expected Italian foreign aid budget that had been promised in 2009, Bob Geldof and Bono launched an online game taking the piss out of Berlusconi, saying on the site “We all love a bit of fun, but there’s a serious point to the game – since promising to increase aid to Africa in 2005 PM Berlusconi has actually cut it. One man alone has done nothing. In fact Berlusconi is doing even less now than he was five years ago. Mr Berlusconi should be thrown out by the G8.”
No wonder Berlusconi wanted to save face – surely as the leader of a largely Catholic country he’d know that Bono is in fact Jesus.
