The common perception of Europe among American conservatives is that it is a den of libertine immorality. This is reinforced on the U.S. side by Europeans' frequently condescending reactions to our Puritanical uproars over such scandals as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. On the other hand, American can be shocked by events that are impossible to imagine in our political universe, like seeing the mistress and illegitimate daughter of late French President François Mitterrand standing next to his family at his funeral.
Could Europe be changing? The reaction in Europe to a recent series of events suggests that Europe's famed laissez-faire attitude may have limits. The first sign that European tolerance is not unlimited came after the arrest of film director Roman Polanski in Switzerland in connection to a sexual assault case of a 13-year-old girl dating back to 1977. Predictably, European (and some American) intellectuals and artists came to his defense, calling his arrest "shocking" and "unfair."
But an unexpected backlash quickly erupted, with many European politicians, intellectuals, and even some of his film industry peers saying that Polanski, who fled the U.S. before his sentencing, needed to go back and face justice. No one was above the law, some of the European critics suggested, not even an Oscar-winning director with a large circle of influential friends.
Supporting Polanski turned out perilous for French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, a nephew of the late President. Landing Mitterrand for the post was considered a coup for right-of-center French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But Mitterrand's backing of Polanski prompted a second look at a best-selling novel he wrote four years ago. In the book, The Bad Life, the first-person narrator boasted of paying for sex with young boys in Southeast Asia. Suddenly, there were questions about Mitterrand's role in the sex trade and calls for his resignation. The minister found himself having to argue that the book was not autobiographical. “Yes, I've had relations with boys,” he said, “but you can't confuse homosexuality with pedophilia.”
Then, there's the ongoing saga of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The Italian leader and media magnate has fought off critics of his behavior for years. But a nasty breakup with his current wife exposed a series of escapades involving prostitutes, and possibly, underage girls. Italian voters, have backed Berlusconi through thick and thin -- guided, it must be said, by his near-total control of the media in his country through his own holdings and his influence on government public networks.
However, public support seemed a lot less enthusiastic this time. It didn't help his outlook that an Italian high court took away his immunity from prosecution last week, overturning a law his parliamentary majority had passed just a few years earlier or that his holding company, Fininvest was ordered to pay 1.14 billion euros to a rival company for bribing a judge. Fond of saying, "Hey, I'm no angel," the Prime Minister faces rough flying as the mood in Europe seems to be turning, dare we say, more American.
