The Italians call President Bush the "planetary president," a nod to his leadership of the surviving superpower in the face of an unraveling Soviet Union.
And the Eternal City also boasts of its own "eternal prime minister," as the Italians have dubbed Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. It's not much of an exaggeration.Manfred Woerner, NATO secretary-general, pointed out Thursday that the 72-year-old Andreotti was undersecretary to then Premier Alcide De Gaspari when Italy joined NATO in 1949. "He really embodies the continuity of our common commitment to our alliance," Woerner said.
Andreotti has spent virtually his entire adult life in high places, holding such posts as foreign minister and defense minister when not running the government. The Christian Democrat is now heading his seventh coalition.