conflict, Frattini and Italian diplomacy resorted to the "usual option to follow the stronger allies", facilitated in this by the "dilution of Franco-British unilateralism in the multilateral framework of NATO" and by the guarantee of U.S. participation. As far as European politics is concerned, according to Colombo and Greco, the reaction capacity of the Berlusconi IV government proved to be "totally insufficient", in the absence of a coherent long-term and vulnerable strategy to the internal divisions of the majority and to a "persistent underestimation of risks ". According to Colombo and Greco, the attitude of the Berlusconi IV government over the EU was "particularly erratic", pointing to the Union from time to time as a mandatory external constraint, the cause of national evils, or the only source of salvation. This volatility led to the projection of an image of an unreliable Italy in Europe. Frattini and Italian diplomacy also lost the initiative in proposing themselves in Europe as an engine or co-star of pro-integration coalitions, dealing with Europe only in an "occasional and distracted" manner, and rather caring for important bilateral relations (with Russia and Turkey, for example), regardless of the international and European context, according to a "small cabotage" policy. All of this, coupled with the Merkel-Sarkozy duo's inclination to leave other actors out, led to Italy's exclusion from the main European policy initiatives. This deficit of attention to the European Union, resulting in a growing isolation, has also had implications in other areas of foreign policy: the difficulties in relations with the United States, for example, are traced by Colombo and Greco to the widespread overseas perception of a growing marginalization of Italy in the European context. Controversies During the Russian invasion of Georgia in the summer of 2008, Frattini was on vacation in the Maldives. The representation of Italy during the urgent meetings of EU foreign ministers was ensured by the undersecretary Vincenzo Scotti. While at the end of December 2008, during Israel's war on Gaza (Operation Cast Lead), Frattini was on holiday again. Frattini's live interview with TG1 in a skiing suit raised controversy over inappropriate and disrespectful clothing. In November 2010, Frattini dubbed the WikiLeaks revelations as the "September 11 of diplomacy" and stated that Julian Assange "wants to destroy the world". The U.S. ambassador in Italy, Ronald Spogli, informed Washington, in a confidential cable distributed by WikiLeaks, of how Berlusconi "constantly refuses the strategic