Italy: No.10 record of conversation (MT-Prime Minister Craxi of Italy) [Anglo-Italian Summit in Florence, tête-à-tête] [declassified Dec 2014]

1115-1245. Foreign Ministers joined the meeting at 1145, at p8. Relevant supporting document follows the main item. Read other documents selected from this file. The full file from which this item is taken can be seen here - PREM19-1819.

Giles FitzHerbert, then a senior diplomat at the British Embassy in Rome, recalls a conversation shortly after the Florence Summit with Bruno Bottai of the Italian Foreign Ministry describing the event in depressing terms. "...e non c'era una scintilla di simpatia fra i due primi ministri" - there was not a spark of sympathy between the two Prime Ministers (editorial note 8 Dec 2017 following conversation with Mr FitzHerbert the previous day). Bottai had attended.