* Moving G8 talks to L'Aquila serves many purposes

* Other G8 countries likely to agree

* Berlusconi wrongfoots opponents and protesters (adds Berlusconi comments) By Philip Pullella

ROME, April 24 (Reuters) - Genius or folly? By suddenly moving the annual G8 summit from an idyllic Mediterranean island to a landscape blighted by an earthquake, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is hoping to reap huge political gains.

To the surprise of even some ministers, Berlusconi announced on Thursday that July's meeting of the leaders of the Group of Eight industrial powers will move to L'Aquila, the medieval city devastated by Italy's worst natural disaster in three decades.

"This has left the opposition shell-shocked," said Massimo Franco, a commentator for Italy's leading mainstream daily, the Corriere della Sera. "They don't know whether to applaud or pour cold water on it."

"My guess is that his (Berlusconi's) approval rating will soar if he manages to pull off the G8 proposal," said James Walston, political science professor at the American University of Rome.

"He reacts well to emergencies and he adores being in the limelight ... I guess it's both genius and folly. With someone like Berlusconi, the two sometimes go together very well."

Berlusconi's move seemed to solve several problems: