The Dangerous Buffoon

The thing I notice the most when I read Berlusconi-related news in the UK is that nobody takes him seriously anymore; they see him as a buffoon, but they seem to forget that he's the leader of one of the largest European economies and his poor management of the country can have effects on a global scale.

Tim Parks wrote a very good commentary for the Evening Standard. The title makes a very good point "Berlusconi's leering pantomime could hurt us all"...it is a pantomime, but one to be taken seriously. Mr. Parks also well describes the frustration of many italians (including myself):

"Why aren't Italians tearing their hair out in exasperation? Some are. But for the past decade and more, Berlusconi has enjoyed almost total control of the country's television, and the message has been that the economy is sound. An enormous number of people buy into that. Denial is always comfortable. Others comment with amused irony, as if all this were happening on another planet."

Well, my hope is that those Italians who are in exasperation are actually the majority of the country, and this exasperation will be reflected in a defeat for Berlusconi's party in the next elections. However, my worry is that we are still a minority, and the brainwashed ones his supporters will want to secure five more years of denial.

Berlusconi resigning?

Rumours of a possible resignation of Silvio Berlusconi before Christmas have set the web on fire this morning. Nothing has been confirmed, and to be honest I don't want to set my hopes too high, but if confirmed, the news will definitely be welcomed by many.

My question is, given that polls show an all-time low in the popularity of the Italian Prime Minister, wouldn't this be political suicide? Knowing him, probably not.

The opposition in Italy is still not strong enough, they still haven't got a leader that could run for elections if called too early, and most of all, they do not have a political programme. I feel that the past campaigns of the left in Italy have been disastrous, it seems that all they can do is to argue against everything that Berlusconi says, rather than come up with something new. He does cast a big shadow, but the opposition's best bet would be, in my opinion, to simply try to forget about him. Someone said that all publicity is good publicity, and this is definitely true. If in Italy we can't have a political debate without mentioning him, then we won't be able to move on.

Thinking about elections next spring makes me excited, but am not sure if I should be more scared instead?

Aren't you tired Mr. Berlusconi?