Word: berlusconi
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...Many Italians believe he is unfairly targeted by magistrates who feel they should step into the vacuum left by a feeble center-left opposition that cannot unseat Berlusconi via political means...
...legal decision comes as the man who once claimed to carry "sunshine in his pocket" has begun to resemble the bitter depiction in Moretti's film. Berlusconi is still fighting his way through a series of lurid allegations that began when his estranged wife accused him in April of "frequenting underage females" and has since featured reports of harem-like get-togethers at Berlusconi's residences and a prostitute who says she was paid to spend the night with him. Adding to his woes was a civil court ruling on Oct. 3 that may force Berlusconi's family-business holding...
...quite Nanni Moretti, Berlusconi's current situation has all the elements of a Pedro Almodóvar film: A Prime Minister on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Following the court's judgment on Wednesday night, he launched into a diatribe in front of television cameras accusing magistrates, "72% of the press," public broadcaster RAI, comedians, the court and the President of the Republic of being leftists...
...reference to the President, Giorgio Napolitano, whose head-of-state role is considered a unifying national symbol, was a particularly reckless accusation that risks costing Berlusconi support from moderates. But his hot-under-the-collar reaction is a clear message to his allies and adversaries alike that he plans to forge ahead, with no prospects of resigning or calling early elections. Not even the increasingly influential Northern League Party, which commands 10% support in polls and is growing in popularity, is interested in an early election, aware as they are that they owe their power to Berlusconi. Meanwhile, the center...
...guilty verdict in one of the corruption cases might knock Berlusconi out of office, though he has the right to appeal and try to hold on to power. Short of that, how else might all this end? Berlusconi's allies have increasingly alluded to a behind-the-scenes political coup they say is being orchestrated by a cabal of so-called poteri forti (strong powers) of Italian business and cultural élites who are allied with magistrates and foreign governments that are worried that Berlusconi has become a liability for political and economic stability. But even if there were such...