COMMENT
BERLUSCONI
HOW LONG CAN SLICK SILVIO KEEP GOING? Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is back in court as a consequence of key aspects of his audacious exemption bill being overturned. Previously this bill prevented him or his ministers from being subject to legal trial whilst PU VMÄJL ;OL YLVWLUPUN VM [OLZL [YPHSZ TLHUZ OL PZ UV^ charged with bribery to withhold testimony, payment of an underage sex worker and tax fraud. This is on top of his 20 V[OLY WYL]PV\Z JV\Y[ JHZLZ PUJS\KPUN KY\N [YHMÄJRPUN 4HÄH collusion, embezzlement and multiple counts of bribery. Friends of Berlusconi do rightly make the point he has yet to be convicted. However, this is largely due to changes in the law which he brought about; either exempting him or his crime from prosecution or subjecting the trials to ‘time limit’ laws which void cases that drag on for too long.
If the Italian PM being a crook wasn’t bad enough, he is also a serial womaniser, incredibly insensitive and rather bigoted. His divorce proceedings were due to his consorting with 18 year old Noemi Letizia, in 2009 he was connected to a Bari prostitute and most recently he has been accused of participating in ‘bunga bunga’ rituals; think mass, naked, African themed orgies. Rash, TPZQ\KNLK JVTTLU[Z HYL HSZV )LYS\ZJVUP»Z MVY[L -VYLPNU companies were told to invest in Italy because they “have the most beautiful secretaries”, Abruzzo earthquake victims were advised to “see it like a weekend camping” and, according to Berlusconi, Italians trying to escape poverty should simply “do it my way and earn more money”. Even more astoundingly he claimed “Mussolini never killed anyone, he just sent dissenters abroad for vacation” and, when talking on his penchant for women, that it is “better to be fond of beautiful girls than gay”. So, sex, corruption, a myriad of misjudged comments and homophobia. One has to wonder how this man is still in power. Many attribute it to the Italian populace. They claim Berlusconi’s arrogant chauvinism appeals to the typical Italian voter and that he is somewhat of an idol. This seems very misguided. If we are to shove the whole of Italy into outdated Z[LYLV[`WLZ [OLU [OL -YLUJO TH` HZ well be garlic-swinging cyclists and [OL )YP[PZO NLU[LLS ÅH[ JHWWLK MLYYL[ wielding toffs. Simple stereotypes should not be relied on to explain such complex issues. The more likely reason that Berlusconi still clings [V WV^LY PZ OPZ IHMÅPUNS` HIZVS\[L level of media control. He owns 4 of the 7 Italian TV stations, a myriad of leading newspaper titles and has direct or indirect control over 90% of national televisual media due to OPZ HKKP[PVUHS PUÅ\LUJL HZ OLHK VM state. This level of media monopoly is totally unprecedented anywhere in the democratic world, even more so when one considers it is the Prime Minister possessing it. Indeed, the recent 4\YKVJO ÄHZJV WHSLZ PU JVTWHYPZVU" he was only competing for the majority stake in one media organisation and has minuscule political power in comparison. So is there any hope of ousting Berlusconi, the man who openly admitted he went into politics to protect his own business interests? Yes, possibly. With the revival of these court cases, plummeting opinion polls, the long awaited emergence of a viable political alternative and his masses of bad plastic surgery, the 2012 general election should hopefully be decisive. Yet with his media monopoly and extensive political contacts, PM or UV[ OL ^PSS L_LY[ ZPNUPÄJHU[ PUÅ\LUJL for many years to come.
Joe Todd IMPACTNOT T INGHAM.COM/NEWS
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