Quote:
Originally Posted by Rory Waterman
Andrew,
To what extent, do you think, is Berlusconi's success down to his media empire?
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To every extent possible. That and organized crime. Hence Italian cynicism about politics. Nobody believes that change is possible because every decent person in politics is squelched by the thugs in power. I tell my friends that a few years ago it seemed like Dick Cheney (er, George Bush) was going to be in the White House forever, then along came the newbie Obama. But they are right that a similar phenomenon would be much harder to come by in Italy. Partly because Italians are more likely to let the "authorities" take care of things, and partly because the electoral system makes it possible for someone to be premier any number of times, instead of limiting it to two terms. There has been a lot of talk about overhauling the electoral system here, but while Berlusconi is around there is virtually no chance of that happening.
Recently Berlusconi, the third-richest person in Italy, said that the economic crisis is mostly “psychological,” a matter of people’s perception. And yet people voted for his party.