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Berlusconi-hatred is a liberal outsiders' indulgence

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul turned statesman, has careened from scandal to scandal during his 16 years at the top of Italian politics, riding roughshod over detractors and, say his critics, managing to manipulate and reform the state to his own ends – all whilst leading the private life of a rock star. But in the last six months, the Berlusconi scandals have been coming thicker, faster ,and younger than usual. Is this really the end for the beleaguered playboy?

Betrayal, internal party politics, divorce, floods, fiscal collapse and ‘bunga bunga’ parties have all contributed to the biggest crisis Berlusconi has ever faced. Politically, Berlusconi finds himself at the helm of an increasingly fractious coalition. In July of this year his protege, the former neo-fascist Gianfranco Fini, announced that he would be abandoning Berlusconi and forming a new party; Future and Freedom (FLI). Following a series of threats and calls for Berlusconi to resign, Fini, reinvented as a liberal conservative, has pulled FLI out of Berlusconi’s coalition and will look to force a general election. Would Italy be better if they got rid of him, or, despite all the scandals, is Berlusconi still the best man for the job?