Saturday,
February 10, 2007
Berlusconi's
Charisma Keeps Him in Spotlight and Contention
The
ANNOTICO Report
By Alessandra Rizzo
The
Associated Press
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Yet, despite the
setbacks, the former premier remains at the center of the political stage _
still captivating Italians with his charisma, if not his policies......
Berlusconi's
return to the public spotlight comes at a time of difficulty for Prodi's government, which has been plagued by a rift
between radical leftists and reform-oriented moderates.
Berlusconi claims "the
left will never accept going to the polls because they would certainly be
defeated."....
According to
Berlusconi, opinion polls commissioned by his Forza
Italia party show that the conservative coalition is some 15 percentage points
ahead of the ruling center-left. As to his own popularity rating, he says it is
nearly 30 percentage points higher than Prodi's.
Berlusconi's
polls are often criticized as unreliable and self-serving. But independent
polls have found dissatisfaction with Prodi's
government.
A significant
test will take place this spring when millions of Italians vote in local
elections. It will the first substantial balloting
since the April general election that ousted Berlusconi after five years in
power.
Berlusconi's
popularity, most analysts agree, has more to do with his charisma than his
policies. Many Italians see him as one of them _ even though he is a
billionaire media baron,
Italians loved
the public spat with his wife, Veronica Lario, that turned Berlusconi's marriage into a kind of real-life
soap opera. The squabble occupied pages in domestic newspapers, forced TV
executives to reschedule their evening talks shows and gave rise to all sorts
of commentary: playful, serious and sociological.
"Dear
Veronica, here's my apology," Berlusconi wrote. "Forgive me, I beg
you. And take this public show of my private pride giving in to your fury as an
act of love. One of many."
By most accounts,
Berlusconi was able to turn what might have been a public embarrassment into a
success. Even Prodi's spokesman, Silvio
Sircana, gave Berlusconi a perfect 10 in
communication skills.
Italian reports
said the couple spent a quiet evening at their villa in
"Mutual
respect is a fundamental thing, especially at our age," she told the
Some analysts say
that in recent months, Berlusconi's showmanship and media savvy have masked the
lack of a clear political agenda on several key issues, from reform of the
electoral law to his own succession at the helm of the conservative bloc.
A series of
health woes fueled speculation about the political future of a man who is 70
and in 13 years has been the conservative candidate for premier four
consecutive times _ he won twice and lost twice.
Berlusconi seems
to have recovered well on nearly all fronts.
A week after he
was hospitalized for fainting during a speech to party supporters in
Then, in
December, he went to the
"Super
Grandpa!" read the banner headline.
The
ANNOTICO Reports
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