Never let it be said that Italian politics is not colorful. Italy has been home to many unique and flamboyant politicians and the birthplace of Mussolini-esque style of politics in which the electorate is treated to a host of distractions to draw attention away from hardship and decay. Indeed, this style of politics did not begin with fascist leader Benito Mussolini but with the Romans whose Bread and Circuses laid the very foundation for the politics of distraction. The Italian Prime Minister has simply brought this flamboyant style of distractionary politics to new heights.

Italy has made for an interesting “ally” in the war on terror. The Italians enthusiastically sent troops to Iraq in support of the collation that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime, yet after the Madrid bombings began to balk at that commitment. Italy has urged its fellow European nations to stand firm against terror, yet the Italians paid Islamic radicals in Iraq a ransom to free an Italian journalist (then lied about it), which served only to embolden terrorist kidnappers in Iraq. Then as the Italian public began to rumble about the Italian presence in Iraq, Berlusconi’s government promised to withdraw the troops, then when Bush and Rice grumbled Berlusconi altered course yet again. Italy thus is governed by a regime that is stirred by popular opinion a strategy, which lends itself to waffling.

Berlusconi, for his part, has made a name for himself by saying the first thing that comes to his mind, making promises he either does not understand or is unwilling to keep. Just today, Berlusconi declared that only a “dickhead” would vote against him. While we aren’t sure what kind of men Berlusconi’s challengers may be…one thing is for certain, Berlusconi is not a novelty in Italian politics, he is simply a by product of Italy’s bread and circus culture.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/berlusconi-falls-foul-with-language/2006/04/05/1143916593457.html