Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Berlusconi: Why the Sex Scandals Don't Hurt Him

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2009 3:19 PM CDT

(Newser) – Besieged Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is “a national joke,” Michael Wolff writes in Vanity Fair. He’s also immensely popular. In the midst of his most recent sex scandal, he and his party were handily reelected. What’s the deal? To begin with, “he controls his country’s dominant political party, its primary television networks, and its government.” So what if he's an incorrigible Lothario—"a dime-store Sinatra”—whose wife airs their dirty laundry and seeks divorce?

In him, Italians see their own excesses. “Italians need someone like him because he is just like them. Everybody has a mistress,” says an Italian journalist. "Everybody cheats on taxes." But Berlusconi has also used his political prowess to protect his sexual exploits—by getting a law passed to prevent prosecution while he's in office, along with an airtight libel law. "We need a strong man,” the journo continues. “If not Mussolini, well, then someone like Mussolini.”

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (2)]

Veronica Lario, Berlusconi's wife. (AP Photo)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi wipes his forehead during the recording of a talk show. (AP Photo)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a press conference at Palazzo Chigi, premier's office, in Rome, Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. Berlusconi made one his strongest denials yet in a scandal over... (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi speaks during a press conference at Palazzo Chigi, premier's office, in Rome, Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. Berlusconi made one his strongest denials yet in a scandal over alleged... (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi reacts during a press conference at Palazzo Chigi, premier's office, in Rome, Friday, Aug. 7, 2009. Berlusconi made one his strongest denials yet in a scandal over alleged... (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The very basis of Berlusconi’s survival may be that he is someone who does not have to be taken seriously. The people who take him seriously seem to suffer in the contrast. - Michael Wolff

Berlusconi provokes enthusiasm and antipathy. But great enthusiasm and small antipathy. So the allegations against him are flawed because they are against him. This is anti-Berlusconi-ism. - Niccolò Ghedini, Berlusconi lawyer, MP

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

George Clooney Named as Berlusconi Witness

Star says he wasn't at Italian PM's 'bunga bunga' party

(NEWSER) - Coming soon to an Italian courtroom: The Berlusconi Bunga Bunga Trial, starring George Clooney, Silvio Berlusconi, a former belly dancer, and dozens of starlets and showgirls. Clooney is among the 214 defense witnesses to be called at the former Italian prime minister's trial on charges that he paid an underage prostitute, the Guardian reports. Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and several government ministers will also be among the witnesses at the trial, which begins next week. More»

Italy's Monti Forms Politician-Free Government

He's sworn in as PM ... ciao, Berlusconi!

(AP) - It's a big day for Italy: Economist Mario Monti has been officially sworn in as PM—formally ending Silvio Berlusconi's 17-year-long run of political dominance—and he formed a new Italian government that doesn't include a single politician. Instead, he drew from the ranks of bankers, diplomats, and business executives. Explaining why his Cabinet contained no one from Italy's fractious political parties, Monti said that his talks with party leaders led him to the conclusion "that the non-presence of politicians in the government would help it." More»

On Last Day, Berlusconi Packs a Few Precious Items

Decides to keep sword, vase ... and photo of himself with George W. Bush

(NEWSER) - Today is Silvio Berlusconi's last day as the prime minister of Italy, and he did what any of us would do in our final moments on the job: packed up his stuff. But Berlusconi isn't exactly walking out with a cardboard box filled with picture frames and a stapler. AFP picks up a report by La Repubblica on what the billionaire decided to walk away with: a scimitar (a saber with a curved blade) from Kazakhstan and a Ming dynasty vase, two of the hundreds of gifts he was given while in office. More»

Berlusconi's Party Backs Economist as New PM

Mario Monti faces gargantuan task

(NEWSER) - Silvio Berlusconi's conservative party is backing economist Mario Monti to put together a new coalition, leaving the man they call "professor" some outlandish shoes to fill and Italy's towering financial crisis to dig out of. And there's a catch: Monti's got to do it all ASAP, with the call for new elections nipping at his heels. The backing is tenuous, notes the AP , with Berlusconi's Freedom People party also warning Monti against appointing members of the opposition to the Cabinet. Nevertheless, for the time being, "We have given our willingness to Professor Monti," says the party chair. More»

Berlusconi Quits; Hecklers Shout, 'Buffoon!'

Musicians perform chorus of Handel's 'Alleluia'

(AP) - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned today after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis. A chorus of Handel's "Alleluia," performed by a few dozen singers and classical musicians, rang out in front of the president's palace as thousands of Italians poured into downtown Rome to rejoice at the end of Berlusconi's scandal-marred reign . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website