dupa
10-02-2006, 19:52
Games take the heat off Berlusconi
Richard Owen in Rome
February 11, 2006
FOR weeks, Silvio Berlusconi has hogged the airwaves, appearing on chat shows, football discussions and even traffic programs.
That will end overnight when parliament is dissolved and Italy's election campaign -- with its strict "equal time" provisions -- officially begins.
Mr Berlusconi has already fallen foul of Italy's communications watchdog, who yesterday fined broadcaster Mediaset, controlled by Mr Berlusconi's family, for allowing the Prime Minister to appear unchallenged on a talk show ahead of the April9 poll.
The body pointed to a TV talk show broadcast on February 4 by one of Mediaset's three channels, on which Mr Berlusconi was the only guest.
Mediaset said it would appeal the ruling.
Fortunately for Mr Berlusconi, the official beginning of the election campaign coincides with the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin.
That should divert the electorate's attention from his dismal record for 16 more days and, if the Games go well, make his depressed country feel a little better about itself.
Equally, if the Games are disrupted by anti-globalisation demonstrations, he will not hesitate to blame the Left.
On paper, Mr Berlusconi should have little chance of defeating Romani Prodi, the former European Commission president, to whom he lost an election in 1996.
The economy is in the doldrums and Mr Berlusconi's facelift, hair transplant and repeated gaffes have made him a figure of fun abroad. He has used his parliamentary majority to push through legislation to protect him from graft charges and to amend electoral law to favour his Centre-Right coalition, which trails Mr Prodi's Centre-Left alliance in every poll.
Mr Berlusconi has become, against all odds, the first Italian prime minister since World War II to survive a full term, and nobody is writing off this irrepressible media tycoon and former cruise-ship entertainer.
He has already written to the 600,000 babies born in Italy last year, reminding them that they received a E1000 bonus, and signing off with "a big kiss from Silvio".
He will repeat his 2001 election ploy by sending all households a second volume of his illustrated autobiography, and has promised -- or threatened -- to post a CD of his latest love songs as well.
Mr Berlusconi, 69, will spend the next two months criss-crossing the country in a private jet.
His hope is that Italy will fall once again for his exuberance, a trait that Mr Prodi, his understated and professorial foe, singularly lacks.
But Mr Berlusconi has good reason to divert attention from his record.
In 2001, he promised to use his entrepreneurial skills to revive the economy -- and to quit politics if he reneged on five pledges.
He vowed to lower taxes, cut crime, raise the basic pension, create jobs and fund 40per cent of infrastructure projects listed in a 10-year plan.
But five years on, most Italians feel worse off. The economy has twice slipped into recession and the deficit is nearly 5per cent of GDP, far above the eurozone limit. Italy ranks as the least competitive eurozone nation, with critics calling it "the sick man of Europe". A third of GDP is generated in the black economy.
Mr Prodi claims his rival has honoured none of his five promises.
But Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party has started "Operation Truth", a campaign noting that pensions have risen, unemployment is down and projects such as the Venice anti-flood barrier and the bridge linking Sicily to the mainland have begun.
In a last-minute bid to keep power, Mr Berlusconi has restored proportional representation. The move is designed to hamper the Centre-Left, a coalition of 11 parties, several of which could fail to reach the required 4per cent threshold to win seats.
Il Messaggero, the Rome daily, said this week that Mr Berlusconi had disappointed the country.
The April 9 election will show how many Italians agree.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18109513%255E2703,00.html
Silvio is the best :D
Richard Owen in Rome
February 11, 2006
FOR weeks, Silvio Berlusconi has hogged the airwaves, appearing on chat shows, football discussions and even traffic programs.
That will end overnight when parliament is dissolved and Italy's election campaign -- with its strict "equal time" provisions -- officially begins.
Mr Berlusconi has already fallen foul of Italy's communications watchdog, who yesterday fined broadcaster Mediaset, controlled by Mr Berlusconi's family, for allowing the Prime Minister to appear unchallenged on a talk show ahead of the April9 poll.
The body pointed to a TV talk show broadcast on February 4 by one of Mediaset's three channels, on which Mr Berlusconi was the only guest.
Mediaset said it would appeal the ruling.
Fortunately for Mr Berlusconi, the official beginning of the election campaign coincides with the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin.
That should divert the electorate's attention from his dismal record for 16 more days and, if the Games go well, make his depressed country feel a little better about itself.
Equally, if the Games are disrupted by anti-globalisation demonstrations, he will not hesitate to blame the Left.
On paper, Mr Berlusconi should have little chance of defeating Romani Prodi, the former European Commission president, to whom he lost an election in 1996.
The economy is in the doldrums and Mr Berlusconi's facelift, hair transplant and repeated gaffes have made him a figure of fun abroad. He has used his parliamentary majority to push through legislation to protect him from graft charges and to amend electoral law to favour his Centre-Right coalition, which trails Mr Prodi's Centre-Left alliance in every poll.
Mr Berlusconi has become, against all odds, the first Italian prime minister since World War II to survive a full term, and nobody is writing off this irrepressible media tycoon and former cruise-ship entertainer.
He has already written to the 600,000 babies born in Italy last year, reminding them that they received a E1000 bonus, and signing off with "a big kiss from Silvio".
He will repeat his 2001 election ploy by sending all households a second volume of his illustrated autobiography, and has promised -- or threatened -- to post a CD of his latest love songs as well.
Mr Berlusconi, 69, will spend the next two months criss-crossing the country in a private jet.
His hope is that Italy will fall once again for his exuberance, a trait that Mr Prodi, his understated and professorial foe, singularly lacks.
But Mr Berlusconi has good reason to divert attention from his record.
In 2001, he promised to use his entrepreneurial skills to revive the economy -- and to quit politics if he reneged on five pledges.
He vowed to lower taxes, cut crime, raise the basic pension, create jobs and fund 40per cent of infrastructure projects listed in a 10-year plan.
But five years on, most Italians feel worse off. The economy has twice slipped into recession and the deficit is nearly 5per cent of GDP, far above the eurozone limit. Italy ranks as the least competitive eurozone nation, with critics calling it "the sick man of Europe". A third of GDP is generated in the black economy.
Mr Prodi claims his rival has honoured none of his five promises.
But Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party has started "Operation Truth", a campaign noting that pensions have risen, unemployment is down and projects such as the Venice anti-flood barrier and the bridge linking Sicily to the mainland have begun.
In a last-minute bid to keep power, Mr Berlusconi has restored proportional representation. The move is designed to hamper the Centre-Left, a coalition of 11 parties, several of which could fail to reach the required 4per cent threshold to win seats.
Il Messaggero, the Rome daily, said this week that Mr Berlusconi had disappointed the country.
The April 9 election will show how many Italians agree.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18109513%255E2703,00.html
Silvio is the best :D