Sex scandals, endless investigations into his finances, physical attacks, a messy divorce, all were plauging Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his center-right coalition going into regional mid-term elections this week.
So, naturally, his alliance tripled the number of regions they control (Financial Times):
Declaring that “love has triumphed over hate and envy” after his coalition’s gains in regional elections, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s centre-right prime minister, promised political and economic reform on Tuesday in his government’s remaining three years in office.
Results showed that the alliance of Mr Berlusconi’s People of Liberty (PdL) and the Milan-based Northern League had won six of the 13 contested regions, ousting the centre-left Democratic party from four.
Close victories in Piemonte in the north-west and Lazio, including Rome, mean that four of the five largest economic regions now come under the rule of the centre-right, with the opposition Democrats almost wiped from the north’s political map.
The FT piece also gave a taste of the media bias that faces Italy’s most successful politician in the 21st Century. The entire piece emphasized the supposed differences between Berlusconi and his coalition partner – Umberto Bossi – before a quote by the Finance Minister at the end made the theme look ridiculous.
One other thing I found curious about Italy’s politics (same link, emphasis added):
“We have three years without elections, enough time to carry out reforms,” said Giulio Tremonti, the finance minister, whose tight control over spending has won plaudits from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, while shielding Italy from potential fallout from the Greek debt crisis.
So a government emphasizing lower spending and avoiding debt scores big gains at the polls? Why, one would almost think responsible government is popular!
Filed under: 2010 Elections, Economics, International Politics, Media
