Despite a series of public gaffes and criminal charges, billionaire-turned-premier Silvio Berlusconi takes his ruling coalition into the record books this week as the longest-lasting government in the history of the Italian Republic -- a remarkable feat in this country of ever-squabbling politicians.
Since the republic was founded in 1946, Italy has had 59 administrations, lasting less than a year on average. Berlusconi's coalition, which was formed in June 2001, tied the record of 1,059 days in power on Tuesday.
Berlusconi's political opponents are bitterly chagrined to see a man they so clearly despise make it this far. The conservative premier, meanwhile, always said Italy needed a strong leader to hold power for the entire five-year-term, and he may be on his way.
PHOTO: EPA
"It's a commitment we took from the electorate," Berlusconi's spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, said Tuesday. "We're talking about a change of method, a change of mentality."
It's about time Italy adopted a bipolar system of government, he said, with administrations that get to the end of their mandates.
Much of the blame for Italy's political wobbles can be cast on an electoral system that gave small parties the power to topple an administration. The electoral system was reformed a decade ago, setting the way for Berlusconi's record.
His government's duration may seem remarkable given the internationally publicized conflict-of-interest accusations against Berlusconi, who is both chief of government and owner of a vast portion of the nation's media.
Yet his alliance has a strong majority in both houses of parliament, and its more quarrelsome members seem to have calculated that they're better with him than without him.
Edmondo Berselli, an editorial writer for the leftist newspaper La Repubblica, said members of the coalition don't dare challenge Berlusconi too much.
"He has managed to stay in his position due to the fact that the entire center-right coalition depends exclusively on the figure of Berlusconi, and this doesn't allow his allies to bring about conflicts," he said.
Berlusconi was premier once before, after leaping from the business world in 1994, following a corruption scandal that brought an end to the political elite that had run Italy's government since World War II. That first government collapsed after seven months, when a key ally pulled out of the coalition.
Berlusconi has been determined to make this one last. And he has brought a remarkable period in Italian politics that has seen a greater international role for Italy.
Notably, he has forged strong ties with the Bush administration, with support of the US-led war in Iraq. Berlusconi was steadfast, even though a majority of Italians opposed the conflict.
"There's no doubt where the government stands on foreign policy, and that's almost unprecedented," said Tobias Jones, author of The Dark Heart of Italy, an account of this nation under Berlusconi. "The profile of Italy has hugely increased under Berlusconi."
Meanwhile, many leftists in Europe characterize him as something between a crook and a buffoon, reacting in horror when the typically off-the-cuff Berlusconi makes a slip of the tongue.
One gaffe came on Sept. 26, 2001, when he said Western civilization was superior to Islam -- just as other nations were trying to reach out to the Muslim world after Sept. 11.
Another awkward moment came in 2003, when Berlusconi told a German lawmaker in the European Parliament that he should appear in a movie as a Nazi concentration camp guard -- a statement that led to tension with Germany.
The high profile has also brought extensive coverage of his battles in the courts. Berlusconi has faced numerous criminal charges related to his business empire over the years, although no charge has stuck so far.
He is now on trial in Milan for alleged corruption. Berlusconi argues that the accusations are false, and that leftist prosecutors are out to get him.
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