More on the Italy of Berlusconi

I am not the only one trying to explain the Berlusconi phenomenon to Americans; also Maurizio Molinari does it from the lofty heights of the New York Times:

In trying to understand why Silvio Berlusconi is able to survive as Italian prime minister despite so many sexual scandals, we have to consider three different factors.

Now, the piece is not bad, but very polite. I, being a nobody of a blogger, can get more down and dirty with the opinion of the common people. I think my piece says things that would be very frowned upon in the NYT, in short.

And I can bash the idiocy of many commenters. Because stuff like this

Silvio Berlusconi is the leader of a nation where evading taxes is considered a smart thing to do, where to find a good job your father likely needs to know someone, where people vote a candidate that would ineligible in all western democracies

is only a massive case of Qod Erat Demonstrandum: attacks on Berlusconi and the Italian people (which magically become honest and righteous and virtuous when they vote for the Left, fancy that) without proposing any serious alternative. Only the usual, that when Berlusconi is gone virtue will spontaneously flourish.

This is also an example of the Perennially Indignant Italians Abroad, those ready to take the streets in protest (and publish the pics on Facebook) because the CO2 in Berlusconi's champagne is contributing to global warming.

Other comments are borderline insane:

Mr.Berlusconi owns or controls most of the media in Italy. There is another politician that comes to mind who controls what his fellow citizens see and hear - Kim Il Jong. Shame on Italy for letting this person abuse the image of Italy. This country's reputation has taken a beating.

Comparing Berlusconi's weight in the Italian media with the strict control of information flow enforced in North Korea is, shall we say, rather hyperbolic. Barking mad seems more appropriate, tho.

Google, if you please, Beppe Grillo, Marco Travaglio, Santoro and the newspaper La Repubblica to find plenty of opposing voices.

And no, Berlusconi does not control the courts: he only cunningly managed to stay one step ahead of them so far.