Sunday, January 27, 2008

Euro Notes: Italy's Prodi Out; Time for a Berlusconi Restoration?

Well, Italy's Prodi is out and maybe for good this time.

Some commentators are already talking about the possibility of a Berlusconi restoration. The return of the flamboyant Silvio?

Who knows. Italian politics are and always have been insane. In fact, if you think about Italy's leadership as an opera instead of a government, you might understand it better!

(As for Silvio, though he is rich, corrupt, and egotistical beyond belief, he certainly is colorful -- and I have to say that things are always more...er...interesting...when he is around. He is endlessly frustrating and completely uncontrollable, but part of me finds him utterly fascinating to watch. As I said earlier -- think about it as opera!)

UPDATE: I found a good post on this at the lovely Ninme. She quotes a UK journalist who refers to Italian politics as "slapstick theatre." Yep, that's just as good as opera for our purposes!

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