A long with many others, I often wonder how the United States of America voted former President George W. Bush into office on two separate occasions. The man's blatant incompetence was displayed on a daily basis, his often incomprehensible jargon giving us an endless supply of memorable "Bushisms."
But if there is any electoral puzzle that is more perplexing than the one pertaining to Bush and the United States, it is that which pertains to Silvio Berlusconi and Italy. Unlike Bush, the issue with Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi is not one of aptitude as much as inappropriateness. With an enormous list of offensive acts to his name, the Italian prime minister is simply a ridiculous human being. In 2003, he caused much uproar in Germany when, during a European parliament session, he told German politician Martin Schulz that he would be perfect for a movie role of a Nazi concentration camp guard. Over the years, he has faced countless court hearings for tax and accounting fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, mafia involvement, soliciting prostitution and bribery. In 1990, it was even proven that Berlusconi had provided false testimony during a court hearing in the 1980s.
However, despite the fact that Berlusconi's name is so badly tarnished by allegations of corruption, the Italian people have elected him as their prime minister a shocking three times: in 1994, 2001 and then again in 2008.
His current term has been marred mostly by his alleged affairs with women, including prostitutes and minors. In May 2009, Berlusconi's wife Veronica Lario filed for divorce after it was found that her husband had attended the 18th birthday celebration of a girl named Noemi Letizia. In her dealings with the press thereafter, Letizia claimed that she had spent a lot of time with Berlusconi in the past and that she affectionately referred to him as "Papi." A month later, an escort by the name of Patrizia D'Addario claimed to have been paid on multiple occasions to spend time with the prime minister.
And now, two years later, Berlusconi is on trial for allegedly paying teenage nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug of Morocco for sex. Incidentally, due to a few weird twists of fate, this incident allegedly incorporates two leaders I have already written about this semester, former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Libyan leader Muammar el-Qaddafi. The story goes that Berlusconi's buddy Qaddafi taught him about "bunga bunga" parties, in which a group of women dine with him and then perform erotic dances, after which he chooses one dancer to sleep with. El Mahroug was reportedly at one of these bunga bunga parties, which, in her dealings with the Italian media, she has likened to an orgy. When she was arrested soon after on an unrelated charge, Berlusconi told the police she was Mubarak's niece, in order to get her out of jail. A ridiculous man, I tell you.
Last Friday, after giving prizes to young college graduates, Berlusconi joked with two blondes that he would like to invite them to one of his bunga bunga parties. And this is perhaps the most disturbing thing about Berlusconi: Whether or not he is actually guilty of all the charges being leveled against him (which I believe he is), it is his attitude that is most off-putting. Despite the seriousness of the charges against him, Berlusconi seems, as usual, unfazed. Similarly, Berlusconi responded to the prostitution allegations in 2009 by saying, "I've never paid a woman. I never understood where the satisfaction is when you're missing the pleasure of conquest." In many other countries this sort of comment alone would lead to a leader's resignation. Not in Italy, apparently, where the prime minister can get away with doing this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RluCs8KYMII.
