Word: berlusconis
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...Citing national pride, then opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi had railed against a complete takeover by the French-Dutch carrier last year. But this fall, after returning to the Prime Minister's office, Berlusconi was forced to face the reality that Alitalia's coffers were running dry. A consortium of Italian businessmen were encouraged to step in to salvage Alitalia in a deal that merged it with Italy's No. 2 carrier, Air One, But the implicit understanding was that a foreign partner would also have to be found...
...some countries, being son-less would be considered a weakness, especially in a leader. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has two sons. So does Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, while French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy has three. Even his Majesty King Letsie III, potentate of Lesotho, has a son. (See TIME's Top Ten Photos...
...chief of the Refounded Communist party, which lost all its parliamentary seats in the April poll that saw Berlusconi sweep to power, quickly offered Luxuria a slot to run for the European Parliament. "Vladimir has an elevated degree of solidarity and brotherhood and at the same time is very sensitive and aware of others and their dynamics," said the ever-somber Communist leader Paolo Ferrero. "She is a very positive anthropological model, in my view." A columnist in the Communist party newspaper likened Luxuria's victory to Barack Obama...
...latest example of Italy mistaking silliness for something far more serious. Often, of course, it's been the other way around. This is the country whose prime minister himself cracks bad jokes, comments such as his recent quip that Barack Obama is "young, handsome and suntanned." Two weeks' ago, Berlusconi even played a "peek-a-boo" prank on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hiding behind a monument as Merkel arrived in the Italian city of Trieste for an economic summit and discussions on the global downturn...
Such antics are routinely broadcast into millions of Italian homes, many of them tuned to the three biggest private stations, which are owned by Berlusconi himself. For years Italians have debated the potential conflict of interest involved in the prime minister owning so much of Italy's media. But questioning his current influence might miss the point. Berlusconi's most lasting influence might well have been made before he entered politics: namely, the transformation of Italian television from a gray source of information and family programming into a feast of commercial, and often trashy, entertainment. Isola dei Famosi is broadcast...