The Berlusconi Thing Comes To The White House

Michael Scherer:
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There's are only superlatives for this; it is gorgeous.
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Wow:

This thing, this illness, this virus threatens to become the cause of the moral death of Verdi's country. If a deep vomit doesn't succeed in ejecting it from the consciousness of Italians, the poison will end up corroding the veins and destroying the heart of one of Europe's richest cultures. The basic values of human coexistence are trampled daily by the viscous feet of the Berlusconi thing; amongst its many talents, it has a funambulesque ability to abuse words, perverting their intention and meaning, as in the case of the People of Freedom, the name given to the party with which the thing took power...
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...For years and years the Berlusconi thing has been committing crimes of a variable but always demonstrated seriousness. It's outrageous that it not only disobeys laws, but worse, it invents them to safeguard its public and private interests...

Thanks so much for putting this superb piece of writing up; I might never have seen it otherwise.
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What kind of moral and intellectual opiates would need to be withdrawn from the US political press corps in order to realize similar heights of prose with respect to our state's leadership, Michael Scherer?

Yes, but how does he really feel.
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Independent how how anyone may feel about the object of his scorn, his ability to deliver it eloquently is absolutely worthy of emulation.

Spain's had a beef with Berlusconi for some time- to the point where if he sets foot on Spanish soil he'll be arrested. IIRC, this stems from some shady media business and possibly media monopolies. So, the obvious answer to SZ's question is that we can expect similar prose from our media in regards to those in power as soon as those in power directly and personally threaten the media's MO. (Not to take away anything from Saramago and El País)

I'd expect nothing less from El Pais than such an emotional tantrum, entirely devoid of facts, seeped in personal vendetta, and utterly ignorant of the strength and efficiency that Berlusconi has brought to the chaotic and unproductive Italian political milieu. His disdain for political correctness, while shocking to the fickle, hypersensitivities of the delicate cerebrums of the American west, is quite frankly a breath of fresh air. Berlusconi does what no other politician in the west dares, he speaks his mind, and he does so in an eloquent, witty, and humorous manner than most rational people find both entertaining and effective. Forza Berlusconi! Forza Italia!
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Saramago:
Extremely well written and impassioned, but completely irrelevant and off-base. This piece is clearly personal.

Iran is imploding and Swampland is covering Berlusconi.

i hate to talk about 'moral equivalence' but dude, a couple of 'sun-tanned jokes (which i get every once in a while) just doesn't justify this piece of venomous, raw emotion. I couldn't even finish it. You should know that once someone is called a virus, you're crossed a line, no matter how beautiful and entertaining the prose is. i mean i know u work at the white house press corps, but dude, don't take it personally like some sort of state media in some sort of developing world that just feels like it has to defend its leaders.

The guy's from Italy. Isn't this how he is expected to act there, like an emperor?

'Tis the duty of the reporter to report, codepoet. No single event deserves to nullify the rest of the world. As important as the election in Iran is, it is mostly of domestic relevance. Its international impact will be largely negligible and I am skeptical as to the notion of any revolutionary seeds currently being sown.
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The most recent posts, with the exception of this, all concern Iran. Let us breath a bit and discuss the other happenings of the world.

"Berlusconi does what no other politician in the west dares, he speaks his mind, and he does so in an eloquent, witty, and humorous manner than most rational people find both entertaining and effective. Forza Berlusconi! Forza Italia!"
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Obviously personal, but maybe muffled, more than a little accurate. Last thing I want to see is another CEO cum politician parade his/her arrogance and ignorance in front of the world.
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Italy can have him. Another totally corrupt politician. I guess when looking at the same man, different faults are more visible to some than others. Being as we have just finished eight years of nearly unfettered corruption and more than a lick of ideological stiffness, I'll stick to Obama for now.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Berlusconi is the graffiti I saw after leaving Milan's airport on my honeymoon:
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"Berlusconi es un fascista"
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I've never really revised that conclusion.
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"He is a man who always seems entirely pleased with himself" and "this is the thing that the Italian people have elected twice to serve them as a role model"
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Does this remind us of any political figure in US history? I wonder... One can only be eternally thankful that this meeting involves someone like Obama. Were it still W. it'd be weep worthy.

Was that before or after you were handed the clean piece of white paper reading:

"Il Manifesto Communista"

...?

That black shirt looks good on you.

And perhaps Saramago should revisit the history books. There was no liberty and dignity in Garibaldi's assault on southern Italy. He remains the most reviled man in Italian history in the regions of Sicilia, Puglia, Calabria, and Campagnia. His misguided attempts at unification of a city-state dominated culture resulted in what is referred to as "The Southern Question." The answer: neglect the south, use it resources to build the northern industrial cities, such as Milano and Genova, and instigate such utter destitution and poverty in the south that resulted in mass emigration. It is no wonder that the overwhelming majority of Italian-Americans and Italians of South America are of southern Italian descent.

FO, I was not implying that jcapan is a Communist, I was noting that the Communist Party is alive and well in Italy and the graffiti to which JC refers was likely a result of such. I could fill a suitcase with Communist literature handed to me on the streets of Milan during my stay there.

Not that I'm weighing in on the substance of neorationalist86's position, but it is true that one can't help but notice the presence of a relatively robust Communist party when in Italy's major cities.

The fascist tag is equally abundant in Spain as well- probably just a common epithet in the southern european countries that went down that route in the 1930s. I tend to think of Berlusconi as more of a self-aggrandizing clown than a fascist. Sort of a rightward version of Chavez, but with more democratic tendencies.

Ahhh, you have me there N-R. A text that holds a prominent position on my shelf. As in Italy, one can't go a 100 meters here without seeing posters of smiling communist political candidates. Many of my friends vote this way, and I occasionally help with translation of their campaign literature.
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True story: I knew my then gf was the one when we lived on the frigid island of Hokkaido. I was really sick and a van blasting political rhetoric had stopped in front of the station across from my then home. My wife went out there and confronted them, and the commies promptly vacated the area.

It's amazing to me how a sizable amount of Europeans are receptive/supportive of Communism while simultaneously living on a continent whose eastern half was ravaged by it. Maybe if it's tried for the 107th time it'll work, somehow? "Dude, it could've worked, man!"
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Also, more unapologetic racial jokes from that region. Anyone remember the Spanish basketball team's pose from last Olympics? I wish someone would tan Berlusconi instead.

I just think Berlusconi has been misrepresented in the press. Over the course of a year in Milan it is true, I heard significant grumbling about his repeated return to the Chigi Palace, his monopolization of the media, and at times his uncouth private affairs. But very little was said of his allegedly insensitive comments. Italy is a very different country than most western democracies. Freedom of speech takes a very different meaning there, as people may speak freely and make observations that would be labeled as less than appropriate in the hypersensitivity of mainstream western society. The same norms and political correctness do not phase Italian society. This is good. A joke is simply that, a joke. People enjoy his humanistic elements, his lightheartedness, and his ability disarm a hostile press corp. In this sense I think criticism is unduly aimed at a man who represents a quintessential Italian characteristic.
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As for substantive policy grievances, people are entitled to their "fascist" characterizations. However, Berlusconi has enabled government continuity and efficiency in a manner none of his predecessors have been able to accomplish. He will be the first Italian premier to complete the constitutionally mandated 5 year term. He is gifted at holding together his governing coalition in a society so divided ideologically and regionally that government has become synonymous with inaction and static deadlock. For this, he should be applauded.
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Italy, I should also mention, has largely avoided the current financial crisis which has swept through most the world and hit Europe especially hard.
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JC- Bravo!

I were just comin' home from livin' in Bella Napoli fer 3 years this past August, an' so far as I be rememberin' there be no great love o' Burlesque-oni in tha' region - neither fer 'is supposed efficiency, nor fer' 'is "democratic" ways - 'is monopoly o' th' media be a partic'lar point o' concern among me amici Italiani - th' piece fr'm Spain pretty much nails th' feelin' I were gettin' about 'im fr'm th' locals. I be thinkin' neo be th' Forza Italia equivilant o' spongy an' comp'ny .
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An' yet...there be th' unfortunate parallel o' th' re-electin' o' th' scoundrel sadly akin t' our own dear departed leader.
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I were often thinkin' o' late, whilst th' excoriatin' o' our two-party system were takin place, tha' wi' 16 or so, Italia be a' th' other end o' th' ship, so t' speak, an' their multi-party mutinous processes were no' seemin' an attractive alternative, a' least not t' me, me hearties!

An' Michael, me lad, it be "litany", as any decent Catholic pirate wench worth 'er salt be obliged t' be pointin' out !

What in the name of God are you talking about, woman? Cute act, though...Pffff....

[...] Saramago ripped "tanned" Berlusconi, who met with Obama today. [...]

And perhaps you should consider the fact the Napoli is not exactly the bedrock of pro-establishment sentiment in Italy. I'd hedge my bets on Milano being more emblematic of Italian political sentiment than that of Napoli.
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Perhaps the people of Napoli should stick to what they know best, food and crime.

Ms. Wench: Did you speak pirate-flavored Italian too? Or is that what happened to your English (having spoken pidgin Italian so long, this is what you're left to)? I know of what I speak, pun-dat. I spend nearly all of my time speaking a 2nd language or my first language with students/others with little capacity. Then I get on the phone with my dad and he's like "What!?" Particularly the gutteral affirmative grunts all the rage in the Nihongo.
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N-R: Pirate is a much-beloved longtime commenter. Tread softly. I'd add that she makes as much sense as anyone here at times.