Berlusconi Returns!

Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister of Italy, is apparently planning a comeback. After a brief "retirement" before which he claimed to be tired of politics, it looks like he'll run again, now that Monti decided to quit and force an election.

Here's a relatively perspicacious comment:

...he may represent the next stage in Europe's continuing crisis: exhaustion with all the austerity, and a return to optimism, however delusional. Italians crave growth and good cheer, rather than yet more cuts, and that's what Mr. Berlusconi claims he can deliver.

It sounds about right to me. Elect Silvio and growth and good cheer will follow. Of course, the fact that Italy did not grow under Berlusconi isn't important. People will "feel better" with his tan, handsome (albeit aging) face once again flashing that suave smile from their video screens.

Never mind that Italian television stations must be ecstatic. I was in Italy when Berlusconi was prime minister and was amazed at how often the man's image and name came up. There were even what looked like comedy shows built around him. Although I don't speak the language, I remember watching with some fascination for about 15 minutes as various people commented and joked about him on some show. Everyone was laughing at his expense.

And so the Italians may chose denial in the face of reality just for the fun of it. Or maybe they'll simply exert their often-cited creative imagination over and against the dreary reality of their (and much of Europe's) economy (a more interesting way to express the definitely negative concept of "denial").

As for Berlusconi, an apparently very rich man, this may be an instance where we are taught that power trumps money. While some say you can never have enough money, I know many examples of those who have it and are quite content with what they have. As for power, though, that's what people like Berlusconi can never get enough of. What else are we to think?

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