Il Cavaliere's Last Ride

Writing in the first and second centuries AD, the Roman senator and historian Tacitus warned that in the corruption and decadence of the everexpanding Roman Empire already lay the foundation for its eventual demise. It would not be powerful enemy armies, Tacitus predicted, so much as extravagant banquets, eroding moral standards, and unadulterated lust for power that would lead to the downfall of one of the greatest historical empires. It is no coincidence that the story of the most extravagant banquet, overflowing with every kind of perversion and gluttony, is followed immediately in Tacitus’ Annals by the story of the Great Fire that devours Rome.

Today, almost 2,000 years later, it seems that another hedonistic leader on the Italian peninsula, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, may be facing the end of his own empire. Berlusconi, who has served as Prime Minister three times, is coming under fire from all sides for his blatant manipulation of the media, poor treatment of women, and lack of concern for effective governance and the rule of law. The confluence of these trends may be enough to finally end his time atop Italy’s political system.

Perhaps most troubling to Italians and the international community alike has been Berlusconi’s blatant use of the media as a tool of the state. Berlusconi and his family run a media empire estimated to be worth US$9 billion; these holdings, combined with the state’s de facto control over the largest public broadcaster, give Berlusconi effective control over five of the seven national channels. A number of magazines and newspapers under Berlusconi’s control also serve as his own personal propaganda machine. According to James Walston, a professor of international relations at the American University of Rome, every political leader meets with staff to plan his media strategy; what makes Berlusconi different is that his “staff” is comprised of editors of newspapers and television channels that reach more than half the population.

In fact, the battle for Italy’s future is not being waged in the Parliament, or even in the courts—rather, it is one Berlusconi has chosen to let the media decide. during the week of February 11, Berlusconi called numerous prominent figures from the Italian press to his office to discuss coverage of the scandals surrounding his leadership. The newspaper Il Giornale ran a headline exclaiming, “Justice, Italian Style: Free to attack the Prime Minister.” The sensational headline was not surprising given its ownership by Berlusconi’s brother.

Berlusconi has also received a great deal of well-deserved criticism for his attitude toward women and his penchant for hosting parties with underage girls. A judge in Italy recently announced that Berlusconi must stand trial for two charges: first, for having sex with a 17-year-old nightclub dancer named Kharima el Mahroug at one of his infamous parties; and second, for abuse of power after Berlusconi called the Milan police station where el Mahroug was being held on unrelated charges and ordered her released. Together, the charges carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Berlusconi makes no secret of these events; he has survived such scandals before and counts on surviving this one as well.

Yet public frustration is mounting. Berlusconi’s so-called “bunga bunga” parties—orgies arranged at Berlusconi’s mansion outside of Milan for him and his friends—have been well-known in Italy for months now, but the worst suspicions of the Italian people are only now being confirmed. Prosecutors in Milan recently presented the Italian Parliament with a 389-page report, including taped conversations between women present at the parties. The behavior described rivals anything even the decadent Roman emperor Nero could have imagined. Berlusconi would hand out bracelets, jewelry, and money to the woman present in exchange for sexual favors. Worse yet, at least one of the women allegedly involved in the parties, Nicole Minetti, a dental hygienist, was put forward by Berlusconi’s People of Freedom Party as a candidate for regional councilor for Lombardy in last year’s elections. A nightclub hostess and weather girl were also on the roster of candidates.

Not surprisingly, opposition to Berlusconi and his treatment of women is spreading. The weekend of February 12-13, over one million Italian and foreign sympathizers around the world marched to demonstrate their unhappiness with such events and to express that that they would not stand idly by while the status of women in Italian society was rolled back by Berlusconi’s sexual antics. Such large-scale protests may ultimately prove just as dangerous as the charges being brought by prosecutors in Milan.

On a more basic level of government competence and rule of law, Berlusconi has also struggled. Last october, the European Commission warned that Berlusconi’s government could face fines and sanctions if it did not resolve the long-standing garbage disposal crisis in Naples and the Campania region. Though the government first declared a state of emergency for the waste problem in Campania in 1994, the problem remains largely unresolved and has left, according to
some estimates, hundreds of thousands of tons of garbage out in Naples’ streets. The governments of other Italian cities, and even some European countries, have agreed to take some of Naples’ trash to help resolve the issue, but the problem is far from over.

Respect for the rule of law has similarly suffered under Berlusconi, who flagrantly bends the law to his will or ignores it entirely. Berlusconi’s first statement upon election, Walston says, was that he was “anointed by the people,” and thus free to act outside the law so far as he saw fit. In 2009, amid widespread public pressure for a corruption trial again, Berlusconi’s lawyer famously stated that “law is the same for all but the application is different.” At the same time, he and
his supporters in Parliament brought forward a bill shortening the length of criminal trials. The bill came about after Berlusconi instructed his personal lawyer—who is also a member of Parliament responsible for framing the law—to help him avoid prosecution on charges of corruption. Many now wonder how long it will take to rebuild the very idea of democracy and rule of law in Italy after Berlusconi’s tenure has come to an end.

As a result of these and other scandals, the political world is turning against Berlusconi. In December, Berlusconi survived a confidence vote and held together his fragile government by only three votes. A crucial group broke away from his coalition, calling into question Berlusconi’s ability to govern at all. Despite the deadlock, he has not yet called for new elections,
fearing the potential negative public response at the polls at a time when his reputation is so tarnished. Protesters in Rome demonstrated their unhappiness with Berlusconi the same day of the confidence vote by setting off the worst clashes Rome has seen in years. According to public opinion polls conducted in late 2010 by Angus Reid Public Opinion, even before the worst
of the “bunga-bunga” scandal had hit, 55 percent of Italians lacked trust in Prime Minister Berlusconi, and only 28 percent wanted him to finish his term. It is hard to imagine that his numbers have improved since then.

It remains to be seen how much longer Berlusconi can keep his tenuous grasp on power. He has suffered scandal and defeat before and returned stronger for it, but this time the forces aligned against him—and the weight of his own mistakes—may be too much to overcome. After all, even the great Roman Empire eventually fell.