A leader in Corriere della Sera questioning William Hague's fitness for the prime minister's job would cause no loss of sleep at Smith Square - they have enough domestic anxiety to cause permanent insomnia. Yet the converse holds good. The Berlusconi camp has so far calculated that attacks on their man from abroad are counterproductive. Italian pride will be wounded and even if Il Cavaliere does not get a sympathy vote, the left would find it hard to rouse their supporters to turn out at the behest of foreigners. Repubblica has already published exhaustive studies of the octopoid media empire headed by Mr Berlusconi, to deafening silence at home.
Foreign opinion is none the less right.
A Berlusconi victory would weaken Italy's already feeble contribution to European and G7 debate and action. That is not just because Mr Berlusconi's businesses are too extensive for him to become premier without calling political pluralism in Italy into question. It is because Forza would share power with parties on the extreme of what is tolerable in modern Europe. During the election campaign, Umberto Bossi of the Northern League has been kept quiet, while Gianfranco Fini of the National Alliance, the former fascists, has loudly asserted his moderation. But Italians who vote for them next week would still be inviting to national power parties of the far right, with all the destabilising effects that would have on Italy's participation in the EU - and on the conduct of affairs at home.