Newsgroup: it.politica
Titolo: Berlusconi loses debate

Analysis: Berlusconi loses debate
By Roland Flamini
UPI Chief International Correspondent
Published March 15, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Silvio Berlusconi is perhaps the most pro-American prime  
minister in Italy's post-war history. His television stations became  
popular by importing U.S. programming wholesale, from sitcoms to police  
dramas. Defying strong public opposition he supported the Bush  
administration's Iraq policy. He -- and perhaps he alone -- believed that  
addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress earlier this month would  
impress Italian voters. On Tuesday, however, America all but did him in.  
He faced his political opponent Romano Prodi in the first of two live  
televised debates and had the worst of it.
     What does America have to do with his disappointing performance? The  
debates replicated the U.S. format with opening policy statements by both  
candidates, followed by questions from two reporters, and closing  
comments. The formal, stop-watch dominated structure cramped the prime  
minister's famously flamboyant style. The moderator had to keep cutting  
off his replies to questions because his time was up, and he used his  
final statement to complain about the format.
 
     "The allotted time passed more quickly than I imagined," Berlusconi  
told reporters after the debate. "I'm very spontaneous. I rely on my  
spontaneity and my sincerity. But I won in the numbers and with the  
arguments." He did neither. A poll taken after the debate declared Prodi  
the winner with a 20 percent lead. The verdict of the Italian press was  
also that Prodi, who leads a center-left coalition and has also been  
president of the European Commission, scored points discussing the ailing  
economy, immigration, and other issues. They even conceded that the former  
economics professor, whose rather dry manner is the total opposite of his  
opponent's, had shown leadership qualities.
     Barring a major change in the second round on April 3, the debate  
could well mark the end of Berlusconi's chances of recovery in the April 9  
parliamentary elections because it undermined his one remaining strength  
-- as a communicator who knows how to reach the Italian public. With his  
right-of-center coalition riven by internal squabbling, unemployment  
rising, the flagging Italian economy in need of firm, coherent control,  
his only chance of survival is to convince the Italians that his five-year  
term was a work-in-progress and needed more time for completion. What was  
surprising, said Beppe Severgnini, the Italian writer and journalist, was  
that such a skillful television performer as Berlusconi should be so taken  
aback by the format.
     One important reason for Berlusconi's popularity has always been his  
brashness and his lack of political finesse. Italians loved it when he  
took on the Germans or the French, or when he compared himself to Napoleon  
or Winston Churchill as he has done in this election campaign. Analysts  
had fully expected him to ignore the "tight corset of the format" as  
journalist Lucia Annunziata put it, and swamp his more somber opponent  
with one of his quixotic firework displays. But, says Annunziata, "free  
 from the tension of interruptions... Prodi showed himself closer to the  
country's mood."
     One explanation why Berlusconi had stuck to the rules could be that he  
had had a ragged few days. With the very real prospect of his election  
defeat, the public prosecutor seems to be closing in for the kill. He has  
asked for Berlusconi to be indicted on charges of having attempted to  
bribe a judge in a takeover attempt. The fiery prime minister had also  
stormed off a television show when the interviewer asked about a possible  
conflict of interest between being prime minister and a media mogul. The  
problem is that Berlusconi on his best behavior disappoints the public.
     There were a few vintage Berlusconi moments, as when he said he did  
not have as many women candidates as he would have liked but "it's not  
easy to find women who are willing to leave their husbands and families"  
and run for office. Prodi pointed out that his coalition had more than  
double the number of the government's list, and would have liked more.
     The Italian press, with its tendency to find fault with everything  
American, complained that the debate was boring. Journalist Marcello  
Veneziani remarked, "Boredom won. And Berlusconi was penalized by a format  
that hemmed him in." Prodi bristled at the criticism. "We discussed the  
problems facing the country, why is that boring? We're not a pair of  
dancers." That, of course, was the disappointment.
     The last time the two had debated on television was before the 1996  
election, which was won by Prodi's center-left coalition. Tuesday's suited  
Prodi better than it did the prime minister, who found the format cramped  
his unstructured conversational manner.
     The debate was "intense and often sharp, with Silvio Berlusconi  
putting his head down and charging everything," said La Stampa, while  
Prodi appeared more moderate and controlled.
http://www.wpherald.com
-- 
Ralph Barker
L.A.P. Legionario Azzurro Pagante
L.I.P.C.S. Lega Italiana Protezione Carciofo Silvio
"Io al Pil non ci ho mai creduto, non l'ho mai incontrato per strada"
silvio berlusconi 10.09.2005

  Roland Flamini