Silvio Berlusconi and the press

Language problems

Italy’s prime minister campaigns against the foreign media

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carl byron rodgers

Dear Yako66,
I respect your opinion.
I do not except the reference to Hitler, as these kind of loaded words are at best irrelevant at worst extreme, the very kind of extremism (loaded words and rhetoric)used by opposition groups and trade unions that led to the death of Biagi or D'Antona.
Think about it.


Berlusconi's visit to Obama in the States was depicted as a triumph for Berlusconi by most of the media (TV and press) in Italy. Here is a sober analysis.IL Sole-24Ore has a translation of this article on its website.

US and EU focus on Italian PM’s performance

By James Blitz in London

Published: June 24 2009 22:49 | Last updated: June 24 2009 22:49

Silvio Berlusconi’s image will have been badly damaged by the spate of stories over his alleged links with models and starlets. But for western governments, the critical question is not what the Italian prime minister does in his private life but whether he can help solve the pressing problems facing the US and European Union.

For the Obama administration in the US, Mr Berlusconi is a leader with whom some business has to be done. Italy, unlike some states in the Nato alliance, firmly supports the international mission in Afghanistan and has no intention of withdrawing its 2,350 troops. Mr Berlusconi has also became one of the first EU leaders to pledge his country will take inmates from the Guantánamo Bay detention centre. But president Barack Obama is clearly far less keen on Mr Berlusconi than George W. Bush, his predecessor, was.

Mr Berlusconi’s declining influence is not entirely his fault. “The fundamental shift in Europe in the last two years is that France and Germany now have very pro-US governments,” says one western diplomat. “That means Italy matters less to the White House.”

However, some of Mr Berlusconi’s actions have made him a difficult ally. One issue, say western officials, is Mr Berlusconi’s decision to sign a deal with Russia to speed up the new South Stream gas link to Europe. Russia is building the link in competition with the western-backed Nabucco pipeline, which aims to bring gas from Central Asia and the Caspian to Europe and ease dependence on Russian gas. “Berlusconi’s support for [Russian premier Vladimir] Putin on this is causing a lot of anger in Washington and Brussels,” an EU diplomat said.

Italy also infuriated Britain this year by trying to establish a diplomatic dialogue with Iran.

Mr Berlusconi’s next big challenge is July’s G8 summit in L’Aquila, with his decision to greet leaders in a city recently hit by an earthquake causing nervousness in world capitals.



We now know that Berlusconi invites models, escorts, show girls in his official and private residences. In my opinion he has a low opinion of women: they are play things or just sex simbols.If he thought otherwise he would NOT continue to make such jokes as he does about women in public. He has now accused Parrizia D'Addario of being paid a handsome sum for her story. And she in turn has challenged to produce proof. She and her friend have confrimed the story of the parities in Berlusconi's official residence. Photos also have been published of the jewellery given by Berlusconi and of the bathroom in the official residence. Photos of topless girls in Berlusconi's villa in Sardegna have been published. There can be no smoke without fire! So please give me and others the benefit of doubt.

Moreover,we know for a fact that he retracts his statements every other day. If he were really serious he would have given his interview to a more independent journal than the most popular GOSSIP journal than "Chi" which is part of his media empire.

Yes, I will never understand the "TRUST he has with his peolple" as you put it. If there is any justice in life then we shall see.


Food for thought.

Italy: Berlusconi's way

* Editorial
* The Guardian, Tuesday 23 June 2009
* larger | smaller
* Article history

If a contest was to be held to choose Europe's most sexist politician, Silvio Berlusconi would undoubtedly win. It was Berlusconi who said that the Spanish cabinet, with its equal number of male and female ministers, was "too pink". It was Berlusconi who said there were not enough soldiers in the army to prevent rapes, because Italian women were too beautiful, and who suggested that foreign firms should establish themselves in Italy because Italian secretaries were the most attractive in the world.

And, if it is objected that these were only words - harmless fun, in the president's own estimation - his behaviour toward the women in his own life has also been much criticised, not least by his wife. So it is fitting that a growing scandal concerning a series of beautiful women should be a cause of embarrassment, and perhaps of more than embarrassment, for a leader who had hoped at this moment to be concentrating on his statesman's duties as host of the G8 summit next month. When his wife announced her intention to divorce him because, among other reasons, of his relationship with the 18-year-old model Noemi Letizia, Berlusconi went into his standard escape and evade pattern - alternating dismissive jokes with attacks on the press while refusing to answer any questions - it seemed for a while as if he would get away with it. Now a new set of allegations has surfaced, concerning the attendance of other young women at lavish parties held at Berlusconi's villa. This seems more like dotage than dalliance.

His attitude to women is only one among the constellation of reasons why Italians should not have three times voted Berlusconi into power. His refusal to recognise any conflict between his business and media interests and his political position, his attacks on parliament and the judiciary, his use of his majority to give himself immunity against prosecution, his failure to act against organised crime, his economic mismanagement and the illiberal reforms he is planning would all compete for the top position.

But Berlusconi's success, sadly, is a product rather than a cause of the collapse of Italy's political system, a collapse which has fatally weakened both left and centre, leaving the field free for opportunists and xenophobes. It is a tragedy that the "mani pulite" judicial investigations into political corruption which seemed to promise a grand renewal of Italian politics in the early 90s have led Italy to this pass. Berlusconi's promise in the elections earlier this year - that he would bring Italy stability - means not much more than that Italy and the rest of Europe will have to endure him for quite a while longer.


@ Il Mango di Treviso

You seem to hold a mix of delusions of grandeur "I was last night at a reception with foreign dignitaries..." and vulgarity "Ma cosa vuol dire????" [I can imagine you gesticulating]- rather like the crowd in government.

Whilst on the subject that you mix with foreign dignaitaries, perhaps you're in on the joke where Italian diplomats- not least those at La Farnesina- are left to clear the mess of the gaffes and "slips of the tounge" that people like Berlusconi, Calderoli and all of those other quality ministers make. But then when one hob-knobs which such people, rather like a cuckold husband, you're the last to know of the jokes made about you.


To Mr De Santis:
I really wanted to stay out of this debate from today on, but your comments are just too appaling! You said:
"Gianna 1954 belong to the kind of Italians who are not Italians.You do not find in other counties people spitting on their Land like those typically Italian communists."
Then I probably belong to the same group of people, not that I care which box you decide I belong to. But to say: "Berlusconi lied? To lie to Bolshevics intruded into Justice is a RIGHT,A DUTY,A PLEASURE." is just ignorant and unjust. A prime minister should be honest - end of! It is people like you, who thinks that certain individuals have special privileges, that are ruining the italian dream of a real democracy. It is of people like you that I dream Italy will rid itself one day.


Ma dai Valeriana...of course I knew about Veronica Lario's affair but quite frankly I couldn't care less. She is not a prime minister and I don't care what she does! Simple as that. I wouldn't care about Mr Berlusconi's sexual life if he wasn't the person in charge of Italy. I am not adding comments to this website for the sole purpose of going against one person, but I've had enough of Berlusconi's abuse of power and I want justice. I'm just trying to explain to you my point of view and the reasons behind it, but it seems to me that you are 'climbing mirrors' as we say in Italy. None of the arguments you have arised on this subject (and I have been following from day 1) have any substance in my opinion and the latest (on Ms Lario) is just the final straw. You are now resorting to Mr Berlusconi's wife in order to defend the premier. Give me a break!


To Girolamo:
Firstly, Berlusconi is accused, amongst other things, of using public money for personal purposes and tax evasion. As I said, if he was innocent he would go to court instead of protecting himself with self-made legislation and he would be jailed if found guilty, just as anyone else. This process is part of something called democracy.
Secondly: I know Italy is mainly catholic. This is one of the reasons why I left the country many years ago. However, even the catholic church is now contesting Mr Berlusconi's moral values and recently deemed them unacceptable.
Thirdly: I find your comments and judgement on protestants highly inappropriate, offensive and out of place. Religion is a personal choice and your comment shows your bigotry.
To Valeriana:
The fact that, thanks to Travaglio the world always had a negative impression about Berlusconi is, to me as it is for many people, a good thing. I think we will have to agree to disagree on this. And about Berlusconi's gaffes: NO ONE could have ignored them as they were made at official meetings. They show how unfit he is to hold his position and the fact that you wish they went unnoticed shows that you, too, would prefer to cover up the premier's shameful behaviour.


As predicted last night TG1 gave quite a few minutes to the interview Berlusconi gave to "chi" the very popular GOSSIP journal in Italy and owned by him. And it gave more time to the reaction of the Berlusconi Government ministers and representatives to the article in Famiglia Cristiana than what the editor of that journal actually said about Berlusconi's behaviour as the prime minister of Italy.It is evident that the Direttore of TG1 is in the pocket of the Berlusconi government. I have for one decided to boycott TG1 from today until there is a more independent and "truth loving" Direttore.

Prime minister: “I have never paid a woman. If I’d known she was an escort, I’d have chased her away at once”

Why should one believe the above statement any more than what Patrizia D'Addario declared about her encounters with him? In fact we all know that Berlusoni retracts his own declarations every other day. And Patrizia D'Addario has not retracted what she has stated. In fact she has challenged him to produce proof.

@Girolamo, Santoro is not the Direttore responsible for the transmission of the daily news for TG1. He conducts only one programme called Anno Zero weekly certain times of the year. In fact he does a great service to the public by exposing social injustice, non respect of existing laws, corruption and excesses of politicians. He regularly invites Ghedini, the Deputy and the advocate of Berlusconi to his programme. He is also very critical of PD and its lack of leadership. If you have not seen the recent programme on the road transporters in Italy I urge you to see it. Did you know that more people die on the roads because of the accidents caused by the transporters (cammionisti) than deaths at work? And these deaths are caused mainly because the transporters do not respect laws and there are not enough checks and there are corrupt practices. The public/ voters have the right to know of such deaths and malpractices.So long live Santoro!You would never find such an investigation on the Mediset TV channels.

Secondly, I never argued that the Barigate episode should be in the headlines. However, when compared with news about certain murders of unknown people etc. Barigate is of national importance.

The way the news items are manipulated today in RAI is an ample proof of the lack of freedom of media in Italy. Thank goodness there is BBC, The Economist, the Financial Times and other international press.


@ Fedy

Valeriana has been pushing the propaganda for weeks. At this point it seems to play on "devil's advocate" since the positions are untenable and ridiculuous (just go through all of the past postings), although benign compared to some of the more nasty, incoherent stuff posted here. It's a wind up for which I wouldn't take seriously.


@ stefano de santis

!$*%??? Don't know what's your point, but you convinced me.

@ Valeriana

Your doing a great job of "advocatus diaboli" ;-)


I am compelled to raise another semantic problem. Western newspapers attack Mr. Berlusconi who is just a man. Mr. B.'s fans mantain they are attacking Italy's honour. Technically a man cannot be a party, he cannot as well be a nation, otherwise sentences like "Rome is the capital of Berlusconi" or "Berlusconi has approximately 60 millions inhabitants" would be meaningful ones
So the italian ambassadors complaining for a “systematic campaign of demolition of Italy’s image” are saying something without any sense.
When Italian newspapers reported about the recent crisis of the UK government forthe accessive expenses reimbursements, the English ambassadors did not protest for any “systematic campaign of demolition of UK's image.”
I was surprised that Mr. Frattini, a potentially excellent Foreign Minister unfortunately perpetually bypassed by his prime minister, had ordered such an absurd action. Also because in a democratic country the Government normally cannot intervene on what is printed by national newspapers without violating some essential democratic rule.
Just URSS, in Nazist Germany, in Fascist Italy this could have happened.


The majority of Italians voted him in power. I hope they enjoy him:
about powerful people and how to deal with them, read Machiavelli's History of Florence.



Here are my answers:
1) 1994 Occhetto vs Berlusconi
Do you know Occhetto background?
Answer: Yes, and I also know about Berlusconi, Craxi and P2

2a) Villa Certosa = shame on who sent that photographer (not a freelance!) who found nothing.

2b)The Bari scandal = I think programs with some morals are ashamed of even repeating that SB is involved with such things.

Answer: So you want to shoot the messenger when you hear the message? SB should be ashamed for his sleazy, immoral activities, not the photographer.

"Your are very gullible."

Answer: Not gullible enough to believe you, fortunately.


Looks like the Berlusconi fans on this thread should stick to unsubstantiated slagging off of imaginary communists, rewriting history and nurturing their feeble-minded conspiracy theories.

When they actually have to come up with verifiable facts (not just propaganda, assertion and hearsay), they fail miserably.


Nothing new: the Economist along with most of the foreign press is as blind as the Italian opposition is. Berlusconi has been elected till 2013 and if the opposition persists in its unconvincing message he will be democratically re-elected till 2018...He is there because of the utter incompetence of the opposition. Until that does not change, you might as well get used to Berlusconi being Prime Minister.



The italian instinct is just inherent with too many corruption imbroglios, they just can't' get it right no matter who is in power, one is just worse than the other, so far, I see it as Berlusconi being the better than the previous ministers. It has over 300 protective laws with 1000 loop-holes in it's government, etc. They created their own government to have such conditions, when they formed the latest constitution and being Italians, do you really believe they establish protection laws so that others would have more difficulty to corrupt? No, they created it so that corruption is a prime factor in their government/laws, etc. An "inherent" rip-off artist sitting at a conference table enacting new laws certainly is not going to make laws so that he himself can not be it with's my opinion as I see them, so I hope this is not taken as some kind of slur!! I don't mean it as offense, but factual internet instincts of them.


Bonaiuti letter starts well, but ends ridicolous.

the third point is the least unfortunate:

about the final point, we should read the laws about privacy, but I think that as far as the faces of the guests are hidden their privacy is not at risk, moreover many of the guests were 'public figures', artists and showgirls.

On this last point, I would also congratulate with Bonaiuti for reading the Italian Constitution, albeit selectively.



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