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Silvio Berlusconi could make a great case to the Italian public about how much money he would save them as Prime Minister. As the wealthiest man in Italy, he wouldn't need to use government planes, helicopters, bodyguards or cooks. He also has homes and offices in both Milan and Rome and a summer retreat on the island of Sardinia. But he's missing one small piece of real estate in the capital: the Prime Minister's office.
Berlusconi had the Prime Minister's job back in 1994 but could hold on for only seven months. He's not planning on such a short stay next time. "I have an epic sense of life," he says. "I can't let Italy be run by these people from this left. Their thinking is one of absolute state control."
Il Cavaliere (the Knight) will give it another try next spring when general elections are held. As the lead candidate of the center-right Freedom Alliance, Berlusconi will be forced to measure himself against the representative of the center-left, Rome Mayor Francesco Rutelli. What's unique about this election is that neither candidate comes from one of the historically powerful parties, the Christian Democrats and the Italian Communist Party.
While Berlusconi has depicted his coalition as the "house of freedom" and demonized Rutelli's cohorts as bureaucrats who love big government, both men are pragmatists and would likely pursue similar strategies to tackle problems like pension reform, unemployment and immigration. Berlusconi may be quicker to cut taxes and Rutelli more generous to the poor and unemployed, but the winner will probably have only a slim majority in Parliament and any major changes will come slowly.
Berlusconi is the undisputed leader of the Freedom Alliance, a coalition of his own Forza Italia party, the federalist Northern League, some former Christian Democrats and the right-wing National Alliance. Meanwhile the center-left has problems keeping its disparate parts together, and has gone through three Prime Ministers in four years. Even a series of corruption trials for allegedly bribing tax inspectors and creating slush funds have not damaged the Knight's shiny armor. Not only has he been cleared in several of the cases, he has also won in the court of public opinion.
For Berlusconi, the left means communism and career politicians "who have done nothing in their lives but talk." He, on the other hand, is the self-made man promising to bring a million jobs to Italy and keep the country from falling back into the hands of the bureaucrats, who, according to Berlusconi, have killed Italy's competitiveness and watched its infrastructure crumble. "The center-left is becoming always more left and always less center," he warns. He's not worried about Rutelli and charges that "everyone knows he's a front man."
With three television stations, a major publishing house and insurance companies in his Fininvest group, Berlusconi's conflict of interest problem will be a major campaign issue. Berlusconi accuses his opponents of letting conflict of interest legislation lie dormant in the Senate for years after it had passed in the House: "They did that on purpose so they can drag it out at election time." "He's never satisfied with the point at which he's arrived," says Giuseppe Pisanu, a confidant and minority whip in the House. Which means Berlusconi certainly won't be satisfied until he's back in the Prime Minister's office.
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