The Showdown in Italy

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Ever since Silvio Berlusconi took office five years ago, the waters of Italian politics have been poisoned by attacks launched by and leveled at the controversial Prime Minister. So it's not surprising that the billionaire leader's bid for re-election against center-left rival Romano Prodi is turning toxic. Berlusconi, 69, is trailing in the polls. After a lackluster showing in the first of two televised debates, Berlusconi has sought to revive his prospects with fresh shots of venom.

Last week, he stole headlines after exploding onstage at a conference of Italy's leading industrialists. The Prime Minister accused businessmen who support the left of either being crazy or having "skeletons in the closet" that require them to seek protection from left-wing magistrates. Berlusconi lashed out again following protests against him in Genoa, warning that his opponents were allied with radical forces who put Italy "in a situation of democratic emergency."

Mind you, his opponents haven't lacked for vitriol. Diego Della Valle, chairman of luxury shoemakers Tod's and one of the businessmen savaged by the PM, returned fire: "Mr. Berlusconi is a tired man. His family should take him home and take care of him." Center-left Parliament whip Luciano Violante told an interviewer that Berlusconi "has a Mafia circle close to him," referring to a former Cosa Nostra figure who tended Berlusconi's horses in the mid-1970s.

Another opposition center-left insider said charges like Violante's didn't do his own side any good. "Tossing out a Mafia accusation like that in an election campaign risks a backlash," the source told Time. In a bet that Italians are focused on their pocketbooks, Berlusconi's opponent, former European Commission President Prodi, 66, has attempted to keep the focus on economic issues and present himself as the candidate who will bring "seriousness to the government."

Some in the opposition fear Berlusconi's outbursts are intended to goad leftists into the streets, where they have a history of marring election campaigns with violence. The PM seemed positively delighted when Washington issued a travel advisory last week warning U.S. tourists to beware of street protests. "I have the duty to underline the danger of the political left," said Berlusconi, "which wants to snuff out our opinions by using violence." As Pierluigi Battista, a columnist for Corriere della Sera, summed up the campaign on Friday: "Alarm, hysteria and a climate of the 'final showdown' is everywhere."