Maybe there’s a reason they left him out. Nonstop allegations of corruption and shady dealings have given Berlusconi’s critics ample firing fodder to use at every conceivable moment. He hasn’t been convicted, but several charges remain pending against him across Europe. Last week a 14-month investigation into his alleged connection (through ownership of one of his companies) to the murder of two Sicilian Mafia prosecutors was thrown out–and reopened just a few days later. Ten years’ worth of criminal investigations are said to link Berlusconi, in one way or another, to everything from bombing the Uffizi in Florence to courting the Mafia as a political ally.
It really has gotten to the point where Berlusconi can do little without stepping on the proverbial land mine. Last week he purchased–with his own money–a ¤1.35 million villa on Sardinia to host the bodyguards of foreign diplomats who will be visiting him throughout the summer. But the gesture is proof that even when he does right, people assume Berlusconi’s doing wrong. The government would likely have paid for this expense, cry his opponents and media critics, and by doing so out of his own pocket, Berlusconi must be trying to take advantage of an as-yet-untold tax break or financier-friendly piece of legislation about to be passed by dropping such a large sum of cash for something that the government would likely have provided. Happy anniversary, Mr. Prime Minister.
