Can Berlusconi return to power?

Editorialist Stephan Bussard tries to understand why Italy is about to elect Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister for a third time. "Because the country has never been so dislocated, with a prosperous north and a struggling south. This division benefits Berlusconi, who tantalises the entrepreneurial spirit in the north and the nationalist identity in the south. Because only the mention of the word 'left' scares Italians who worry about their purchasing power and tax hikes. Because Berlusconi continues to represent the illusion of success, a symptom of a country that lies to itself. 'Il Cavaliere''s probable victory is also Veltroni's defeat. The former mayor of Rome has nevertheless constructed a reformist branch of the centre-left, the Democratic Party, to split with the impossible multiform left. The strategy is sound. But he doesn't have the courage to take the centrist split all the way."

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