Italy’s Crisis Has Premier Riding High

"The New York Times" (October 21, 2008)

By RACHEL DONADIO

"There are two kinds of Italians, those who work for Berlusconi and those who are about to"(...) In Parliament, Mr. Berlusconi’s center-right coalition, the People of Liberty, was elected in April by a wide nine-point margin. It is stronger than ever, having shed some smaller rightist parties, and governs practically unopposed, because of the implosion of the left in the elections. Over the weekend, the main opposition group, the Democratic Party, split with an allied centrist party, Italy of Values, further splintering the ever-squabbling left and center.