Introduction
Silvio Berlusconi is the present prime minister of Italy. He is one of the most influential and wealthy men in Italy. At 72 years, he owns a business territory that covers the media, publicity, indemnity, food and manufacture. He is also famous and his position has caused a lot of controversy over the years. He won a sit to the position of prime minister a third term after his alliance was nominated out of office. He has held the place in three different situations from 1994- 1995, 2001- 2006 and presently since 2008. This paper seeks to look into Silvio Berlusconi’s position and his power over Italy (Paul, 2005).
There has been a problem of power position over Silvio Berlusconi has existed since he got into power in1994. He has found himself in and out of government and has been sworn in four times. He is hated by a majority but has much respect because of his personal style and absolute force of will that has gained him much publicity. He is also the longest serving leader this gives him an advantvage of much experience and popularity.
The problem of power is so severe and has resulted to a lot of controversy over the years. He has misused his power and has been found in cases of corruption, sex scandals with minors and domestic issues which have found him in court several times. His stories have attracted the media so much that even the Catholic Church had to intervene claiming that it was not good for a leader to be such a bad example to the public. This also caused some problems with the pope (Paolo, 2002).
The issue has continued to extend in Europe and all over the world. This is because of the intensity and the large millions of audiences that the stories attract despite his position and his control of the media, millions of people are aware of his private life all over the world. These stories and allegations put against Berlusconi have affected his private life. The sex scandals he has been accused of have caused him a marriage. He was divorced by his wife, veronica Lario who announced the divorced publicly claiming, “I cannot stay with a man who frequents minors”
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The Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, backed by the national conference, has criticized the allegations made against Berlusconi. According to Donatella Ceralli of CIAI, the youth and young people’s charity put it plainly that, “without Berlusconi the atmosphere will be a lot calmer”. They retorted that since Berlusconi got into office, the citizens can hardly remember the feeling of calm. They wondered why the prime minister has not fled the country yet despite the many allegations and the fear of undergoing trial on charges of fraud, messy divorce and the fact that he has endless strings of sex rev elations (Tobias 2010).
Rights groups
Groups fighting against abuse of minors have come up to contribute on the prime minister’s abuse of power. They have claimed that he has misused his power and taken advantage of minors whom he has been found to engage with sexually. According to a centre- right activist, Mr. Berlusconi has augmented the increase of “moray decay” caused by “loss of decorum and rigor in the behavior of those who, as public figures should set an example”. He argues that in the event that the prime minister precipitates an election, he should be expecting a blame for bringing risky political uncertainty on the economy of a country that is wavering already.
Press
According to the press, the allegations placed against Berlusconi about his sex life can not affect the economy of the country in any way. The government too cannot fall because of his private life which the public should not meddle with. They argue that everyone is at liberty to exercise their right to live their lives the way they consider best. They argue that only corruption cases and abuse of power to nurture his businesses should be a reason to cause a collapse of the government (Tobias 2010).
According to cultural commentators of the Sun, Mr. Berlusconi is brave and though he has pending issues in court, he is still the best Prime Minister Italy has ever had and should maintain the same position even in the next general elections. They claim that all government officials are corrupt and all eyes have been fixed on Berlusconi for the mere reason that he is rich and has invested well unlike his opponents. They argue that most of the allegations against the prime minister are mere politics (Paolo, 2002).
The Sun media group claims that it is afraid that with the trend Berlusconi has taken, is posing a situation in which he is likely to run the country as much as he runs his businesses as well. This is because of his influence and the aggressiveness he has shown in his willingness to use his personal fortune to consolidate his political position. He concurs that Berlusconi nearly manages every organization in the country, claiming that he has managed to bring “independent magistrates to heel…”, and has destroyed the checks and balances which mark the peculiar divisions of democratic power. He has gained an overriding control of television news, in the RAI channels and as Paul claims it has positively influenced his re-election into off ice (Paul, 2005).
Paul argues that the prime minister is corrupt and there is no doubt about that. The more he continues to stay in office, the more corrupt he becomes increasing the rate at which the economy is deteriorating. Once in power, he argues, Berlusconi exercised carefully controlled dominance. He sacked most television and newspaper journalists and ensured that those who remained strictly adhered to self-censorship. He has a weekly radio broadcast every Saturday that allows him to raise issues of policy, harass his antagonists and magnetize the interest of newspapers. Though his power is not strictly authoritarian, Paul argues, he uses it in a tactful way that those who are affected cannot easily notice (Paul, 2005).
Citizens
Citizens who were interviewed in different states claim that the abuse of power by the prime minister has contributed to the collapse of the economy thus depreciating the lives of individuals. A person said while being interviewed, “We are repelled by his antics and the failure of his government to improve our lives”. Nichi Vendiol a politician conquered with the people claiming that he was willing to work with them to ensure an alternative to Mr. Berlusconi. They conquer with critics who claim that ever since the prime minister entered into government; he has used tactics to appeal to voters by encouraging the evasion of tax which he hardly accomplishes (Tobias, 2010).
A citizen from northern Italy argues that the prime minister received the least number of votes in that region. “We are not happy with is abuse of power” he says. “His arrogant attitude has turned even his own past supporters away from him”. He claims that it is only the uninformed that are not aware of what is really going on in the government that vote blindly. He claims that the prime minister has already eaten enough and should give room for others to eat too (Tobias, 2010).
According to the council of Europe however, the very citizens who know everything about Berlusconi re-elected him into office, receiving millions and millions of votes. In 2001 for example, he was elected as a leader of the majority in a glorious confirmation of his party, forza Italia. It also claims that though Berlusconi is being referred to as a media mogul, he does not influence whatever is aired on television. The Mediaset Television Networks for example, is independent and enjoys total freedom. He does not influence whatever is aired on television. The mediaset television networks for example, is independent and enjoys total freedom over the production of its news (Great Britain: Ministry of Justice 2008).
According to the Council of Europe, Italy is a free and indepent country. According to Mr. Gross, a politician, “if anyone is not happy with the government, they should refrain from saying it is as a result of the process of corruption instituted by Silvio Berlusconi”. He claims that the government does not consist of the Prime Minister alone. His ownership of power does not influence the way government makes its decisions and runs its projects.
The prime minister has been accused of cases fraud that resulted to cases of electoral fraud which is assumed allowed his victory in the last 2008 elections. According to the council of Europe, Mr. Berlusconi was simply rejecting his own government and the authority of the government. Such allegations did not cause any scandal as it would in any other country, because of the powerful position that the prime minister holds. Instead, Mr. Berlusconi managed to instigate an “an unclear, but well published” message that he used to enhance his own authority that would put him back too his position in the coming elections (Great Britain: Ministry of Justice 2008).
According to a political pundit Professor James Walston, Berlusconi is desperate and that accounts for his acquisition of much wealth that ensures be protects his position. He claims that cases of allegations of rigging accounts for that. He argues that Mr. Berlusconi has taken after his corrupt adviser, Prime Bettino Minister Craxi, who was required to run away to Tunisia 20 years back to evade a jail verdict (Great Britain: Ministry of Justice, 2008).
My opinion
I think that the views against the prime minister are true basing on the kind of power he has in the country. Though he is popular, he is not liked by many because of his misuse of power to control not only the government but also take advantage of the minors. Nobody would want to be associated with this kind of leader and the only thing that keeps him in power is his wealth which he uses to control the masses. I think as a leader, he has for a greater part f ailed, though has been successful financially. He has been unable to appear as an example even to the youth who are supposed to look up to him as an example.
It is clear that he has used his power to gain most of his wealth and is thus misusing it to ensure he achieves his goals. A leader should not publicly show such an ex ample to the nation. He for instance, fires his foreign minister in 2002 and declares that he himself would run the office through legislation to protect himself from being prosecuted from any crimes while in office. Such a leader is not the best to lead a people in a country that claims to democratic.
Hypothesis
The assumption in this paper is that Silvio Berlusconi is powerful and has a top position in government and the history of Italy being the longest serving leader. It is assumed that he has acquired that position through corruption. The solution is finding evidence of the corruption allegations.
Rationale
Silvio Berlusconi is the most popular leader in Europe despite the accusations against him about bribing lawyers, proximity to the mafia and sex scandals against him. In spite of all this, the government has not been able to do away with him and as Tobias argues, the only reason could be because of his powerful position in government. Evidence shows that he has been presenting tycoons such as Giampaolo Tarantini business prospects in place of women and offering cash to survive his elections. With all these numerous scandals, he still is surviving which accounts for his position of power.
Conclusion
Silvio Berlusconi is the most successful politician in Italy and his position has enabled him manipulate the government to his advantage. He has a charm and flamboyance that has enabled changes of attitudes of the Italians who still find themselves re-electing him back into office. With the position he holds, he is likely to maintain the same trend for many more years to come.
Reference
Great Britain: Ministry of Justice. (2008).The Governance of Britain – Review of Voting Systems: The Experience of New Voting Systems in the United Kingdom Since 1997. New York:
The Stationery Office.
Paolo Bellucci. (2002). Italian politics: the return of Berlusconi. Chicago:
Berghahn Books.
Paul Ginsborg. (2005). Silvio Berlusconi: television, power and patrimony. Harvard: Verso.
Tobias Jones. The Guardian Newspaper. Tuesday November 16th 2010.
