Miracle In 100 Days

Cris74, You're right ! More than 60 % of italian people deserves only a jester as premier. Kisses. Ernesto.

Italy is under a soft "regime".
What the world knows about Italy is never what really happens. We - informed italians - need help!
Please, don't give weapons to Berlusconi's propaganda.

I hope your article is a joke....Maybe mr.Bersluconi is not a true fascist,but he surely is a dangerous populist Peron-like tycoon with personal power and private affairs care,a lot of trials included, as the main aim to reach,in any way. The absolute and well known control of the public and private media is a warranty for him to control public opinion ;the Parliament is generalyy considered as an obstacle to jump over ; his money can everything,and we say everything,we say EVERYTHING. It's true he had ,for the third time,the vote of most of italians and we can only think that this happened just because most of italians are,or would like to be,like their Prime Minister : rich,free from laws and so untouchable (see the "Lodo Alfano" ),indifferent about the true problems of the country. "Cleaned" Naples (in a few days after month ,years of tons of trash in the streets ???? Sure the problem has been really solved ???) and the over-emphasized problems of criminality and immigrants (resolved with 3000 soldiers in the streets ???? .....please !!!) are just smoke in the eyes and I'm really surprised that a great magazine as Newsweek has fallen in such a trap. Mr. Berlusconi is still the same as 10 yrs ago; nothing has changed and our beautiful country is more and more far from to be a normal and civil place. Please,come again to Italy with open mind,open eyes and open ears....Thanks !

ernesto and wmessina GO TO CUBA!!! you're only comunists: the same that put italy in the worst condition. BE ASHAMED!!! you're only good to badmouth Berlusconi. Reality is that more than 60% of italians like him. oh I forgot a thing: the 2 main newspaper (corriere della sera and la repubblica) in italy are for left side. Corriere Director Mieli admit in 2006 that he supported prodi in an interviw at La Repubblica. This is an example of how berlusconi controls informations...You're lier and you know you are....

I'm sorry for my bad English. If You really believe that Berlusconi make miracles, PLEASE, bring him in USA and host him forever !! Thanks. Ernesto

Naples is still full of trash! See http://fredom.magix.net/blog/agora/archives/49-Emergenza-finita.html
The news are not true, he controls all the information in Italy, don't belive him

For the first time in 60 years Italians are considering facts, instead of disputing ideologies. This trend needs to be well perceived and accepted by whoever runs the country, Center-left or Center-right governments. The first priority is to implement and respect standards for Quality of Life, both for Italians and Immigrants, together with an equitable share between taxes and cost of living for the average family.

yes, we are very happy, because he is solving some problems that have been there for ages (trash in the streets and criminality in the streets) and that the left wing was totally unable to even discuss. He also promoted a 3 years financial programme and for the first time everyone is happy cos it won´t touch the people´s incomes and taxes. He has been doing really great!!!! And Italians will forgive him any immunity law if he brings stability to the country (anyway the left wing is as corrupted).

Yes, we cannot forget that Berlusconi is just a person and as everybody, he had done some wrong things. But he had done more good things to the country than bad. Italians will forgive him all his corruption and mafia connections if he bring some stability!!! That´s why Italians don´t mind his immunity laws.... the left wing does the same thing anyway!!!!

For the first time I see a good govern in Italy! Berlusconi making good low for Italy. How doesn't want to see, is a blind person or like communism. If Berlusconi want the respect of the low is not fascist but a good prime ministre, maybe this low doesn't like to mafia and corrupted peoples...

I agree with inkazz, berlusconi is obsessed by nietszche's concept of power in a three year old baby state of mind; he and the vatican control this fascist(fascist as *** of the word) country

Italians should be grateful to the US gov't and the CIA for handing their country back to the forces of evil last April. It is widely known the US has conspired, with the Vatican, to make the Prodi government fall in two distinct occasions (2007 and 2008). The US is the real owner of this country, not its people not its government. Since 1945, to prevent the Communists from taking power, the CIA has financed both right-wing and left-wing terrorism to create a sense of instability and lack of order, so that antidemocratic laws and measures could be justified. Barigazzi naivete, as well as many Americans, is simply pathetic.

1. Only Italians commenting this article - even the journalist sounds much Italian. Rest of the world could not care less.
2. Nobody seems to ask how he did it. Was Mr. Berlusconi himself with a shovel that cleaned Naples ? All other actors on the scene remained unchanged. Mr "garbage czar" was there from 2005. The mayor of Naples is still the same. Same is the company in charge of collecting the garbage. Same is the number of landfills, the number of incinerators, ... Even the army-collecting-garbage stunt was performed before the elections. The possibilities are two: the problem was staged or Mr. Berlusconi does real old-testament-style miracles.
3. In Italy the are 100.000 Policemen, 120.000 Carabinieri (sort of police, but belonging to army) , 70.00 Guardia di Finanza , (at least) 100.000 Local police. That leads to a grand total of 400.000+ (often underfunded) law enforcers. Adding a 3.000 -powerless- soldiers to the lot ( less than 1 % !!) is not even cosmetic. Let's only hope this is not the start... of history repeating himself.
4. Yes. Italy voted Berlusconi en masse. This proves that we are among the most gullible beings on Earth. We really deserve him.

- If it seems too good to be true ... 'nuff said.

I am a middle age Italian living in Italy and I feel as frustrated as my parents during Mussolini's "government".

Except the "missing opposition" note, everything you write is so fake it's hard not to believe you got paid for it.
In fact, considering the Italian origin of your family name, you should feel shame twofold.

Now in Italy, we are living a sort of "terrorism by law" time.
Italians are weak, not "too poor to pay attention to Berlusconi's self helping moves". His only "miracle" is not to talk about taxes, not to hurt himself.

If your sights are so clear, then why don't you suggest him to?

Poor column, poor Barigazzi.

is it sarcastic?

Is it a sarcastic article?

IT'S a SHAME.! If you wont write the true come in Italy and see the DISASTER in every sector of the Country.
All LIES and pathetic propaganda... Now also from USA!

Mr. Berlusconi is not the best leader we could have, but neither is he the fascist dictator the leftists would like you to believe. He speaks clearly and delivers: at last we have a government that take decisions, instead of doing endless talk and no action (Mr. Prodi, anyone?). If Mr. Berlusconi???s decisions are wrong, he will be sent home at the next election, for we live in democracy. Attributing Mr. Berlusconi???s victory just on his ???control of the media??? is a severe misunderstanding of Italian politics that led the opposition to lose spectacularly in the last elections. The reasons for Mr. Berlusconi???s victory in the last elections (and in the two previous ones he won) rest mostly in the deep distance the Left has put between itself and the needs of ordinary citizens. Leftists in Italy believe they are morally superior to those who disagree with their views, and you can easily see this from the angry comments most of them wrote on this page. The article is spot-on in highlighting the reasons for the current honeymoon between Mr. Berlusconi and his electors and the author did a good job of explaining in a few words the current Italian situation to the American public.