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  The World from Berlin: 'Italy Lost Its Own Election'

The World from Berlin 'Italy Lost Its Own Election'

Media magnate Silvio Berlusconi is back at the political helm in Italy for his third, nonconsecutive term as prime minister. In Germany, most editorialists see this as an ominous development for the European Union.

Voters in Italy on Monday gave former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi their nod for a third term in office. The media magnate previously led Italy briefly in 1994 and again from 2001 to 2006. In that year, former European Commission President Romano Prodi replaced him as prime minister, ushering in one of the most EU-friendly governments in all of Europe. That government offered a direct contrast to Berlusconi, who held little regard for Brussels and was often a divisive and isolated figure within the EU -- not only for his euroskepticism, but also for the corruption allegations and business dealings that cast a dark shadow over his political career.

Now Berlusconi is set to take over at the helm again -- a prospect that bodes poorly for Brussels. In Germany, many observers on Tuesday see Berlusconi's election as terrible for a declining Italy and bad for Europe in general. A political opportunist who is scrupulous in cutting taxes to attract voters, Berlusconi will be unlikely to implement the reforms needed to turn Italy around. That could be bad for the euro-zone economy and the European common currency itself. The country, more than one paper claims, has "lost its own election."

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"The only people who can profit from this are Berlusconi and his clique. He lacks the political will to modernize the country -- and that's not only bad for Italy, but also for all of Europe. And it has to matter to the EU that the economy of one of its biggest member states, also a G-8 member, is declining even during times of global prosperity. Growth rates are disastrous, productivity rates are pre-modern, the budget deficit is monstrous and those are all risk factors not just for the domestic market but also the euro zone. Berlusconi will never undertake the difficult reforms necessary to defuse the risks."

"The extent of the low regard election victor Berlusconi holds for his European partners was most recently illustrated when he stepped in to foil Air France-KLM's acquisition of beleaguered Italian national carrier Alitalia. The move may have given Berlusconi a political boost, but it put the company at a disadvantage. Italy's integration in Europe will also be hampered by the fact that the country's most important partners during Berlusconi's last term in office -- Blair, Chirac and Schröder -- are all now political retirees. Berlusconi is also a man of the past."

"Still, voters punished moderate left candidate Walter Veltroni of the center-left Democratic Party for the impotence of the departing center-left government. It was a mistake though: In order to push through reforms, the country needs a leader who can work with many parties as well as the unions. It doesn't need the egomaniacal self-promoter who has just sprung onto the stage for yet another act in an Italian tragedy."

The business daily Handelsblatt writes:

"When Berlusconi takes power, Europe will have one less ally. Nicolas Sarkozy has already clearly shown that he is a skeptical European. And the question with Gordon Brown is how long he will be able to stay prime minister. Indeed, Angela Merkel will soon be getting lonely. With Romano Prodi in Rome, Brussels and Berlin could count on an Italy that was convinced of the EU cause. The former European Commission president and his finance minister, former European Central Bank supervisory board member Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, represented one of the EU-friendliest governments on the continent. That will change now."

"Berlusconi is no unknown figure. He's already led Italy twice; and it's easy to see what direction his foreign policy will take. He was very open about his true feelings about the EU in the past -- indeed, the course his government took damaged Europe. Under the Italian EU presidency in 2003, a poorly prepared Berlusconi allowed the summit on the European constitution to run aground. His government was also fond of attacking the European common currency. When it came to foreign policy, too, Berlusconi had his own ideas. He saw the United States under President George W. Bush as his main ally. And as Berlin and Paris distanced themselves from Washington, Berlusconi joined Bush in the Iraq war and, by doing so, helped to divide the European Union. Besides, he was completely off the mark with his repeated demands to expand the EU to include Russia and Israel. ... The outlook is grim for the European Union."

The leftist Die Tageszeitung is one of the few to dissent from this opinion:

"The Berlusconi phenomenon no longer poses a threat to Europe but is instead representative of Italy's decline. The country, which managed to climb to become one of the world's top five economic powers during the corrupt 1980s, used to be famous for its cultural achievements and its inspiring intellectual debates. But today it no longer plays much of a role in any of these areas. Berlusconi's success doesn't just touch on the powerlessness of the political left, but also on a political culture that has mixed the old way of serving interests with new populism to the point it is no longer recognizable."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Italians have a weakness for patriarchs and comedians. Berlusconi is both. Scores voted for him almost out of spite -- irrespective of their own misgivings and the lack of understanding the decision would be met with abroad. They follow him with the same spirit of self-deception as a circus audience watching a magician. The problem is: This magician's performance could last five years. Other voters were neither enchanted nor naïve. They were simply pragmatic, voting with their pocket calculators in their heads. The calculator tells then that under a Prime Minister Berlusconi, they will have more money at their disposal than under Veltroni. They know from experience that Berlusconi is populist enough to give the gift of tax cuts to his people without second thought -- even if he doesn't have the budget for it."

"Of course, that can't function in the long term, but many voters feel Italy doesn't have much of a future anyway. Why become the victim of something that has few or no prospects, they seem to be asking? Despite stereotypes to the contrary, the Italians are actually a pessimistic people. Anyone who doubts that need only read the country's contemporary literature."

"Still, against that kind of mood, it is astounding that left-liberal candidate Veltroni was able to come as close to Berlusconi in votes as he did. It's a sign for the future: It is not futile for Italians to appeal to each other for a readiness to make sacrifices and to call for reforms for the country. To pull people out of their whiny state, Veltroni would have needed to run a blood, sweat and tears campaign à la Winston Churchill. He neither had the courage to do so nor the support of his party, though."

"Statements made during the campaign lead one to fear that Berlusconi will again use his power to battle against Italy's justice system and to protect his media empire while at the same time cultivating his ego as patriarch. And though Berlusconi may have pledged to restructure his country, one knows from experience that he is not to be believed. Ultimately, one must fear: Italy lost its own election. "

The conservative Die Welt writes:

"More than anything, Berlusconi profited from the plight of the previous government. And he will enter into office with a lot of baggage, including the success of the separatist Lega Nord's Umberto Bossi. The party is now stronger than ever and a greater element of uncertainty. Second, while Veltroni may not have been successful in making his center-left Democratic Party the strongest, he has created an attractive party that in the foreseeable future could become a magnet for voters and inflict serious damage on the Berlusconi camp. Meanwhile, it has proven worthwhile for the Christian Democrats, who were more or less shown the pasture when they governed with Berlusconi, to run independently of his block this time. The wagons are already circling around election victor Berlusconi."

-- Daryl Lindsey, 2:20 p.m. CET