Silvio Berlusconi's virtues

Most of the time when you hear about Prime Minister (for at least a few more weeks) Silvio Berlusconi, you hear about how he is one of the most corrupt politicians in Italy and some even alledge that he is a dictator in the making. None of this is true, and indeed, while he won't be winning any honest politician of the year awards, people really should be more fair minded in their treatment of him, and be willing to focus on the good as well as the bad.

We all know the results of the elections, but in case you don't here they are:

House of Deputies (Lower House):

Union-Prodi 49.8 (341 seats)
House of Freedom-Berlusconi 49.7 (277 seats)

Senate (Upper House):

Union 49.96 (158 seats)
House of Freedom 50.21 (156 seats)

The reason why the Union got more seats in the House of Deputies than their vote share would seem to entitle them to is because of the electoral laws pushed through late last year by Berlusconi's government in the hopes that proportional representation would make it easier for him to retain power. The laws also gave votes to Italians abroad, who, ironically, voted heavily for the Union, providing Prodi with four crucial seats in the Senate to overcome the 155-154 edge that the House of Freedom recieved with the votes from Italy.

Berlusconi has refused to concede the election, although Prodi has declared victory and pledged to form a government. He is not expected to take office until the middle of next month.

Now, back to Berlusconi. He is often villified for changing laws to his benefit, but when one of his changes is examined specifically, it could turn out to benefit all Italians, though the President refused to countersign it, saying it was extraconstitutional. This law would have taken away the right of the prosecution to appeal an acquittal while preserving the right of appeal for the defense. This is a law which benefits all Italians by giving them the same rights that they have in the United States and many other countries. Does it help Berlusconi, yes. Does it help all italians charged with a crime and protect them from having the prosecution appeal their acquittal? Yes.

The economic issues notwithstanding, Berlusconi has not been responsible for the failures that Italy has had over the years, which are structural rather than something that any one government can simply fix. Furthermore, if the center-left is serious about improving the economic situation then why are the keen on rolling back some of the reforms introduced by the Berlusconi government? Why are they so keen on doing anything and everything to take power, including putting communists in their coalition.

It is my hope that Berlusconi will be able to deliver the knockout blow to this new incoming government sometime this year.