FLORENCE — In January, I left my American identity at JFK and shipped off to Florence for a semester abroad in the cozy gelato-filled hills of Tuscany. Little did I know back then, which now feels like years ago, that my time in Europe would coincide with two of the most exhilarating and eventful months in world affairs since the last time the Dixie Chicks went on tour. Since January, the entire Arab world has erupted in protest, European countries are leading the largest military operation into an Arab country since Iraq, and Egypt has survived a fortunately bloodless revolution. Needless to say, living in a foreign country and not in America as history is being written has added a completely different layer to my experience abroad.
The only news from America seems to be a Republican-led scheme to literally gorge up unions and vomit up their collective bargaining rights. I could also speak about the presidential hopefuls for 2012, but I have another year and a half to scream and claw at the wall. With all of this being said, may I return to the news in my new home country, Italia, where the government is described as a bee? Why a bee? In nature, bees are not supposed to be able to fly due to their body weight, but somehow they get the job done without any questions. This same description can be applied to the Italian government and its hedonistic head honcho, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi — a man who has somehow combined the features of Hugh Hefner and Rupert Murdoch while maintaining power for almost 20 years.
Italian academics have described his rule as the "Berlusconi Phenomenon." To get a feel of this unimaginable puzzle, let's just look at what we're working with here:
Mr. Berlusconi is the third-richest man in Italy and has connections everywhere. His Murdoch-ness is seen in his control of the media. Also, his company's tentacles have crawled into hundreds of daily publications. He is the owner of AC Milan, arguably the best soccer team in the entire country, and he has even named his political party "Forza Italia" (Go Italy!), which is the most popular cry heard at ever soccer game in the country. Here's a quick analogy for clarity: Imagine if Mr. Obama had billions of dollars and owned NBC, Fox, CNN and the Yankees... yeah.
The Hugh Hefner side of the "Berlusconi Phenomenon" is even more bizarre. Two years ago, Berlusconi's wife wrote a letter to the major newspapers of the country that basically stated that her husband was a sick man and needed medical attention. The letter was written in response to the news that Berlusconi was seen carousing around with young girls in Naples who called him "Papi" and kissed him on the cheek. A quick FYI: Berlusconi is 75 years old. The published letter was shrugged off by most of the country as the two divorced each other soon after.
The most recent event that has stirred up the country is the Ruby Rubacuori scandal, or "Rubygate." According to Milanese prosecutors, Berlusconi paid Rubacouri, a Moroccan 17-year-old whose last name literally means "heart-stealer," for sex and bailed her out of jail, arguing that she was the niece of Egypt's former President, Hosni Mubarak. Rubacouri has stated that she never had sex with the Prime Minister but that he did pay her to just be with him.
Berlusconi has been ordered to appear in court on the first of April for sex with a minor. According to him, sleeping with girls, having luxurious parties at his grand villa in Milan and enjoying his older age is nothing unusual for a man of his demeanor and that the liberal media is trying to take him out of office. I would say "Sound familiar?" in a reference to the American Right, but this takes conservative paranoia to a whole other level.
How is it that this man is still in power? Critics have no idea. His opposition is weak and, according to some academics, if there was an election tomorrow, Berlusconi would still win with a clear majority. Most Italian teenagers I have asked cannot explain to me how he manages to have an unstoppable reign. They blame the older Italian generations for ignorantly supporting him simply because he appears to have the "face of Italy" — a concept that is incomprehensible to the youth.
So there you have it. For the past 20 years, the "Berlusconi Phenomenon" has dominated political life and continues to be an enigma that has yet to be unraveled, especially for an American kid whose only brush with scandal is Monica Lewinsky.
