[Pukin Dog]

I love the guy.

[Southack]

"Certainly the populist far-right has poisoned public discourse ..."

Now that's some serious arrogance!

The Left **ASSASSINATED** Pim Fortyun and called President Bush a NAZI, but Berluscoini makes one single **joke** and all of a sudden it is the Right that has "poisoned public discourse"?!

Oh please...

[Guillermo]

It's ok for their lefty politicians to compare Bush to Hitler...they do it all the time.

But when someone does it to them, they freak out.

[Malesherbes]

If memory serves, Martin Jacques was (and may still be)editor of a publication called Marxism Today. His attempts to argue that Communism was not bad in principle, but only badly implemented, have had a sympathetic hearing on the British left.

[once upon a time]

I guess the author had nothing against the unstable communist governments Italy has had since WWII. For a while there they were changing governments as often as I change my socks.

[Cicero]

The intolerant left can't stomach the idea that even one European country should be run by a conservative.

[witnesstothefall]

The erosion of alternative logics.

You really gotta admire the Left's ability to BS sometimes.

[GulliverSwift]

I failed to read anything in the article which would enabled one to characterize Burlusconi as "right-wing."

A convenient fact which the Guardian refuses to acknowledge is that Italy did not support the action in Iraq which the "nazi" Bush had been urging. Sounds really fascistic to me.

[McGavin999]

For the first time, in I don't know how long, Italy has a real man at the helm. For a nation known for producing some of the most masculine men, they have had some pretty wimpy leaders. Italy can be proud of Silvio.

[7DayRepo]

The Guardian is what we like to call a contrarian indicator for American conservatives.

For them to come out and smear Berlusconi like this must mean he's doing a great job getting under the skin of the Left.

[gcruse]

Somebody thinks somebody else is bad for socialism.
It is amazing to see a right-winger re-elected in
Italy...actually, Italy has had the most fractured
electorate since the end of the War. To see continuity
is more shocking than its nature. As Harry Truman's wife
told a reporter who complained at the President's use of
'manure,' "Be grateful. It took me forever to get him to say 'manure.'"

[Travis McGee]

First, traditional politics and its institutions are losing ground to the culture of a rampant, market-driven, consumer society.

"We can't stand that freedom is winning against socialism."

Second, the rise of an enormously powerful media has transformed the balance of power between the media and politics.

"We can't stand that we have lost the commie'rat media monopoly."

[vaudine]

What I's getting from this is that the left are collectively and totally "p*@@ed because Mr. B is beating them at their own game.

Works for me! Go Mr. B.

vaudine

[beckett]

Shakespeare's words "sound and fury, signifying nothing" kept running through my head as I read Martin Jacques' screed. Can't imagine why.

[knighthawk]

Berlusconi is not just another rightwinger; he is a threat to democracy

The last time I heard rethoric like this was with Pim Fortuyn. He was a danger to democracy too, according to the left. He was killed by an left-winger.

Berlusconi better watch out.

[gaspar]

The Trotskyites at the Guardian are running scared.

[Tamzee]

Bump for later

[Tamzee]

Bump for later reading

[Ben Chad]

LOL - makes me want to plan another vacation in italia bella.