The Berlusconisation of Italy

摘要

If anybody is having a good recession, it is the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Italy is certainly suffering: the imf expects gdp to fall by 4.4% this year, a bigger drop than in Britain, France or Spain. But Mr Berlusconi remains significantly more popular than most other European leaders. His approval rating this month, measured by ipr Marketing for La Repub-blica's website, actually rose to 56%. Part of the explanation is that, after more than a decade of underperformance relative to the European Union, Italians are used to economic distress.