Berlusconi readies for return to power in Italy
ROME (Reuters) - Call him the Comeback Cavalier. Silvio Berlusconi, media tycoon, soccer club owner and self-confessed playboy, is poised to return to power in Italy.
With the collapse of Romano Prodi's centre-left government, the man affectionately known by his supporters as Il Cavaliere, "The Knight", has declared himself ready once again to save Italy from a government he says is run by communists and incompetents.
"We need an election as soon as possible, because the country needs us to do important things," Berlusconi said after Prodi resigned after losing a confidence vote on Thursday. Polls indicate the centre right would easily win a snap election.
Although often seen as a figure of fun abroad for his flamboyant style and penchant for off-color quips, Berlusconi remains a hugely popular politician in Italy as well as its richest man and one of its most influential figures.
"He's unique, a very human person," said student Antonio Bandello, in a small crowd of 20-something supporters waiting for Berlusconi to return to his Rome mansion early on Friday.
In characteristic man-of-the-people style, the tycoon was celebrating Prodi's downfall with a slice of pizza and a gelato.
"He has charm, he has style -- the style of a traveling salesman, and the humor of a traveling salesman -- but that does appeal to some people," said James Walston, politics professor at the American University of Rome.
JESUS AND NAPOLEON
While openly reveling in power, Berlusconi has also called it a burden, saying: "I am the Jesus Christ of politics." He once said he was second only to Napoleon in European political history, adding: "But I am definitely taller."
He sparked a minor diplomatic incident by suggesting he had seduced Finnish President Tarja Halonen to ensure her backing for Italy to host the European Food Safety Authority.
"I had to use all my playboy tactics, even if they have not been used for some time," he said.
Joking aside, the key to the 71-year-old Berlusconi's enduring appeal lies largely in his image as a self-made man.
In a country where success often depends on having friends in high places, Berlusconi made a fortune in property then built a media empire, creating Italy's only major private TV firm, Mediaset.
In the early 1990s he created a centre-right party which rapidly filled part of the void left by the implosion of the Christian Democrats, who had dominated post-war Italy.
Detractors say he used his first spell as prime minister in 1994 to protect himself from legal suits and further his business interests. He returned in 2001 to serve a full term, a record in Italy's notoriously unstable politics.
After overseeing five years of economic stagnation, he lost to Prodi in 2006, by a tiny margin. He never admitted defeat.
Although he has formally dissolved the "House of Freedoms" coalition which included former neo-fascists, centrist Christian Democrats and northern separatists, he is likely to rally them around him again at the next elections.
As head of a multi-party coalition, Berlusconi would probably again lack the clout to push through a convincing program of economic reforms, according to Walston.
"There will be a lot of talk of introducing market reforms and dealing with pensions and the deficit. In practice I don't think there'll be a lot of change," said the professor.
Berlusconi's critics suspect he would use another term in office to protect Mediaset from any moves to break the near duopoly on TV advertising it shares with state broadcaster RAI and to protect business interests, family and friends.
An election will give Berlusconi a third chance to convince the Italian people he is a winner -- and could be his ultimate victory of the brash tycoon over 'Professore' Prodi, a man more at home on his bicycle than a luxury yacht.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
