The clownish politician EU countries deserve

How, ask non-Italians, could anyone vote for such a clown? Silvio Berlusconi is comfortably ahead in the polls, yet his capers would disqualify him in most countries. He compares himself to Jesus, says that Rightists get more sex, and is building himself a Caligulan mausoleum, in which he will eventually be laid to rest surrounded by his retainers and clients.

He once told a German MEP that he would be perfect for the role of a concentration camp capo. Now, he delights audiences by describing how he hides under the bed when his wife is in a strop.

But here's the thing. In Italy, as in every other EU state, democracy has been vitiated. The key decisions are made, not by parliamentarians or councillors, but by judges, civil servants and Eurocrats. Brussels passes 80 per cent of legislation in Italy, as in every EU member country. National elections

have become a folkloric activity: an enjoyable ritual without meaningful consequence.

The true humbugs are not the Berlusconis, but those who claim that they can tangibly ameliorate voters' lives. Romano Prodi presented himself at the last election as 'the serious candidate'. But his claims - that he would control inflation and cut spending while at the same time protecting public services - were far more invidious than Berlusconi's pratfalls.

After two years of political and economic chaos, Italians have understandably reached the view that it is the Lefties who are the real clowns.

Berlusconi is the supreme modern politician. A creature as much as a creator of mass media, he understands that contemporary government is largely optical. The capacity of any elected representative to change things against the vested interests of the apparat is negligible. So the key thing is to keep people entertained, to keep them feeling happy.

Compared to the preposterous promises of the Prodis and Veltronis, I'd say it's pretty harmless stuff.