Yes, Silvio!

IN the infinitely gray landscape of Europe, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, is a blob of color and energy. Why, he speaks his mind as though he thought himself Donald Rumsfeld. Therefore one funny thing after another happens to him.

Italy has just assumed the presidency of the European Union, a role whose occupant serves a mere six months before turning it over to some other country. As temporary EU president, Berlusconi addressed the European parliament at Strasbourg. There he found Romano Prodi, also a president, in his case of the European Commission. The Italian press customarily refers to these two political and personal rivals as “the odd couple.” A self-made man, Berlusconi has an ex-film-star wife, a mansion outside Milan, a house in Bermuda, a yacht, and the multi-billion- dollar business empire he has created. From Bologna, Prodi has spent his life as a left-wing academic and pointedly rides a bicycle. “That nice cyclist,” was how Berlusconi once referred to him. Besides their EU titles of president, what they have in common is that both have faced corruption charges in Italy, and so far gotten away with it.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

IN the infinitely gray landscape of Europe, Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, is a blob of color and energy. Why, he speaks his mind as though he thought himself Donald Rumsfeld. Therefore one funny thing after another happens to him.

Italy has just assumed the presidency of the European Union, a role whose occupant serves a mere six months before turning it over to some other country. As temporary EU president, Berlusconi addressed the European parliament at Strasbourg. There he found Romano Prodi, also a president, in his case of the European Commission. The Italian press customarily refers to these two political and personal rivals as “the odd couple.” A self-made man, Berlusconi has an ex-film-star wife, a mansion outside Milan, a house in Bermuda, a yacht, and the multi-billion- dollar business empire he has created. From Bologna, Prodi has spent his life as a left-wing academic and pointedly rides a bicycle. “That nice cyclist,” was how Berlusconi once referred to him. Besides their EU titles of president, what they have in common is that both have faced corruption charges in Italy, and so far gotten away with it.