EUROPP – Silvio Berlusconi

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The real problem in Italian democracy is not the electoral law, but Silvio Berlusconi’s continued grip over the country’s media

The real problem in Italian democracy is not the electoral law, but Silvio Berlusconi’s continued grip over the country’s media

Italy’s new prime minister Matteo Renzi has made electoral reform one of his key priorities, with a new electoral law currently under consideration in the Italian Senate, having been passed in the lower house of the Italian parliament last week. Valentino Larcinese writes that while Renzi may succeed in his attempts at electoral reform, the fact that he has […]

March 20th, 2014|Italy-European-Parliament-Elections, LSE Comment, Valentino Larcinese|0 Comments|

Silvio Berlusconi’s revival of Forza Italia is unlikely to bring him back to power, but his career in Italian politics is far from finished

For the past few decades, Italian politics has been marked by the presence of Silvio Berlusconi. As Daniele Albertazzi writes, Berlusconi’s revival of his old political party, Forza Italia, is his latest attempt to retain political influence within the country’s party system. He argues that while Berlusconi is unlikely to enjoy the same success that he first had with the […]

January 14th, 2014|Daniele Albertazzi, Elections, party politics and government across Europe|5 Comments|

Berlusconi’s surrender over Enrico Letta’s confidence vote could spell the end of an era in Italian politics

Last week Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta survived a confidence vote in the Italian Senate following a dramatic U-turn by Silvio Berlusconi. James L. Newell writes that the crisis, which began when Berlusconi instructed ministers from his PdL party to resign from the government, has left the former Italian Prime Minister severely weakened. For the first time, Berlusconi has been […]

October 7th, 2013|Elections, party politics and government across Europe, James L. Newell|0 Comments|

Following the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi’s ministers, Italy is once again heading for new elections

On Saturday, ministers from Silvio Berlusconi’s PDL party opted to resign from the Italian government. Duncan McDonnell writes that although the stated reason for the resignations is opposition to a proposed rise in VAT, the real motivation is that a Senate committee is expected to strip Silvio Berlusconi of his seat in the Italian parliament. Unless an unlikely deal can […]

September 30th, 2013|Duncan McDonnell, Elections, party politics and government across Europe|0 Comments|

“Berlusconi scandal” talk has inflated the Italian cost of borrowing over and above the impact of economic fundamentals

Have former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s scandals and court cases had a significant effect on the cost of Italian borrowing? Costas Milas and Gabriella Legrenzi assess the impact of “Berlusconi scandals” on 10 year Italian bond yields by using data from Google search queries as a proxy for interest in Berlusconi’s troubles. They find that over the last four […]

August 7th, 2013|Costas Milas, Gabriella Legrenzi, The Euro, European economics, finance, business and regulation|1 Comment|

This is the end of Berlusconi, right? Probably, yes

Last week, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had a one year jail sentence confirmed by the Court of Cassation in Rome. As Duncan McDonnell notes, the ruling is likely to have a major impact not just on Berlusconi’s political career, but also on his party and the current Italian government. While this may well mark the end of his […]

August 5th, 2013|Duncan McDonnell, Elections, party politics and government across Europe|1 Comment|