Mr. Berlusconi's greatest asset is not the end of Italians' wit. His greatest asset are his enormous wealth, his control of a large part of the country's most influential media and his link with the mafia and other criminal organizations using their clientelist networks in the south to 'encourage' people to vote for him.

Joost van der Meer , Bologna, Italy

All bristish newspaper editors will have to eat their words once Berlusconi has modernised Italy, which is the biggest fear of the left!

Will, Oxford, UK

Perfect analysis. Brilliant.

Marco, Venice,

As a frequent visitor to Italy, I can only hope that the great people of this nation finally get the government they deserve. I see a nation with the potential to be a leader in industry and agriculture, if only the bureacrats can get out of they way and release the entrepreneurial spirit of its people. Mr. Berlusconi needs to focus on his own government, and avoid creating destractions like "joking" about Spain's new female majority cabinet. Last I heard, in the past year Spain's GDP surpassed Italy's. Who's laughing now? Mr. Berlusconi has a lot to accomplish with his new government before he can be that "cocky" about fellow EU leaders. Good luck!

Roberto, Saratoga Spings, NY, USA

I personally detest Berlusconi enourmously. He is not a clown or a gaffeur as depicted by the press abroad; he is very much worse. Having said this, no one can deny his very clear victory and very strong majority in Parliament. If he fails this time, what excuse is he goint to come up with (there are no commies in Parliament this time)?

Piercarlo, rome, italy

Hi everybody...!I agree with this analysis but not completely with some of the comments...I don't think here in Italy Medias are completely controlled by Berlusconi...Of course Mediaset owns to his family, but we have also a "public" television and I would like to remember that channel 2 and 3 showed a lot of times their "left" ideas...I'm happy of this vote not only because of PDL victory but because Italian political situation finally has become simplier...26 parties were too much...Now we have only six and most of the extremism are out of Parliament and that is good too...If Northern League obtained so many votes is only because people in the North are sick of a slow and extremely expensive political sistem and sick of having too much taxes to pay...The only problem of Italy is that we are always complaining about ourself and comparing ourself to the other Europeans towns...We're always think that the others are better, and we can't see that we have a lot of good thing too

Laura, Varese, Italy

Dear All,
I'm writing from Italy and as first sentence I assure all around the World that no one need a Mussolini like person in charge of duty of the government of Italy.
Then what we can foresee is a stable period of five years, and I hope it will be used to provide solution for improving Italy economics and people quality of life. We, Italians, experienced during the past Berlusconi's government a populist politics calling for Silvio's gold touch in every matter, but the real focus was on few self-improving questions: Justice, communications (TV), and business linked relationships.
Now for the first time in Italian Republic history (maybe the 3rd) there's a bipolar political system, and the opposition party could have the power to strongly control the governing one action. We are at the beginning of a new era, I hope people will chase government in find real solution while using cheating with false achievements and communist propaganda (no one communist left in Italy at now)

Giovanni caglio, Cabiate/Como, Italy

It's incredible that everybody here talk about the supposed danger of communism in Italy just the day very after many fascists, proud to be so, will enter in our parliament, and a racist and volgur party like lega nord (that recently support Milosevic) obtained almost 8%....

Think about it..

Bea, Milan, Italia

Dear Alex,
you're right.
it seems to me that nobody out of Italy really know how much of fascist thinking is still rappresented in this new government. I can't here explain in a few words,but believe me, there's a real and concrete menace behind Berlusconi's smile. As usual it will be clear after a few decades,but, as i'm living today,i'm really concerned..I wonder what an English could think about the possibility that, one day, the owner of at least threee of six most influential tv channels (other three national channels are subjected by governemnt) and several national newspapers and magazines would propose himself as prime minister. I think he could laugh..We Italian who lost this voting will cry. For the next 5 years. Our only hope is God call Berlusconi between his angels..but,please, God, do it quikly.

Claudio, Parma, Italy

In reply to Mr Boggio
very good analysis. The leftist press only consider Berlusconi for his gaffes. without noticing the disasters created by Blair, ie Iraq (how much does it cost? around 3 billion a year I'm told. Uk has lost all the diplomatic influence it used to have). No consideration for the new laws in the job market, pensions etc.. No consideration for the low unemployment rate , now at around 6.5%, against a previous 11%.

Paolo, london,

We seem to be in the same boat as Italy. The only thing is that they have got there first. Just not that sure whether Berlusconi is the answer. Maybe someone in the mould of Mussolini is needed.
Ditto here.

John, skipton, yorkshire

I have two pertinent memories of trying to do business in Italy - one was trying to get a taxi, which seem to be as rare as hen's teeth outside of the main centres, and wondering why all the unemployed immigrant males sitting around doing nothing did not set up as minicab drivers as they would in the UK. The other is trying to persuade local accountants that new computer systems which worked perfectly well everywhere else in Europe would meet all local requirements and not cause the fiscal police to arrest them and throw them in jail.
The answer in both cases is rules, rules and rules. Italy has thousands of rules that we in the UK do not. Berlusconi needs to scrap them quickly to get the country going again.

Dave, Slough,

Pretty good analysis Ms. Righter.
I welcome the demise of many small parties, I certainly won't miss the communist and the greens, and I am glad that Giuliano Ferrara's Anti-Abortion list won't leave a mark in Italy's history.
You might say that most communists have not disappeared but they have morphed into the Democratici, but at least the ones that still think that the communist model was great (of course it just had a couple of unlucky cases: USSR, China, Vietnam, Cuba, all of Eastern Europe....), and keep spitting out the rhetoric of 1970 have been sent home. Too bad most of them probably have earned the right to draw a pension as a member of the parliament starting next month, it'd be great if they had to join the job placement list in their home county.
I am an environmental extremist but I am glad the greens are gone, (follows)

Barfbag, Oceano, California/USA

I'm sorry Boggio, but in Italy the Media are controlled by Silvio Berlusconi, and this is the reason Italy is no more considered a Free country by Freedom House; the communist party was supported by the KGB, as every communist party in the world at that time, as US supported his puppets dictators in the Cold War. Maybe you should know that thew BR in italy were infiltrated by CIA and Mossad, so things are not so simple... In truth our public system has been crippled by fifty years of democratic-cristian government , witch colluded with the Mafia in the south of Italy and installed in the entire country the culture of clientelism. And could it be that we in italy strike because we have the lowest wages in europe for the workers, and the highest remuneration for our deputies in the world? I think yes.

Alex, Bologna, Italy

We don't have any communist in Parliament but we still have fascists like Gasparri, La Russa and Ciarrapico.
Please remember that italian communists fighted against Mussolini.

Cristiano, london,

I completely agree. At last someone will be accountable, for good or bad.
In the end, if Italy reaches the very bottom, it will react.
When I was young in Italy, everyone would look at Spain as to an underdeveloped country. Now it is much better placed than Italy, and only 20 years have passed.

Nagreb, Moscow, Russia

Far better than Repubblica's handouts to Mr. Owen, but still unable to really grasp Italy's spirit and above all Berlusconi's. I really don't understand how two international reporters living in Italy can miss the real essence of this country and two formidable actors like Berlusconi and Bossi. You depict them both as buffoons and, erroneously, without international support. Who do refer to? The leftist oriented press always so keen to inform its readers on trivia? Why don't you explain what happened in Italy since 1945? Te KGB-supported Communist Party , the red posses that stormed the country to assassinate their political opponents, 62 governments unable to modernize the country because held ostage by an anti-western opposition, namely communist, who inundates Italy's squares with hammer and sickle red flags every time a substantial change is proposed, the fiscal milking of the northern provinces which, if united in one country, would easily become a prime economic power. Think!

U.M. Boggio, Lugano, Switzerland

Good analysis.

Nick, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA