Apparently Italians can’t get enough of Il Briccone.

I would beg to differ, but when his charms are so thoughtfully laid out:

February 2002 During an official photocall at an EU foreign ministers’ conference, Berlusconi makes a vulgar gesture signifying “cuckold” behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister Josep Piqué.

September 2003 In an interview with Boris Johnson, then the editor of The Spectator, Berlusconi claims that Benito Mussolini “had been a benign dictator”, who didn’t murder his opponents, but sent them “on holiday”.

March 2006 Berlusconi is forced to defend his claim that Chinese Communists used to eat children. ” … In the Chinese time of Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields,” he concedes.

January 2007 Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, publicly denounces him after he tells former showgirl and future MP Mara Carfagna at an awards dinner: “If I weren’t married, I would marry you immediately”.

April 2008 Berlusconi claims that his female cabinet members are better looking than their left-wing counterparts, provoking an angry reaction from Italian centre-left parties. “The left has no taste, even when it comes to women,” he declares.

November 2008 Two days after Barack Obama became the first African-American US President, Berlusconi compliments him on his “suntan”

November 2008 Berlusconi plays “hide-and-seek” while hosting the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hiding behind a column while she walks past. Witnesses say he called out “coo coo”, prompting Mrs Merkel to turn around and say: “Oh, Silvio.”

April 2009 At a camp in L’Aquila housing some of the 30,000 people who lost their homes in an earthquake, he says to an African priest: “Hold me tight and call me papa,” before asking city councillor Lia Beltrami: “Can I fondle you?”

April 2009 Berlusconi appears to annoy the Queen at a photo session during the G20 summit in London. Berlusconi shouts “Mr Obama, Mr. Obama!” repeatedly, prompting the monarch to turn around and chastise him in front of the other heads of state. “What is it? Why does he have to shout?”

April 2009 At a Nato meeting in Kehl, near Strasbourg, Berlusconi is seen talking on his mobile phone, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other Nato leaders are kept waiting for him for an official photo on a bridge over the Rhine.

April 2009 At a press conference in Sardinia with Vladimir Putin, a Russian journalist asks an unwelcome question. Berlusconi intervenes with a gesture that imitates a gunman shooting. The reporter is said to be reduced to tears.

May 2009 Having denounced him over his links to young women, and amid a torrent of allegations about links to escort girls, Berlusconi’s long-suffering wife Veronica Lario finally – and very publicly – files for divorce. [Source]

What japes!

Berlusconi is the only anti-dote to Botox.

He induces a furrow so deep that all remedy is futile.

Forza Italia? Forse non in Italia.