Why Do Italians Keep Voting For Berlusconi?

SLATE/Anne Applebaum/
"Silvio Berlusconi has been accused of bribery, tax evasion, corruption, and subversion of the press. His wife has left him on the grounds that he consorts with prostitutes and holds orgies at his villa in Sardinia. He makes embarrassing jokes (and then repeats them, as he did with the one about President Barack Obama's "suntan") and periodically disappears to undergo more plastic surgery. He is at war with the Italian legal establishment, with almost all the journalists who don't work for him, and with the Catholic Church. Last week, the Italian constitutional court lifted his immunity from prosecution, which means Italians can look forward to a whole new series of law suits and scandals."

Italian Mobster May Have Used Reptile To Extort Businessmen.

BBC with IMAGE/
Police near Naples are investigating claims that a mafia boss used an alligator-like reptile as a way of convincing local businesspeople to pay for protection.
The South American caiman was found in a top-floor flat in the town of Orta di Atella. The animal, almost 4ft long and weighing 40kg, was the property of a 35-year-old alleged mobster described as "an up-and-coming boss" of the Neapolitan mafia.
The owner has a police record for illegal possession of weapons.

Italian Government In Uproar Over Sunken Mafia Radioactive Waste.

THE GUARDIAN.UK/
Italian officials are probing an unmarked wreck that they believe was used by the mafia to sink radioactive waste.
An investigator said up to 41 other vessels may have been used to dump toxic and nuclear material on the seabed.
A former top mobster said he personally shipped waste to Somalia.

Capri's Famed Blue Grotto Contaminated By Mafia's Raw Sewage Dumping.

THE INDEPENDENT.UK.

The Blue Grotto(La Grotta Azzurra), Capri's most famous tourist attraction, was closed because its crystal waters had been contaminated by raw sewage, possibly dumped by the Naples mafia.

Silvio Berlusconi Denies Paying For Sex

"I never paid a woman"( for sex).

So says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he faces media scrutiny and political pressure over allegations that he bedded a young woman hired to attend his parties.

This juicy and fascinating story just continues to unfold.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE55M5OH20090623

Also :http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/world/europe/24italy.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper