[...] Yet the overall record suggests that Mr Berlusconi is neither a liberal reformer nor a genuine believer in competition, but a businessman who went into politics principally to protect his own affairs, not to advance the cause of Italian business in general.Italy has huge potential. Public debt may be high, but private debt is low. The banks are exposed to eastern Europe, but so far none has had to be rescued. The turnaround of Fiat, which may now take over Chrysler, has been remarkable. The small exporting firms in the north have proved admirably nimble. If Mr Berlusconi would only do more to loosen the shackles on the country’s entrepreneurs, the results could be sensational. But Italians will probably have to wait till they see the back of him before that happens.
(Economist 30.04.09)