Vittorio Felteri: The Non-Nor the Grandfather of Italian Politics

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Berusconi was able to convince an entire nation that he held the secret to their prosperity. He himself had become a one stage, one of the world's 20 richest men. His sales pitch on the hustings was really implicitly that he could make the voters rich as well. The attitude towards him has grown more tolerant with the years.

Italy’s longest-serving prime minister has died aged 86. He inspired as much derision as devotion, and for all his gaffes and scandals he helped to shape the country’s media—and its economic malaise. Unfettered by the abandoned nuclear deal, Iran is now making its bomb programme unassailable. And bringing the 20th-century idea of “Smell-o-vision” into the 21st.

For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer