An attention-garnering profile has been published by The New Yorker which portrays Italy's prime minister as an ageing Hugh Hefner, incapable of running a country.
The profile goes on to explain Silvio Berlusconi’s rise to political fame after his start as a cruise ship singer, housing developer, and media mogul. However, the most titillating details emerge when delving into the characteristics that have contributed to Berlusconi's long career as prime minister.
As for his questionable extramarital dealings and the qualifications of his female nominees, writer Ariel Levy gives the example: “Berlusconi announced his nominations for the European Parliament. They included a lingerie model, the female star of the Italian version of the reality show “Big Brother,” a soap-opera star, and a former Miss Italy contestant. (Berlusconi explained that he wanted “fresh faces,” and not the “smelly, badly dressed” politicians of the left.)”
After detailing the Rubygate scandal and introducing the many players involved in Silvio Berlusconi’s political and personal circles, Levy meets the man himself.
“He is tiny, no more than five feet four inches tall. He wears white eyeliner on his lower lids to make his eyes pop in photographs, and he uses heavy foundation on his face, which renders him the same orangey-brown color as the cast of “Jersey Shore.” His hair is thinning—“because I had too many girlfriends,” he once said, before he got implants—and dyed a vivid burnt sienna. Despite these efforts, he is not a young seventy-four; Berlusconi, in the words of his best friend, is a bit dilapidated.”
The piece makes no apologies and leaves little to the imagination when dissecting the prime minister’s behavior and political capabilities. The high-profile international trouncing shows that Silvio Berlusconi’s support is waning as quickly abroad as it is at home.
Read the full profile by Ariel Levy at The New Yorker.
