As you have, without a doubt have read, he lost a narrow race to a left-of-center challenger, who the deep-pocketed Berlusconi outspent several times over. Though Berlusconi continues to contest the vote, the Italian court ruled in favor of his adversary.

Since Mr Berlusconi appeared to bring a little bit of spice to Italian politics and will now get replaced by a comparatively tasteless portion of leadership, one can’t help but feel some remorse at his exit from the typically pallid troupe on the present stage of world politics. One would think that a seemingly bright guy like Silvio would know a gusto for provocative speech and sartorial elegance are a couple of the most likely methods to evoke the average citizen to take him down a peg.

Allegedly, being the effective but humble servant of the citizenry isn’t his cup of espresso. Since Berlusconi was a forthright ally of the US struggles in Iraq, we many feared the prospect that his replacement will beat a speedy retreat to Italian forces. But alas, that government didn’t last long and it did not take Bersluconi long to return to power and resume his antics.