The ‘charismatic’ Berlusconi plagued Italian politics from 1994 to 2011 and in any other European country would have been dragged, kicking and screaming from office for his suppression of the Italian media (that dared to criticise him and his own media empire) and staggering examples of self-promotion whilst in office. Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and given a custodial sentence, which he didn’t serve due to his age at the time. He remains active, if not to say embarrassing in Italian politics, even as that country elects its first far-right government since WWII.
Any other European country? Any European country where its leader has been found to have broken the law whilst in office, almost habitually twisted facts and even lied (allegedly) to his parliament?
Have populist values infiltrated into and got such a strangling grip on a democracy that has ‘proudly’ existed since 1885, that such wrongdoing is ignored by the electorate and even political colleagues, after an erstwhile most senior politician has been effectively ousted from office?
It seems that just might be possible!…nah!