Boot him out!

Today and tomorrow Italians are expected to go to the poll en masse on watershed-like general elections. And so boot him out, miei compatrioti, boot him out. Except that the alternative to the jaded swindler Berlusconi is Romano Prodi, a dour and scholarly professor of economics that is nothing to write home about. Rumour has it that the centre-left political manifesto is a run-of-the-mill 281 pages long tome. I'm no fan of telegenic Blair, but the Italian left could do with old-school charisma capable to excite and speak the language of the millions of non-intellectual souls who feel the pinch mid-month. With such lacklustre opposition, if this time round Berlusconi finds himself in the losing seat it'll be a telling tale of how low he's managed to stoop.