Villains of 2011: Part 8

Updated
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi

8. Silvio Berlusconi
Villain or hero? A quandary. Italians remain divided on the crooning lothario who introduced to the world's lexicon the exotic phrase 'bunga-bunga'. He partied while Rome burned. How apt that once he was ousted from office by the "traitors", he released an album of love songs.

Revisionist historians will place him (with Rupert Murdoch) centre stage in 2011, the billionaire media tycoon who was suddenly overwhelmed by the sins of the past. Like an aging Caesar, he sat in the Italian Parliament scribbling the word 'betrayal' on notepaper, while facing charges of corruption, having sex with an underage prostitute and bribery.

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