ROME — One day he likens himself to Napoleon. A few days later, it's none other than Jesus Christ.
The irrepressible Silvio Berlusconi, surgically enhanced prime minister and Italy's richest man, is running for reelection. And despite a record of embarrassing public gaffes, disastrous economic performance and unpopular foreign policies, he stands a decent chance of winning.
Berlusconi is leading a center-right coalition of parties into the April 9-10 vote against a center-left alliance headed by Romano Prodi, an ex-prime minister and a former European Commission president. Polls have fairly consistently given Prodi a four-point lead, but experts caution that the race is too close to call, especially given Berlusconi's ability to dominate the media -- a large portion of which he and his family own.
In a campaign that has largely avoided pressing issues, Berlusconi managed to win what amounted to an endorsement from President Bush and a rare opportunity to speak before the U.S. Congress early this month. Although Bush is unpopular in Italy, Berlusconi has used his friendship with the president to prove his importance on the world stage.
And many Italians buy it. They laugh at him, or roll their eyes, but they also, begrudgingly or not, admire his successes. He has managed to portray his many legal troubles, including calls Friday for yet another indictment, as a plot by communist judges and prosecutors out to get him. Even his embarrassing comments he later blames on leftist journalists out to get him.
"He's a megalomaniac," said supporter Giuliano Ferrara, editor of the Il Foglio newspaper, which is partly owned by the Berlusconi empire. "But he's also a great victimist. He knows how to act like a victim."
Berlusconi, whose hair seems to grow thicker and darker by the day, has acknowledged having face-lifts. A short man pushing 70, he often wears makeup and heels and sports a George Hamilton tan. He is known for making poor-taste jokes that often insult or embarrass world leaders and for grabbing headlines with comments such as saying he would abstain from sex until the election and promising to sail to Tahiti if he lost. A former cruise ship singer married to an ex-actress, he plans to release a new CD of his songs ahead of the election.
"I am the Jesus Christ of politics," he told supporters over a dinner late last month.
"I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone."
