Does Scandal Hint at a New Era of Reform?

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi--who narrowly survived two no-confidence votes in mid-December--is in the midst of the greatest challenge to his political career. Accused of sleeping with several prostitutes and allegedly providing them with money and rent-free housing, Berlusconi has created a notorious government mired by corruption, cronyism, and a shocking degree of sexism. 

But this newest scandal might be enough to push Berlusconi out and engender some actual change in Italy's broken political process. The scandal has enough scintillating details to capture even the most jaded members of the press: The New York Times reports Italian newspapers have published “eye-popping wiretapped conversations from a nightclub dancer who said that she had dallied with…Berlusconi as a minor,” and had allegedly received money, rent-free housing, and preferential treatment when the dancer—Karima el-Mahroug, aka ‘Ruby Rubacuori’ or ‘Ruby Heart-Stealer—was detained by the Italian police. 

Ms. Mahroug isn’t the only woman making these claims—she’s only a “face in the crowd” who have allegedly “prostituted themselves to the prime minister, obtaining cash or rent-free housing in exchange for sex.”

Obviously, Americans aren’t above a good sex scandal every now and then. But this scandal seems especially poorly-timed for Berlusconi. For years, Italians have been feeling malessere, or “malaise. . . a collective funk—economic, political, and social.” The last few years have seen Italy’s economy lose out to Spain, and investments from America dwindle in comparison to other European countries.

In a country trying to determine its priorities and dig itself out of a recession, this type of previously-accepted behavior may not be acceptable any longer. “It’s not important what he does privately, but what he doesn’t do as head of government,” said Simone Calvarese, a bus driver in Rome to the Times.

It’s an interesting problem—Italians have never appeared to the rest of the world as particularly puritanical. But in this era of economic upheaval, Berlusconi’s behavior just seems out of touch.

Whether or not the scandal will provoke any real change remains to be seen: recently, a parliamentary committee denied a request from prosecutors to search the prime minister’s properties. According to the Times, the “majority of the committee members are Berlusconi allies.”

According to Transparency International, Italy is more corrupt than some countries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Whatever the outcome of the latest Berlusconi scandal, that won't change overnight.