中國網站品牌欄目（頻道）
For a politician on trial over charges ranging from tax fraud to paying for sex with a minor, Silvio Berlusconi is notably free of self doubt.
"I think it's positive that I'm here to represent Italy and lead the center-right," the Italian prime minister said last week in comments at an off-the-record dinner with foreign press that were leaked to Italian newspapers.
"As long as there's no one to replace me, I'll stay for some time longer."
That confidence has been a vital asset in Berlusconi's career, from his early days as a cruise ship entertainer to his success as the head of a vast property and media empire, and his 17-year spell at the top of Italian politics.
Berlusconi's legal problems have once again put his outsize personality in the spotlight, providing plenty of ammunition for his many critics but in certain ways also highlighting his dominance of the Italian political system.
It is difficult to imagine any other Western leader surviving the kinds of allegations Berlusconi faces.
He is accused of trying to avoid paying millions of euros in tax, of bribing his lawyer to give false evidence in court and of paying for sex with a 17-year-old and then pressuring police officials in a bid to cover the story up.
But with no credible alternative on the right and a weak and divided opposition on the left, he has variously laughed off the charges or launched vitriolic counter-attacks on the "subversive" magistrates he accuses of trying to destroy Italian democracy.
He also appears completely unembarrassed by quasi-pornographic newspaper accounts of "bunga bunga" sex parties at his palatial house near Milan where magistrates say he entertained a veritable harem of young women.
"My compliments, you are so good you make me want to invite you to bunga bunga," he told two young women as he presented them with awards at a ceremony for young business leaders at Rome University earlier this month.
That kind of remark has been a trademark down the years and helped to create a widespread image of Berlusconi as a gaffe-prone eccentric.
Questions:
1. Where did Berlusconi work as an entertainer?
2. How long has be been at the top of Italian politics?
3. Where is Berlusconi’s palatial house?
Answers:
1. Cruise ship.
2. 17 years.
3. Milan.
（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）
About the broadcaster:
Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.
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