SILVIO Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister who has compared himself to Jesus Christ and Napoleon, boasted yesterday that he was the world's most popular leader.
The conservative premier, in his third term, said opinion poll findings in his possession showed his popularity at just over 75 per cent, making him far more popular than the American president, Barack Obama, or any other head of government.
"Th
e opinion polls I know say that (Obama] is at 59 per cent. Only (Brazilian president Luiz Inacio] Lula tops 60 per cent – he is at 64 per cent. So mine is a record high," he told reporters in Naples where he attended a May Day concert.
On his way out of the concert hall, the 72-year-old Berlusconi – who has proclaimed himself the Jesus Christ of Italian politics and once said he was second only to Napoleon, except taller – was heckled by protesters.
Political analysts agree Mr Berlusconi enjoys high popularity ratings despite the economic crisis, although perhaps not as high as he claims. A poll published last month by the left-leaning La Repubblica daily newspaper said support for Berlusconi stood at 56 per cent and had risen in April for the first time since October, thanks to his hands-on response to a deadly earthquake in L'Aquila.
However, Berlusconi does not appear to be so popular at home this week, after becoming embroiled in a public spat with his wife over his choice of female politicians in his cabinet.
Veronica Berlusconi said his party's selection of women to run in European elections was a "shamelessly trashy" process. She also accused him of going to the birthday bash of an 18-year-old woman in Naples, but not attending the coming-of-age parties of his own children.
The full article contains 305 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
