Berlusconi’s Success

I found Carla Power’s article “Silvio’s Girls” disappointing [Nov. 30]. Quelli Che … Il Calcio is a RAI programme and not Mediaset’s. What has Berlusconi got to do with RAI? The station is definitely not pro-Berlusconi. Berlusconi is a doer. His actions in Naples, which was cleaned up in a month; his rapid building program in Abruzzo following the earthquake; his measures that pulled Italy out of recession, all of these are proof of his ability. No wonder opinion polls give him close to 70% approval rating.
Joe M. Zahra, BIRZEBBUGA, MALTA

I do not like Mr Berlusconi’s public and personal behavior but I voted for him because there was no better alternative. I am happy with what his government has done so far, which is vastly more that any fractious, self-opinionated, center-left alliance did in the past. Many members of his Cabinet like the Ministers of Finance, Agriculture, the Interior, Environment (a woman), Instruction (another woman) and the Disaster Relief Agency are delivering good results. Ms. Carfagna is not just a pretty partygoer, her achievements as Minister for Equal Opportunities are hard to deny. Among the voters who elected Berlusconi were many urban professionals, well educated, cosmopolitan, weary of the stiff-upper-lipped intelligentsia.
Demetrio Malara, VARESE, ITALY

Just one question. Why should anybody be perplexed about Mara Carfagna’s participation in Italian political life? She was a model and now she is a brilliant minister. After all, nobody complained about Sarah Palin or Yulia Tymoshenko who are both famously beautiful, have gone into politics and have done a great job, just like Mara Carfagna.
Max Annati, MILAN, ITALY

Asterix and the Barbarians
Re Leo Cendrowicz’s article “Indomitable Gaul” [Nov. 30]: Asterix’ broad appeal in France stems less from a symbolic 
 political struggle against globalization and capitalism than from a cultural struggle against invaders, be they Roman conquerors, American pension funds or Chinese truffles.
Patricia Tutin, PARIS