The conservative Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's longest serving post—war Prime Minister and business tycoon, has long been a thorn in the side of his country's Left. Hating him with a passion every bit as virulent as that of American liberals for George W. Bush, he has been the target of untold lies, accusations and specious demagoguery.

Now the vindictiveness has reached a new low. Having defeated Berlusconi in one of the closest elections in Italian history, leftists are coming to exact their revenge in a truly pathetic way — they seek to turn him out of his own houses with charges of environmental waywardness . One of the properties in question is Berlusconi's favorite villa in Sardinia which, according to the UK Guardian, features

artificial waterfalls and several swimming pools... He [Berlusconi] loves to show visitors around the 100—acre grounds which are planted with 800 types of hibiscus, 164 types of palm trees and 500 types of cactus.

In addition, the property also boasts a 400—seat, Greek—style amphitheatre and

a tunnel drilled through a cliff on the shoreline, through which visitors step off their boats and are carried by a lift to the house above.

Berlusconi's magnificent residences are among some of the most fastidiously and carefully maintained pieces of real—estate in Italy. To charge that they somehow damage or deface the environment is truly absurd. But political payback of this sort has long been the Left's specialty. Only recently we saw an example of this in America with the indictment of Tom Delay which appears about as credible as the latest charges leveled against Berlusconi. The pettiness and vindictiveness of the Left indeed know no bounds. Loving, tolerant and compassionate, they really are not. If anything, they are despicable.

Vasko Kohlmayer   5 09 06