Dick Polman: Tyrants don’t like to be laughed at

Tyrants don't like to be laughed at

See if this rings a bell: In 1994 the voters in Italy elected, as their leader, a flamboyant demagogic mogul with no governing experience. Silvio Berlusconi vowed to lurch Italy rightward, and the nation’s neo-fascists rejoiced. He was not a…

Dick Polman: Tyrants don’t like to be laughed at

See if this rings a bell: In 1994 the voters in Italy elected, as their leader, a flamboyant demagogic mogul with no governing experience. Silvio Berlusconi vowed to lurch Italy rightward, and the nation’s neo-fascists rejoiced. He was not a fan of free speech. During his multiple stints as prime minister, he routinely attacked the media, particularly when it investigated his ongoing conflicts of interest, declaring at one point that reporters w…