Berlusconi & Europe Face Date with Destiny

LONDON (MarketWatch) â?? It has not been a good week for media moguls â?? especially those who happen to be prime minister as well. Like most European banks, Silvio Berlusconi narrowly passed his own stress test on Friday when Italyâ??s latest austerity plan passed a key parliamentary hurdle. But the inexorable rise in Italian bond yields over German levels shows how the Berlusconi system of government seems to be unraveling â??â?? underlining how this most Roman of idols may turn out to have feet of clay.