Bloomberg View: Berlusconi's Unwelcome Italian Comeback

Until recently, it was hard to imagine that Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s scandal-prone former prime minister, might attempt another comeback. Berlusconi, 75, was out of favor when he left office in November, and his career in politics looked over. A busy retirement—including defending himself on a charge of paying a minor for sex, which he denies—seemed likely. Hopes were high that the emergency administration appointed by Italy’s president and led by Mario Monti, no flamboyant politician but a well-regarded international civil servant, would come to grips with Italy’s financial problems.

Support for the technocrats has already waned, however, and there’s talk of an early election. Brooding about the low standing of his People of Liberty party, Berlusconi is contemplating reentry. He has said that when Monti’s unelected administration ends its term, Italian politics will return to “normal.” You might say that’s the problem.