Can Silvio’s women save Italy?

Silvio Berlusconi spent his first day as Italy's new Prime Minister on Tuesday promising to deal swiftly with the country's many pressing problems, from the sale of its troubled national airline Alitalia to the masses of uncollected rubbish swamping Naples. And how does he plan to deal with it all? By appointing a cabinet that will include - if Silvio sticks to his election campaign pledge - a record number of women.
 
Berlusconi promised to give at least four of his 12 cabinet posts to women. One is expected to be Mara Carfagna (above right), a former Miss Italy contestant, who is in the running for Minister for the Family, while Stefania Prestigiacomo (above left), a member of his Forza Italia party, looks likely to be given the European Affairs portfolio. Other female politicians tipped for the top are Giulia Bongiorno, a defence lawyer for the former PM Giulio Andreotti in several Mafia-related trials, up for Justice Minister, and Rosi Mauro, in line for Welfare Minister.  
 
Whether the 71-year-old media magnate has feminist principles is uncertain, many would say doubtful. Last week, the perma-tanned politician enraged his left-wing rivals by declaring that right-wing female politicians were "more beautiful" than those on the Left. "The left has no taste, even when it comes to women," he announced.
 
Compare that with Spain, where Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, a self-described feminist, was re-elected PM last month and promptly appointed nine women in his 17-strong Cabinet, including Carme Chacon, the Defence Minister, who is seven months pregnant. It is the first time in Spain's history that a majority of the cabinet has been female. ·