Silvio Berlusconi’s anti-European rhetoric means that he may yet hold the balance of power after next year’s Italian elections

Earlier this month the current prime minister of Italy, Mario Monti, announced that he would resign. This was shortly followed by the reappearance of his predecessor, Silvio Berlusconi, back on to the Italian political scene. Valentino Larcinese writes that while it is unlikely that he will win the country’s coming elections in early 2013, his strong brand of anti-EU, anti-austerity, and anti-euro rhetoric may yet see him hold the balance of power in the Italian government.