Is Italy really a democracy?

[DreamSparrow]

I didn't see any mention of Silvio Berlusconi's re-election on Freeones. Last Thursday, the ageing politician was sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time.

Here's an interesting comment piece I read in the Guardian a few weeks ago, on what his re-election means for Italy.

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The emergence of Silvio Berlusconi as the dominant political figure in Italy is the single most depressing event in Europe over the last decade. His role as political leader and the country's most powerful media tycoon have brought into question to what extent Italy can be described as a democracy. True, Berlusconi has been elected via the ballot box, but when he controls all the major private TV channels and has reshaped the state's channels in his own image, while also owning several newspapers, then the dice are hugely loaded in his favour.

Do you agree with the author? Is Italy still a democracy, and if it's not, what does that mean for its membership of the European Union?