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So, What Attracted You To Billionaire Signor Berlusconi?
Michela Brambilla shows some of the form that has led Silvio Berlusconi to tip her as the new face of Italy's centre-right.
La Rossa, as she's beginning to be known throughout Italy, is a fascinating character. A striking redhead (hence the nickname) from a family of steel magnates, she is a former beauty queen with a philosophy degree, and a professional career as a businesswoman and journalist. She's a mother, president of an animal rights association and a media player in her own right, founding a Freedom TV channel and a newsheet given away free with Berlusconi's Il Giornale. The kind of complex, rounded character that Mr Berlusconi reckons is ideal to take on the increasingly crusty left-leaning coalition that's currently running the country.
Socialists are likely to be dismayed by the prospect of yet another telegenic ally for Berlusconi, who for them embodies a kind of populist right-wing bling that is powerful on personality, weak on issues. Signora Brambilla, however, has substance as well as style, as a profile in the Guardian demonstrates.
The 39 year old leads a growing number of "Freedom Circle" groups throughout Italy. She claims there are around 5,000 of these clubs, with membership running between 30 and several thousand, though the Guardian shares some suspicion with its Italian comrades as to the solidity of these claims. One report put the Circles as having a membership of 15,000.
The idea for the clubs is to build a grass roots centre-right movement - a vision close to the heart of her mentor and former employer, Berlusconi. The newspaper speculates that the Freedom Party (Partito della Liberta) - a name Signora Brambilla has recently registered - is Berlusconi's planned successor to Forza Italia. Berlusconi, it is reported, intends to be the party's 'figurehead', with Brambilla as its leader.
Centre-right figures are sceptical of Berlusconi's plans for his protege. The Guardian casts doubt on her skills answering 'tough questions' while in Italy, there is some concern that her rise might just be Berlusconi securing his influence on the centre-right as it looks for new leadership.
There's a wry look at La Berluscona's rise to fame here (in Italian).
