ROME _ Cruise-ship crooner, media mogul, soccer-club owner, prime minister, convicted fraudster, and now ... kingmaker?
At 81, Silvio Berlusconi has defied rivals, prosecutors and sex scandals through a series of comebacks. And as Italians prepare to vote on March 4, the four-time premier is once again center-stage with his coalition set to be the biggest bloc in the new legislature.
"Berlusconi's strength is extraordinary, he has an amazing capacity to take knocks and yet resist," says Giovanni Orsina, author of "Berlusconism and Italy: A Historical Interpretation." "It's as if he believes that if he isn't in the spotlight, he's dead."
Or as Berlusconi himself put it: "I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone, I sacrifice myself for everyone."
As he prepares to write one more chapter, here are seven snapshots from the Berlusconi saga.
