Silvio Berlusconi is on holiday. The second longest-serving Italian prime minister since the war, and the third richest man in Italy, is taking a well-deserved rest away from the divorce and sex scandals that have dogged him most of the year. Politicians and sex scandals are nothing new in any country, but the ability of Berlusconi to survive scandal seems to outsiders to be particularly Italian. So, to what can we learn from Berlusconi about the extent to which leaders reflect the characteristics of their countries of origin?

This question has gripped social scientists for years. Starting with Geert Hofstede’s study over thirty years ago of IBM managers and employees in over 40 countries, which lead to the book, “Cultures’ Consequences,” researchers have attempted to classify the cultural differences demonstrated by staff working for the same company in different countries.