Amid the rancour of Italy’s general election campaign, one moment stands out. Silvio Berlusconi, the centre-right prime minister, was being goaded by Lucia Annunziata, a well-known leftwing journalist, during an appearance on Rai 3, a state-run television channel.

The billionaire businessman-turned-politician was famous abroad for two things, she sniped: friendship with US President George W. Bush “and your status as the western leader who represents the biggest conflict of interests in the history of western nations”.