Foreign observers tuning in to Italy's election campaign were flabbergasted to learn that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had alternately compared himself, in the space of about a week, to Napoleon, Churchill and Jesus Christ while also vowing to give up sex until after the April poll. But Italians and those who have followed his career closely were less surprised.

Since entering politics in 1994, Mr Berlusconi has commonly referred to himself in the third person as if he were already a historical figure: "If Italy entrusts itself to Berlusconi, it's the country's good fortune," he said at one point. He has perfected a personal style that is a bizarre mix of megalomania, sexual braggadocio, off-colour jokes and outrageous claims, including, among his memorable antics: giving the sign of the horns over the head of the Spanish foreign minister in a group photograph of European leaders and calling a German member of the European parliament a concentration camp kapo. But distant observers should not be fooled by this apparent buffoonery. There is much method in Mr Berlusconi's madness. By traditional political standards, these would seem to be mistakes. But in Mr Berlusconi's world of celebrity politics, there is no such thing as bad publicity - it all translates into audience and ratings. And his performance in recent weeks has helped him slash his centre-left opponent's lead from 8 per cent to close to zero.