The era of Berlusconi seen as a wizard who would solve the country's problems with a magic wand is over. But Berlusconi as the symbol of a social bloc, of interests and fears of the left that remain strong in this country, is not done.

He still has an admirable ability to interpret the country.

Bush knows that Berlusconi will lose, and is giving him a farewell party. This new legislature may be stillborn, and we may be in for a period of political instability.

Italian voters are not going to be overly impressed by television footage of Berlusconi with George Bush. The overriding issue in these elections is the economy. In 2001, Italians voted for Berlusconi because he promised they would be better off: actually they feel worse off.

I guess my engineer, Ray Leto, must have some magic in him because he solved most of the problems from this morning. There was still a little bit of push, so I just kind of let the car go where it wanted to go. More than anything, I'm a little bit relieved after that run. A run like this helps you gain the confidence you need to keep your foot down.

We can't wave a magic wand and get rid of any of these people's problems, but what they want is they want to be heard,