More vain than idiotic...
*coughs* hair transplant *coughs*

I'm not too sure I'd rate this guy as stupid at all. Admittedly, I have not followed Italian politics much at all of late, but it seems to me that Berlusconi has been in power for quite some time (not an easy thing for an Italian politician to achieve), he's weathered some major scandals (personal and political), he's mamaged to keep Italy committed to the efforts in both Afghanistan and Iraq (I think Italy is the third largest troop contributor in Iraq, behind the Brits and ahead of the Poles), managed to keep a lid on Islamic terrorism in Italy, and has kept immigrants quiet in Italy (something that Chirac has failed miserably to do in France). I'd consider him a lot more politically adept than quite a few of the other European leaders, and a hell of a better and more loyal ally than the French and Germans.