Perma-tanned Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is right in the eye of the press freedom storm. Media have been grinding him to a pulp lately. He even says that he feels sorry for his country because media report “the opposite of reality.” Hence, Berlusconi has brought more than one local newspaper to court. His lawyers are also considering how best to deal with foreign media that pounce on him.

The goings on in the lives of political figures, in and out of office hours, are fodder to media grist and the very essence of paparazzi existence. Berlusconi has made himself into media candy that is why he is now busy running after publishers that have illegally obtained photos of him inside his private property. He has turned into some sort of decadent celebrity that he now worries about attacks on his privacy.

Does Berlusconi realize that his life story is simply too juicy for media not to gobble up? But of course, a link between the head of a country and prostitutes and orgies, not to mention his wife virtually dumping him in public, will surely corner the biggest fonts in headline space. Media want these things because these are precisely the lifeblood of media – juicy stuff.

He may have been used to randy behavior that money can cover up, he being Italy’s wealthiest man. But when he took on the political leadership of his country, he should have done two things: hire a platoon of bodyguards to serve as lookout and pay off anyone who could spill the beans.

And, of course, there’s one more thing that his money can buy – media’s silence. Waging war against the fourth estate is a futile battle, he should know.

But the biggest lesson for Mr. Berlusconi is this: if you don’t want to be tabloid fare, don’t lead a tabloid life.

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