According to the leader in yesterday’s The Times at least.

Considering what we went through in the past election campaign and what has been happening across the sea, one might start seeing things differently.

The rather apathetic Italian electorate, swung between the return of Silvio Berlusconi and the collapse of the Prodi government, has had some rather unusual entertainment.

Premier candidate Daniela Santanche (far Right) who is campaigning on behalf of the traditional virtues and values of the Italian families, has turned to speaking as people do in bars: Silvio wants her but she will not give it (?) to him.

The former vice-president of the Senate, Cesare Salvi, an illustrious lawyer, now candidate for the Sinistra Arcobaleno, speaking of sexual freedom has found it necessary to inform the Italians that he “once did it (?) in a park”.

Anna Finocchiaro, candidate to be the governor of Sicily and head of the Partito Democratico, one of the most respected women in Italian politics, did not shy away when asked what kind of underwear she prefers (panties).

Former telecommunications minister Maurizio Gasparri (Alleanza Nazionale, now Partito della Liberta) felt the need to state that during an election campaign, sex for a politician becomes ‘a secondary thing’.

Italians now know that Lega Nord’s Roberto Maroni prefers cotton underwear while Partito Democratico’s Matteo Colannino prefers boxer shorts.

In short, Italian politics this time round have come to resemble an Edwige Fenech comedy from years gone by.

Most of the blame must be ascribed to Klaus Davi, whose Klauscondicio blog on YouTube has him interviewing the candidates and from whose replies to his impertinent questions come the juicy quotes reported above.

It was Davi who cornered Cesare Salvi into discussing whether the women on the Left were better than the women on the Right. This was in reply to a claim by Berlusconi himself (who else?) that his party had the best women.

On the visual side, Socialist candidate Milly d’Abbraccio has filled Rome with posters telling Italians “basta con queste face da c...’ showing a shapely female posterior.

And Roma’s idol, Francesco Totti, is campaigning publicly for Francesco Rutelli who is campaigning to replace Walter Veltroni as Mayor of Rome.