Tremonti is very much his own man: God's gift to mankind which can be summed up as his boss. He is Berlusconi's private accountant who, as minister of finances devises complex schemes to make Berlusconi ever richer.

He states that his motto is "God, Family, Country" although it is hard to say what those words mean to him. He is very close to the Lega Nord at present. Like many of the incurable egos that Berlusconi keeps in his pin, Tremonti believes himself to hold the creative key to the grand unifying theory of human and sacred economy. The Economist dismissed him recently by remarking disparagingly that fortunately Tremonti's opinions carry little weight outside his limited sphere of influence.

Unfortunately we happen to be in that sphere.