What we are witnessing is a political meltdown. This is a serious blow for the government, and it's not clear it can get though this unscathed.

The UDC said fundamentally that Berlusconi isn't the man to lead, and that will cause a government meltdown. The government will have to call early elections.

It seems to me that the idea of not recognizing the result is losing strength by the hour.

The outcome might very well be that together with (Berlusconi?s) defeat this time we may also see his disappearance from the political scene.

I sensed a lot of mental and intellectual fatigue in Berlusconi. He surprised me. He's too much of a good salesman to make a statement like that at the end of a debate.

He is too much of a realistic businessman that if he really felt the situation was desperate, or unsalvageable, he would probably look for an exit strategy. The fact that he is doing this is significant, in my mind - that he feels he can probably change the situation.