Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s energetic response to Monday’s earthquake has been generally praised despite his comparison of the ordeal of survivors staying in emergency tents to a camping weekend. Berlusconi has visited the town of L’Aquila, the epicenter of the 6.3-magnitude quake, every day this week, talking to survivors and pledging government help to rebuild houses. He scrapped a visit to Russia that was planned for this week.
