15 Striking similarities between Thaksin and Berlusconi

		Thaksin Shinawatra Thai ex-pm / Icon redshirt party	Silvio Berlusconi Italian pm
1	Leader of a nationalist populistic party with the country/peoples name in it	√	√
2	Entered politics in 1994	√	√
3	Ex-minister of foreign affairs	√	√
4	Became prime-minister in 2001	√	√
5	Authoritarian ruler, manipulating people though rhetoric and demagogy	√	√
6	Finished office in 2006	√	√*
7	Longest ruling prime minister in the country's history	√	√
8	Entrepreneur, media magnate	√	√
9	Owned/Owns a Major league Football club and gained other positions with conflict of interest	√	√
10	Published a book to glorify their leadership	√	√
11	Changed laws and made foreign visits solely for the purpose of private benefit	√	√
12	Put family at important positions in (former) company during terms of office	√	√
13	Company stock rose considerably during office	√	√
14	Billionaire	√	√
15	Faced multiple court cases concerning bribery, fraud, and corruption	√	√
16	Convicted	√	X**

* Berlusconi was re-elected in April 2008.
** Not yet convicted

Sources: Thaksin_Shinawatra Wiki, notablebiographies.com
Silvio_Berlusconi, Wiki, telegraph.co.uk