Magazine: Can comedians ever be taken seriously?

[Gerald]

In the past week, two comedians have stood for election - Beppe Grillo in Italy and John O'Farrell in the UK's Eastleigh by-election. What are the pitfalls of putting your money where your mouth is?

It's just like old and new times. The euro tanking, stock markets in see-saw mood, bond spreads rising. No doubt Angela Merkel is wearing a "Really guys? I thought we were over this" expression on her face. After the Italian electoral impasse, we are looking somewhere for certainty.

One dead cert is that a least some of the columns written about Italy's potential king-maker Beppe Grillo will contain the line "Did you hear the one about the comedian who turned into a politician?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21616412

Note: 3 March 2013 Last updated at 00:00 GMT