"You all drink to get drunk," some Swiss acquaintances of mine commented acidly after an evening in Soho No, no, it's just an unwanted side-effect, really. But it has never helped the British attitude to drink that it's seen as something so naughty, so inherently uncivilised, that it has to be hedged about with those archaic licensing laws. They are going to treat us like out-of-control children ­ well, what do you know!But wouldn't it be refreshing if the Government had said it was changing the licensing laws because of the obvious reason, that it recognised people had a right to choose when they drank? Wouldn't it be great if it had said, look, you're grown-ups, so if you want another pint, you don't have to pretend any more to be Irish in a dingy lock-in in Archway or pretend that your friend-who's-a-member said she'd meet you at Soho House?Typically, the Government is changing the licensing laws "to help the police deal with law and order" and to "address the issue of binge-drinking". This Government might just be able to organise a piss-up in a brewery, but it wouldn't make it a barrel of laughs, that's for sure.. * Flexible opening hours with potential for up to 24-hour opening, seven days a week.

* Flexible opening hours with potential for up to 24-hour opening, seven days a week.* System of personal licences issued for 10 years allowing holders to sell or supply alcohol.* Permission to sell or supply alcohol granted by local authorities instead of magistrates.* Promotion of family-friendly pubs but licensing authorities will be able to restrict or deny children's access to unsuitable premises.* Single scheme for licensing all premises that sell alcohol, provide public entertainment or provide refreshment at night.* Appeals against decisions by local authorities to be heard by magistrates' courts.. The electoral outsider Emma Bonino succeeded in stealing the spotlight from the front-runner Silvio Berlusconi yesterday, as her hunger strike to protest against media discrimination entered its sixth day. The former European Union commissioner, looking weak and pale, was admitted to hospital in Milan late Tuesday night after her condition deteriorated. The electoral outsider Emma Bonino succeeded in stealing the spotlight from the front-runner Silvio Berlusconi yesterday, as her hunger strike to protest against media discrimination entered its sixth day. The former European Union commissioner, looking weak and pale, was admitted to hospital in Milan late Tuesday night after her condition deteriorated. Ms Bonino has been refusing food or liquids since last Friday in protest against the lack of media access for parties outside the two main coalitions ahead of the 13 May general election.The electoral contest is being played like an American presidential race. All the attention is going to the personal duel between the two coalition leaders; Mr Berlusconi, 64, who has proved he can create wealth as a media magnate and offers his success as a model for government, and Francesco Rutelli, 46, who uses his achievements as mayor of Rome as a visiting card and who outshines Mr Berlusconi in good looks and charm.Many Italians agree with Ms Bonino's accusations. Despite reprimands from the television ombudsman, Mr Berlusconi's television networks still give excessive coverage of their employer.

The state broadcaster RAI tries to be more even-handed but inevitably its coverage obscures the smaller parties.Members of Ms Bonino's Radical Party are old hands at media-grabbing stunts, including chaining themselves to RAI's headquarters and giving away cash to protest the law on party political funding.And in this case, her hunger strike has worked. President Carlo Ciampi and leading intellectuals have implored her not to put her life at risk but the slightly-built candidate is determined to carry on. Doctors warned yesterday that she was nearly dehydrated and suffering from irregular heart beat and risked brain damage.Mr Berlusconi, who heads the centre-right opposition, spent yesterday locked away at his 18th-century estate near Milan. His absence from the hustings for a day, during a viciously personal campaign, was time for a strategy re-think. The former prime minister, who two weeks ago appeared invincible, is now in difficulty, reeling from a barrage of criticism from the European press.In an interview published in the French popular daily France Soir, the billionaire businessmen denounced "a campaign of hate and lies" orchestrated by his opponents in the centre-left Olive Tree alliance. The Italian left "launched an SOS to the foreign press because it doesn't have any weapons, it doesn't have a programme", he said, accusing The Economist, France's Le Monde and Spain's El Mundo of "scandalous interference" by querying his trials for corruption, the allegations of links with the mafia and the conflict of interest between public office and his Fininvest empire that includes real estate, media, insurance publishing and supermarket interests.As Mr Berlusconi called in his advisors, there was more bad news. El Mundo reported that a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, has officially asked Italy to lift Mr Berlusconi's parliamentary immunity from prosecution.

The judge is investigating allegations of tax fraud in Spain's Tele 5, which is partly owned by Fininvest.But the company has lashed out at the timing of the request, less than two weeks before the election "This clear choice in timing... confirms the real goal of the Tele 5 inquiry," a Fininvest spokesman told the news agency Reuters.Opinion polls in Italy have been banned since last Friday but those published before hand showed Mr Berlusconi's Casa delle Libert?lliance, which includes the separatist Northern League and the post-fascist Alleanza Nazionale, ahead by four percentage points. However, a large chunk of the population is still undecided.Mr Berlusconi has been avoiding a televised debate with his rival, who taunts he is afraid to answer a few questions. However, Mr Berlusconi may make a shock announcement next week that he is selling his media empire.. The latest encounter in opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti's epic battle with the Italian tax system took place in a modest court room, far from the lavish stage sets and concert halls usually associated with the world's best-loved tenor.