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2/24/08

TimesOnline: Silvio Berlusconi does not deserve another chance of power in Italy- by Brownwen Maddox

For the complete report from the Times Online click on this link

Silvio Berlusconi does not deserve another chance of power in Italy - by Brownwen Maddox

The prospect should be unthinkable, but polls suggest that Italians may pick Silvio Berlusconi for a third stint as prime minister in their quest for a government. Leave aside the conflict of interest with his media and business empire, and his amendment, while in office, of laws on penal justice that helped him to sidestep charges of false accounting. Leave aside, too, for a moment, his reform of the electoral laws that has returned Italy to the days of splintering governments that cannot withstand the strain of difficult decisions for much more than a year. But even considering his record in office, there is not enough to warrant a return. If people want to attempt a justification, they point to two slivers of reform on pensions and employment. That is all they can do, because there are no other cases where Berlusconi clearly acted for Italy's benefit rather than his own.

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