Italian elections: Eurosceptic Italy in race to form majority government - by Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Daniel Boffey

The two populist parties that won major upsets in the Italian election – the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League (La Liga) – are in a race to be the first to try to form a majority government after the election produced a hung parliament.

The decision will ultimately fall to Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, who could take weeks to determine whether the anti-establishment M5S, which took 32.6% of the vote, or a fragile centre-right alliance led by the League’s bombastic Matteo Salvini, with 35.7% of the vote, are better equipped to create a majority government.

As Italy and Europe digested the news on Monday that a majority of Italian voters had supported Eurosceptic candidates in the national election, both sides began jockeying for position, saying each had earned the right to lead. The Italian constitution gives Mattarella the power to give the mandate to any party, regardless of who has won the most votes.

While the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had been seen as leading the centre-right coalition, results showed he was beaten by his younger rival on the right, following a campaign in which Salvini emphasised support for radical immigration policies, including mass deportations of immigrants who are in Italy illegally.

Read more: Eurosceptic Italy in race to form majority government | World news | The Guardian

Italy: Berlusconi acquitted in Ruby sex case trial

An Italian appeals court on Friday cleared Silvio Berlusconi of having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power in a surprise ruling that will strengthen the former prime minister on the political scene.

"The defendant is acquitted," presiding judge Enrico Tranfa said, requesting silence after gasps from the courtroom.

The effectively scraps Berlusconi's seven-year sentence and lifelong ban from holding public office.

The judge said there was "no crime" on the abuse of power charge and that Berlusconi's actions "did not constitute a crime" on the prostitution one, promising to publish a detailed explanation within the three-month legal limit.

Read more: Berlusconi acquitted in Ruby sex case trial | Alternet

Berlusconi supporters threaten 'civil war'

Could Silvio Berlusconi's sentence at Italy's highest court on Thursday bring the Italian government to its knees? His supporters talk of "civil war" if Berlusconi is not allowed to continue practicing politics. 

You have to admit, Silvio Berlusconi is a publicity maestro, proving the old adage that even bad news is good publicity. A conviction for tax evasion - the first time the media mogul and former prime minister has been definitively convicted of a crime - brought him center stage once again. Most summers, his publishing and broadcast empire contributes to the seasonal diet of celebrities in bikinis and gossip about who's sleeping with whom.

But this August, the former Italian prime minister has not only managed to hog the headlines, but potentially caused another crack in the country's fragile governing coalition.

Read more: Berlusconi supporters threaten 'civil war' | Europe | DW.DE | 05.08.2013

Italy: Berlusconi Tax-Fraud Conviction Upheld

An appeals court in Milan has upheld the tax fraud conviction and four-year prison sentence against Silvio Berlusconi .

The case involving his television company could see the former Italian Prime MInister barred from public office for five years.

The penalties however, would only come into force if the 3 stroke process allowed under Italian law has been exhausted.

In other trials over the years, Mr Berlusconi has been accused of charges including accounting fraud, perjury, bribery and corruption all of which he has denied and has been been acquitted or let off under statutes of limitations.

In October, a court convicted the 76 year old media mogul in a scheme that involved inflating the price, his Mediaset media empire paid for TV rights to U.S. movies and pocketing the difference.

Read more: Berlusconi Tax-Fraud Conviction Upheld | euronews, world news

ITALY: Berlusconi still popular in Italy, even while asleep

Berlusconi might have lost the election or be in and out of court - he still knows how to capture an audience - even while asleep.

Read more:World Photo Caption Contest: Silvio Berlusconi Falls Asleep http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/world-photo-caption-contest-silvio-berlusconi-falls-asleep_n_3157495.html

Italy: Brussels Italians knock Berlusconi

Sylvio Berlusconi’s attempt to convince the European institutions he can balance Italy’s books by 2013 failed to convince Italian protesters gathered in Brussels. He has lost all credibility in their eyes.

That is partly over his austerity plan, and partly because in going to Brussels he missed an appointment with magistrates, to respond to allegations that he paid hush money to a businessman who introduced him to prostitutes.

One demonstrator fed up with Berlusconi said: “The austerity plan can act to reduce the deficit but it is a great weight on growth prospects.”

Another sceptic added: “The plan was modified four or five times. This shows that the government is incapable of responding to the country’s needs and that European and international pressures are needed to get results, even small results.”

Read more: Brussels Italians knock Berlusconi | euronews, world news

Italy: The party is over: End of an era: Berlusconi resigns

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi resigned Saturday after parliament's lower chamber passed European-demanded reforms, ending a 17-year political era and setting in motion a transition aimed at bringing the country back from the brink of economic crisis.

A chorus of Handel's "Alleluia," performed by a few dozen singers and classical musicians, rang out in front of the president's palace as thousands of Italians poured into downtown Rome to rejoice at the end of Berlusconi's scandal-marred reign.

Hecklers shouted "Buffoon, Buffoon!" as Berlusconi's motorcade entered and exited the presidential palace, where he tendered his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano, the palace said in a statement.

For more: End of an era: Berlusconi resigns – USATODAY.com

'Italy Is Burning and No One Is Putting It Out'

With a players' strike currently occupying the thoughts of soccer-mad Italians, it's perhaps appropriate that Silvio Berlusconi has moved the goalposts over the debt-ridden country's austerity package. The Italian prime minister and his coalition have agreed to a raft of changes to the proposed budget, including scrapping a tax on the rich, in a move which has led to confusion in the financial markets and could well result in a confrontation with the European Central Bank.

Berlusconi and his allies issued a revision of the proposed austerity measures late on Monday following widespread public anger over the original plans. There were already more than 1,000 amendments by Tuesday morning. The changes include reducing cuts to municipalities, decreasing the amount of lawmakers and changing the way pensions are calculated, which would delay retirement for many Italians.

With a players' strike currently occupying the thoughts of soccer-mad Italians, it's perhaps appropriate that Silvio Berlusconi has moved the goalposts over the debt-ridden country's austerity package. The Italian prime minister and his coalition have agreed to a raft of changes to the proposed budget, including scrapping a tax on the rich, in a move which has led to confusion in the financial markets and could well result in a confrontation with the European Central Bank.

Berlusconi and his allies issued a revision of the proposed austerity measures late on Monday following widespread public anger over the original plans. There were already more than 1,000 amendments by Tuesday morning. The changes include reducing cuts to municipalities, decreasing the amount of lawmakers and changing the way pensions are calculated, which would delay retirement for many Italians.

German commentators on Wednesday were united in their scorn for Berlusconi's actions, arguing that the Italian leader is acting out of self-preservation rather than seeing the bigger picture.

For more: The World from Berlin: 'Italy Is Burning and No One Is Putting It Out' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Killing Democracy: How Berlusconi Made Italian Democracy Unconstitonal

When Mussolini decided it was time to turn the Italian kingdom into a criminal tyranny, he organized the so-called "Marcia su Roma" (March to Rome): on the 22nd of October 1922, tens of thousands of fascists converged on the capital city to claim political power. This occurrence defined the death of the liberal state and the final rise to power of the fascist party. On that occasion, the king, Vittorio Emanuele III, didn't show any courage in preventing this coup, bowed his head and assigned Mussolini, the leader of the Partito Nazionale Fascista (National Fascist Party), the task of forming a new government.

Eighty eight years later, the very same thing has happened. Let's be a little bit more clear and start explaining this political tragedy, moral failure and 'ethical' murder from the beginning.

Acts, or even better, enactments, backed by the government have become normality, even if the definition of enactment presupposes some "crisis" conditions which would allow the government to exceed all other constitutional powers. Today even the interpretation of the laws belongs to the government ( Berlusconi) !

For more: Killing Democracy: How Berlusconi Made Italian Democracy Unconstitonal

Times OnLine: Silvio Berlusconi will need weeks of treatment after Milan attack - Times Online

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

Silvio Berlusconi will need weeks of treatment for the physical injuries and mental trauma suffered when he was assaulted by a mentally ill man in Milan on Sunday, his doctors have said. The Italian Prime Minister’s nose was broken and he lost two teeth and half a litre of blood in the attack, at the end of a political rally. He said it was a “miracle” he had not been blinded when a chunky souvenir made of marble and metal was thrown at his face. His assailant, Massimo Tartaglia, an electronics engineer and video games inventor with no criminal record, is said to have told police that he hated Mr Berlusconi. He has been charged with aggravated assault.

Video footage shows Mr Tartaglia, 42, waving a replica of Milan cathedral in the air several times before hurling it at the Prime Minister’s head as he greeted well wishers and signed autographs.

CNN: Italy - Berlusconi: I don't really like my job

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Italy - Berlusconi: I don't really like my job

The conservative, flamboyant Italian leader, 73, says he actually doesn't like governing at all. But he stays in the job because he is considered the "only leader able to hold the center-right together." Berlusconi says there's nothing simple about the prime minister's job. He said: "I'm doing what I do with a sense of sacrifice. I don't really like it. Not at all." He added: "Very often there is a lot of dirty dealing, there is really the gutter press, worse than that, the shameless and sickly. It's a difficult life to be responsible for leading the government in a country like Italy." In a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Paula Newton, Berlusconi also discussed some of the controversial statements he has made, including calling U.S. President Barack Obama "tanned."

Latimes:Italy's highest court strips Berlusconi of immunity protection -- by Maria De Cristofaro and Henry Chu

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Italy's highest court strips Berlusconi of immunity protection - by Maria De Cristofaro and Henry Chu

Italy's highest court Wednesday overturned a law granting Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office, a major blow for a seemingly Teflon leader whose business dealings and personal peccadilloes have come under increasing fire. The highly anticipated ruling threw a question mark over Italy's political scene and the future of its longest-serving premier since World War II. Berlusconi, a billionaire businessman-turned-politician, is now likely to come under pressure to resign or to call a snap election as a bribery trial against him reopens after being put on hold with passage last year of the immunity law.

Telegraph: Berlusconi 'blocks' promotion of film about his chauvinism - by Nick Squires

For the complete report from the Telegraph click on this link

Berlusconi 'blocks' promotion of film about his chauvinism - by Nick Squires

Television channels controlled by the 72-year-old Italian prime minister refused to air a trailer for the film, Videocracy, prompting accusations of media censorship. The film, which premiered at the festival yesterday, chronicles the impact of television on Italian society over the past 30 years, focusing on the power wielded by Mr Berlusconi's media empire. In it, Mr Berlusconi is accused of turning Italian television into a mindless diet of game shows featuring scantily-clad showgirls.

Guardian: Italy - Silvio Berlusconi's troubles overshadow European elections - by John Hooper

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Italy - Silvio Berlusconi's troubles overshadow European elections - by John Hooper

Voters in Italy today cast their ballots against a background of unabated sexual controversy surrounding the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. At noon, the turnout was more than 3% below the figure at the same point in the 2008 ballot. Low turnouts in Italy tend to favour the left. It was notable that the highest levels of abstention were mostly in regions that traditionally favour the right, possibly suggesting conservative Catholic voters had registered their disapproval by staying away. The Spanish newspaper El País kept up its pressure on Berlusconi today by publishing two more photographs of the goings-on at his holiday villa.

Times Online: Berlusconi: The Clown’s Mask Slips

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Berlusconi: The Clown’s Mask Slips

The most distasteful aspect of Silvio Berlusconi’s behaviour is not that he is a chauvinist buffoon. Nor is it that he cavorts with women more than 50 years younger than himself, abusing his position to offer them jobs as models, personal assistants or even, absurdly, candidates for the European Parliament. What is most shocking is the utter contempt with which he treats the Italian public.

Mr Berlusconi has promised to explain everything to parliament. But he can hardly have reassured his critics with his weekend injunction blocking publication of about 700 photographs purporting to show what went on at these parties. Nor is he helped by his hapless Foreign Minister, who attempted to defend his boss by pointing out that the age of consent in Italy was 14 — as if this were relevant.Does it all matter? Some Italians will say no.

Italy hosts the G8 meeting this year. Important discussions are taking place in that forum, where Western governments are pressing for greater co-operation in combating terrorism and international crime. Mr Berlusconi sees himself as a friend of Vladimir Putin. His country is an important member of Nato. It is also part of the eurozone, which is being tested by the global financial crisis. It is not only Italian voters who wonder what is going on. So do Italy’s nonplussed allies.

Guardian: Silvio Berlusconi's wife announces divorce plans - by Tom Kington

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Silvio Berlusconi's wife announces divorce plans - by Tom Kington

For Europe's longest suffering first lady, it seems as if the golden necklace was the last straw. "I am convinced that at this point it would be more dignified to stop here," said Veronica Lario todayas she announced she would divorce Silvio ­Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister. "I cannot stay with a man who frequents minors," she told La Repubblica. The minor in question, aspiring TV ­presenter Noemi Letizia, was celebrating her 18th birthday last month in Naples when Berlusconi, who described himself as an old friend of her family, dropped by with the necklace for Letizia, who revealed she calls him "daddy".

Times Online: Silvio Berlusconi under fire for rape gaffe - by Richard Owen

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Silvio Berlusconi under fire for rape gaffe - by Richard Owen

Silvio Berlusconi has found himself in hot water again after saying that deploying more troops on Italian streets following a series of rape cases would not guarantee the safety of the country's women because "we would need as many soldiers as there are beautiful girls in Italy – which we will never manage". There was also outrage when it emerged that a 22-year-old man accused of raping a 23-year-old girl during a New Year's Eve party organised by the city council at the Rome trade fair site had been allowed house arrest by a woman magistrate who accepted that he had expressed remorse at his "violent behaviour under the influence of alcohol and drugs".

Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, demanded that the man be imprisoned after the victim phoned him in distress to say she felt "abandoned by the authorities". On Saturday Mr Berlusconi said he would increase tenfold the number of soldiers helping police patrol city streets – taking the total to 30,000.

The Earth Times: Russia should join EU, Berlusconi says

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Russia should join EU, Berlusconi says

Russia should be allowed to join the European Union in the coming years, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday. "I consider Russia to be a Western nation. So my project is that the Russian Federation should become a member of the EU in the coming years," Berlusconi told Italian reporters on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.Asked whether the time had come for the EU to normalize its relations with Moscow, Berlusconi said: "I would go beyond that." Berlusconi has frequently touted his close friendship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Putin's two daughters have been spotted in the past spending their summer holidays at Berlusconi's villa in Sardinia.

Telegraph: Silvio Berlusconi faces Muslim clash - by Malcolm Moore

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Silvio Berlusconi faces Muslim clash - by Malcolm Moore

Silvio Berlusconi is facing a row with the Muslim world over his plans to appoint a member of the far-Right to his cabinet. Roberto Calderoli, 52, a senior member of the Northern League, enraged Muslims two years ago during the row over a set of Danish cartoons featuring the Prophet Mohammed. He appeared on television wearing a T-shirt printed with one of the cartoons. The Italian consulate in Libya was set on fire and 11 people died in riots. Mr Calderoli has also threatened to defile the proposed site of a mosque in Padua by walking a pig over the ground. When Italy beat France in the 2006 World Cup, he said France had "sacrificed its identity by fielding niggers, Muslims and communists".

Note EU-Digest: with friends like Mr.Berlusconi who needs any enemies?

The Hindu : Outrage over Berlusconi remarks on immigration

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Outrage over Berlusconi remarks on immigration

Italy’s Prime Minister-elect Silvio Berlusconi was running true to form on Tuesday as he basked in his overwhelming victory in the general elections held earlier this week. By declaring that illegal immigrants are “an army of evil” he gave Italians a taste of things to come. There has been a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in Italy, especially towards people coming from Romania, Albania, Kosovo, and other parts of the Balkans, with attempts to repatriate Roma gypsies often described as “liars and thieves.” In a long press conference, Mr. Berlusconi brushed off criticism that he would be putty in the hands of his key coalition partner Umberto Bossi of the Northern League who has been calling for the break-up of Italy into three distinct federal regions so that the wealthy north no longer has to subsidize the poor south. However, he did say he would “increase neighbourhood police forces who would place themselves between the people of Italy and the army of evil.” Mr. Berlusconi’s remarks caused tremendous outrage and prompted Walter Veltroni of the Democratic Party who lost the election to remark: “I am horrified by his statements so far. His words do not add up to a good start.”

Note EU-Digest: Silvio Berlusconi is the worst possible choice for Italy at this stage of its history. It is sinking under a huge public debt, the heaviest tax burden in the euro zone, and the fastest aging workforce. Mr. Berlusconi probably realizes that the premier in a country with a 900-odd member parliament and numerous parties holds virtually no executive power. "He has no more projects," says Mr. Ferrara, an old fan. "He has no delusions. He has become very cynical. Italy is so hard to rule that Berlusconi probably figures, 'I won't try anything, I will go with the mainstream and give Italians what they want, shelter from competition, the tax man and most of all, "precariousness" of any kind". Italy today is like "a person on life support" and its re-elected leader Berlusconi provides no hope for change. Italy's problems and the election of Berlusconi prompted comedian Beppe Grillo to joke: "Please, invade us. Help us!"