Italian Elections: Berlusconi v Salvini: the bitter fight for control of Italy's right wing - by Stephanie Kirchgaessner

When Chi magazine published a photograph of Matteo Salvini’s fiancée Elisa Isoardi passionately kissing another man in Ibiza last year – the cover was emblazoned with the words “She loves another!” – it could have been shrugged off as typical tabloid fodder meant to embarrass a politician.

In Rome however, it was seen as something else: a hit job by the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi – who owns Chi – against Salvini, the far-right leader who is also Berlusconi’s key centre-right coalition partner as Italy heads to the polls in national elections next week.

Berlusconi and Salvini – who has transformed Lega (League, formerly the Northern League) from a fringe party to a major political force – have since buried the hatchet, presenting a more unified image to voters than their rivals on the left. While Lega historically focused its vitriol on southern Italians, calling them lazy and a drag on the rest of the country, Salvini – who dropped Nord from Lega Nord to distance himself from the party’s secessionist roots – has even gained support in the south with his persistent attacks on African migrants, who he has claimed are invading Italy.

Now, with polls showing they have 37% support of the electorate, the centre-right coalition is within sight of securing an absolute majority in parliament. A victory could give Berlusconi, who is the leader of the Forza Italia party, the power to choose the next prime minister of Italy. The 81-year-old is barred from running for office after a tax fraud conviction.

The Chi episode highlights the depth of the personal animosity, on top of serious policy differences, between him and Salvini, which raises questions about who would be calling the shots in the event of victory. Will it be Berlusconi’s more moderate positions or Salvini’s far-right populism?

At a political rally in 2016, Salvini declared that Lega would never again “be a slave”, least of all to Berlusconi.

“Berlusconi is certainly in charge. He is still the master of the party. But depending on the election result, the relative strength on the centre-right will be decided by the vote,” said Stefano Stefanini, a consultant who previously served as Italy’s ambassador to Nato. “Should the League do particularly well, and better than expected, then obviously Salvini will not take instructions from Berlusconi.”

Despite his past foibles, tax crimes, and political failures, the man known as Il Cavaliere (the knight) has emerged in the race as a relatively moderate statesman. Berluconi’s resurgence in Italian politics after his resignation from high office in 2013 has been welcomed with relief in Brussels, where he is seen as a predictable leader who can keep Italy’s populist and far-right forces – especially the Eurosceptic and anti-immigrant Salvini – in check.

Read  more: Berlusconi v Salvini: the bitter fight for control of Italy's right wing | World news | The Guardian

Italy: Silvio Berlusconi’s last act - by Jacopo Barigazzi

Berlusconi — notorious for his irreverent humor, gaffes, “Bunga-Bunga” sex scandals and his ability to escape prosecutors who for almost two decades have tried to nail him for tax evasion, corruption, false accounting and other crimes — has not said publicly that he’s quitting politics for good. But the mere suggestion that he is retiring as party leader is shifting the landscape as Italy once again faces questions about its economic stability and about political leadership.

Forza Italia has lost ground in parliament in recent years to the populist Northern League, which has had success luring center-right politicians with its anti-immigrant, Euroskeptic stance. In an environment of transformismo, with lawmakers switching parties in growing numbers, Forza Italia has been especially hard-hit — more than 100 leaving it for other parties. It’s also been slipping in the polls. In the 2013 national elections, his party lost more than 6 million votes from its showing in the previous elections in 2008, when it came first.

Part of that is due to Forza Italia’s association with Berlusconi — and the past.

“Italians are not prepared to believe in him anymore,” said pollster Roberto D’Alimonte. “He still has 10-15 percent support but he no longer has any chance of being a leader.”

For the complete report click here: Silvio Berlusconi’s last act – POLITICO

European Justice System: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi begins community service for tax fraud

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi began community service for tax fraud today in a spectacular fall from grace for the flamboyant ex-premier, who will likely seek political gain from the symbolic punishment.

The billionaire tycoon, who was convicted last year and has been expelled from parliament, has been ordered to work once a week for up to a year as a volunteer in a hospice for Alzheimer's patients near Milan.

Silvio Berlusconi began community service for tax fraud today in a spectacular fall from grace for the flamboyant ex-premier, who will likely seek political gain from the symbolic punishment.

Note EU-Digest: Bravo to the European Justice System (Italy) for having tackled this problem. Good example for US Judicial System to also go after "high profile" "too big to fail " US Bankers in the US,  who have dodged criminal prosecution.

Read more: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi begins community service for tax fraud - The Economic Times

Italy: Without Berlusconi Italian Conservative Party is lost says expert

The Italian Senate has voted to expel former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament over his conviction for tax fraud. The 77-year-old politician could now face arrest over other criminal cases, as he has lost his immunity from prosecution. Ahead of the vote, Mr.Berlusconi warned, though, that he would remain in politics.

Mr.Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012. He will have to serve a one-year sentence, probably under house arrest - because of his age. Anna Momigliano, an American-educated Italian journalist, currently based in Milan with main interest in international politics and new media, talked to Voice of Russia about the consequences of the event.

According to Ms Momigliano, “it is extremely unlikely that Berlusconi will actually go to jail.”
“Even if you were a common person, in Italy you don’t go to jail that easily if you are over 70 years of age, and he has a very good lawyer. So, the personal consequences for Berlusconi will be very-very slight. He might face one year of house arrest, but even that is unlikely. The consequences mainly are political.

He has led the Italian Conservative Party for more than 20 years and the Conservative Party without him is lost – they are split, they are withdrawn from the Government and they really don’t know where to put their heads,” - Ms Momigliano explained.

Talking about the plausible impact of Berlusconi’s party withdrawal from the Parliament, Ms Momigliano said: “In the immediate future the coalition Government will survive, because some Parliament members of Berlusconi’s party have split from the party and kept supporting the Government. This means that the left-wing Prime Minister Enrico Letta still has the number to govern. That said, this Government isn’t going to last very long, most likely we will have elections soon. And this is, of course, bad for Italy, because the economy, as you know, is very bad here and we keep having elections every one or two years and, of course, this is not good for business.”

Ms Momigliano said that it is hard to say whether Berlusconi still enjoys the support, because “over the years analysts have constantly underestimated Berlusconi’s popularity among the larger public. My general impression is that now people are very tired, they are worried about the economy, so his support isn’t as strong as it used to be. But I would not underestimate that.”

Read more: Without Berlusconi Italian Conservative Party is lost – expert - Analysis - Panorama | Armenian news

Italy crisis: PM Letta wins vote after humiliating climb-down by weakened Berlusconi

Weakened Silvio Berlusconi

Italian Premier Enrico Letta has won a confidence vote after a last-minute U-turn by former PM Silvio Berlusconi.

Berlusconi had initially demanded that five ministers from his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) leave the government, prompting the vote.

But he backed down when it became clear that several of his senators would back the government.
Mr Letta had earlier said that if he were defeated in the vote, it might prove fatal for Italy.

Berlusconi, a three-time prime-minister, has been forced into a humiliating climb-down and will emerge a weakened figure with his capacity to influence Italian politics diminished.

When he finally rose to speak in the Senate, Berlusconi said: "Italy needs a government that can produce structural and institutional reforms. We have decided, not without internal strife, to back the confidence vote."

Read more: BBC News - Italy crisis: PM Letta wins vote after Berlusconi U-turn

Italian government breaks up after Berlusconi pulls out ministers

Italian centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi pulled his ministers out of the cabinet on Saturday, effectively bringing down the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta and leaving the euro-zone's third-largest economy in chaos.

Talks will now start to find a new parliamentary majority to back a new cabinet and avoid going back to elections just seven months after the last one.


Read more: Italian government breaks up after Berlusconi pulls out ministers | Reuters

Italy: Silvio Berlusconi step closer to expulsion from Italy Senate

Supporters of Silvio Berlusconi have lost an Italian Senate committee vote, bringing his expulsion from parliament a step closer.

Allies of the former prime minister and convicted fraudster had tried to block his disqualification from public office, but this was voted down.

Earlier, Berlusconi vowed to stay in politics even if he was expelled.

There had been fears his supporters could topple the ruling coalition over the issue.

According to a 2012 anti-corruption law, Berlusconi should be ejected from the upper house after the supreme court last month upheld his fraud conviction.

The decision will now need to be confirmed by a vote of the full Senate next month.
The expulsion process will now go ahead and in the coming weeks Berlusconi is very likely to be formally barred from holding public office
Read more: BBC News - Silvio Berlusconi step closer to expulsion from Italy Senate

Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed

Italy's highest court has upheld a prison sentence given to former PM Silvio Berlusconi for tax evasion.

The court also ordered a further judicial review on whether he should be banned from holding public office.

In an emotional video statement, Berlusconi denounced the decision as "based on nothing, and which deprives me of my freedom and political rights".

The sentence cannot be appealed against further but Berlusconi, 76, is unlikely to go to jail because of his age.
The ruling by Rome's Court of Cassation came after a three-day hearing. Berlusconi was not in court.

Read more: BBC News - Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed

Italy: Berlusconi sentenced to prison in ‘Rubygate’ sex trial

A Milan court found former PM Silvio Berlusconi guilty on Monday of paying for sex with a minor and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Berlusconi, who is also barred for life from holding public office, will remain free pending an appeal.

Read more: Berlusconi sentenced to prison in ‘Rubygate’ sex trial - ITALY - FRANCE 24

Italy: Polls - Berlusconi would win new elections

Silvio Berlusconi’s center-right coalition would win if the current deadlock forces new elections in Italy, but would fail to get enough votes for an overall majority in Parliament, polls showed April 12.

A poll by the SWG Institute gave Berlusconi’s coalition 32.4 percent of the vote, compared to Pier Luigi Bersani’s center-left forces at 30.0 percent. The anti-establishment Five Star Movement would get 24.0 percent.

 The poll, based on 1,500 respondents and with a margin of error of 2.9 percent, indicated that support for the center-left and the Five Star Movement has ebbed since Feb. 24-25 elections while backing for Berlusconi has risen.

Read more: EUROPE - Berlusconi would win new elections: Polls

Italy's Bersani keen to soften tough reform plans

Initial results point to Italy's center-left alliance as the largest group in the newly-elected parliament. Former Communist Pier Luigi Bersani could be the next premier. 

The election campaign was fierce and personal. In one television program, 61-year-old Pier Luigi Bersani said that he has no problem with his own bald head with its halo of black hair around the sides - an allusion to his main rival, Silvio Berlusconi.

Bersani, who is not a man of grandiose gestures and likes to keep things simple, differs markedly from Berlusconi, who makes no effort to hide his repeated face-liftings and hair implants. Quite the contrary: the 76-year-old Berlusconi even makes fun of his age and the attempts to regain his youth. "I used to look younger. Who was it that got rid of all the mirrors that showed that?" he said with a wry smile during an election rally.

Read more: Italy's Bersani keen to soften tough reform plans | Europe | DW.DE | 25.02.2013

Italian Election Chaos: Centre-left and Berlusconi neck and neck in Italy poll - by Benjamin Dodman

Voting has ended in Italy's general election, with wildly conflicting projections pointing to a far closer race than initially thought, after a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by a spate of corruption scandals involving all the major parties.

Italy's general election descended into chaos on Monday amid conflicting reports pointing first to a victory for the centre-left alliance of Pier Luigi Bersani and then for Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc.

As voting ended at 3pm on Monday, exit polls for the key Senate race gave the centre-left coalition led by Pier Luigi Bersani between 36% and 38% of the vote, followed by Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right bloc (30%-32%) and the anti-establishment movement of firebrand comedian Beppe Grillo (17%-19%).
But less than an hour later, early results pointed to yet another spectacular comeback by the “Cavaliere”.

Final results for the Senate are expected later in the afternoon. Election officials will then begin counting votes cast for the lower house of parliament.
A complex electoral system, dubbed “porcellum” (or pigsty), means all eyes will be on a handful of hotly contested Senate races, including in Lombardy, Sicily and the Campania region around Naples.

The inconclusive poll follows a lacklustre campaign overshadowed by a spate of corruption scandals involving all the major parties.

The reports fueled anger among voters burdened by unpopular austerity measures and surging unemployment.

Even by the self-deprecating standards of Italy, the frustration and despair sensed at polling stations appeared to have reached unprecedented levels.

“We are in economic, cultural and moral decline, so it is no surprise our politics go the same way,” said one voter outside Florence's Liceo Machiavelli.

 Read more: talian polit

Italian Elections: Berlusconi flexes media muscle in final tax offensive

With Italy's general election just days away, Silvio Berlusconi is using his unrivalled media reach to focus the political debate on a single issue: his promise to repeal an unpopular property tax introduced by Mario Monti's technocratic government.

Berlusconi's move sparked outrage among his rivals, with Monti warning him against “trying to buy the people's vote with the state's money”.

Antonio Ingroia, a former anti-mafia magistrate and leader of the left-wing Civic Revolution party, said Berlusconi had committed a crime and should be prosecuted.

As for Bersani, he likened the Cavaliere to a modern Achille Lauro, the notoriously corrupt mayor of Naples in the 1950s who bought votes with food and shoes  -- “albeit a stingier one," Bersani said, "because at least Lauro gave the people some pasta”.
Read more:: Berlusconi flexes media muscle in final tax offensive - ITALY - FRANCE 24

Italy's Monti wants to block Berlusconi comeback: say analysts

Mario Monti's offer to stay on as prime minister is motivated by a wish to prevent the scandal-tainted Silvio Berlusconi from returning to power and undoing key reforms, analysts said Monday.

"Berlusconi is the number one adversary. Monti's objective is in part a clear attempt to destroy him politically," Stefano Folli, political commentator for Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper, told AFP.

The outgoing premier, who resigned Friday after 13 months at the head of an unelected team of technocrats to take the helm of a caretaker government, said Sunday that he would consider leading a pro-reform coalition in elections set for February 24-25 -- though not as a formal candidate.

Read more: Italy's Monti wants to block Berlusconi comeback: analysts - FRANCE 24

Europe hails great Monti as Italy crisis hits markets

European partners heaped praise on outgoing Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Monday, and called for the next government to stick to his reform agenda after his surprise decision to resign rattled financial markets.

Monti's weekend announcement that he would step down early - made after former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's PDL party withdrew its support for his technocrat government - pushed up Italy's borrowing costs and prompted a stock market sell-off.

The campaign for an election expected in February is likely to be fought over Monti's reform agenda, which Berlusconi said had condemned Italy to recession and forced him reluctantly to run for a fifth term as prime minister.

By contrast, senior Europeans warned that Monti's policies must continue to prevent a return of the crisis which brought him to power a year ago to avert a Greek-style collapse.

"Monti was a great prime minister of Italy and I hope that the policies he put in place will continue after the elections," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in Oslo, where he was part of a European Union delegation receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

The comments echoed similar remarks in the past two days from European policymakers ranging from French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to the head of the European bailout fund Klaus Regling and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos warned that instability in Italy could spill over and put Spain's fragile public finances at risk of further turmoil.

After several weeks of calm, markets bridled at the prospect of Berlusconi's return to lead the center-right, just over a year after a financial crisis drove the scandal-plagued billionaire from office to be replaced by Monti's technocrats.

Opinion polls suggest Berlusconi has little chance of re-election. The center-left Democratic Party (PD) under Pier Luigi Bersani holds a strong lead and is likely to form the next government on a broadly pro-European platform, largely in line with Monti's agenda.

Read more: Europe hails great Monti as Italy crisis hits markets | Reuters

Italy: Silvio Berlusconi given four years' jail for tax fraud, cut to one year

Italy's media tycoon and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was briefly sentenced to four years in prison for tax fraud connected to his Mediaset empire and banned from holding public office for five years by a Milan court.

But the court immediately cut the sentence to one year under an amnesty law approved by the then center-left government in 2006 to reduce the overcrowding of Italian prisons.

Berlusconi condemned as "unreal" his tax fraud conviction and said it was the result of "politicised" judges who have made Italy unlivable and no longer a democracy.

Berlusconi spoke to his Mediaset television station after a Milan court convicted him of tax fraud concerning the purchase of rights to broadcast U.S. movies on his private TV networks. He was sentenced to four years in prison though he remains free until all appeals are exhausted.

Read more: Silvio Berlusconi given four years' jail for tax fraud, cut to one year | The Australian

Silvio Berlusconi may have screwed Europe – not just Italy : by John Foot

What is happening in Italy? Old stereotypes have been common in recent reporting of the worsening crisis in the eurozone. These Mediterranean countries with their big state debts, "problems" with criminality and established black economies have frequently been lumped together as the "sick men of Europe": lazy, unproductive, with trade unions who go on strike and people who protest in the streets.

How outdated they are! Yet this kind of analysis is almost useless in helping us understand what is happening in Italy, and why is it taking place now. It also gives us no insight into the deep human costs produced by Italy's current problems.

There is no doubt that the Italian economy is in deep trouble. The huge state debt has been in place for decades. Savage cuts have hit the education and the university sector. Many young people find it almost impossible to find stable work, thanks to a massive increase in the flexible nature of the labour market, something that has been pushed by governments of both the left and right in the 1990s and 2000s.

As a result, a whole generation is being systematically excluded from professional work and state institutions. The brightest minds have left, but many highly talented Italians still work for nothing in the vain hope of a future post. I know many brilliant historians who have published books and articles of the highest quality, but who are effectively unemployed right into their 40s and 50s, and are forced to humiliate themselves by hanging on to their patron's coat tails for years. Italy has always been something of a gerontocracy, but this tendency has worsened considerable in recent times.

For more: Silvio Berlusconi may have screwed Europe – not just Italy | John Foot | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Italy: Is Berlusconi finally heading for the Court?

Silvio Berlusconi's ongoing battle with the Italian justice system has reached uncharted territory with magistrates calling for him to stand immediate trial on sex and corruption charges.

The billionaire, 74, who has faced dozens of indictments but always survived, could be in the dock by Easter charged with having sex with an under-age belly dancer named Ruby and abusing his office to cover it up.

"For the first time he'll be on trial for something straightforward and lurid: under-age sex and/or covering it up, and something that happened recently, not some hoary old probe into accounting misdemeanours," said Professor James Walston of the American University in Rome.

Note EU-Digest:  Berlusconi  has already  faced 2,568 court hearings – although he has turned up in person to very few – and more than 100 different legal cases, according to his spokesman.  But he has never been definitively convicted of any crime, and has repeatedly accused Italy's judiciary of trying to destroy him politically.

For more: Is Berlusconi heading for the dock? - Europe, World - The Independent

Italy's top bishop slams Berlusconi for scandal

Italy's top bishop issued scathing criticism of Premier Silvio Berlusconi for his role in a sex scandal Monday, insisting that public officials must control themselves and warning of the damage to the country and its reputation.


Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the head of the Italian bishops' conference, said Italians were fed up with the scandal and its domination of the political scene, and said the matter should be resolved quickly.

"It's easy to foresee that within the collective soul, this could leave profound marks, if not true wounds," Bagnasco warned at a meeting of the bishops' decision-making body.

For more: Italy's top bishop slams Berlusconi for scandal - World news - Europe - msnbc.com

Italy: Clashes in Rome after Berlusconi wins vote of confidence

Protesters set cars alight and hurled cobblestones at police in chaotic scenes in central Rome after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a crucial confidence vote in parliament.

Berlusconi won with a razor-thin majority, as 314 politicians voted in his favour with 311 against and two abstentions in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies lower house.

Police fired tear gas and hit protesters with truncheons in some of Rome's most tourist-heavy streets. At least five protesters were seen being taken away by police and several could be seen with blood running down their faces.

For more: Clashes in Rome after Berlusconi wins vote of confidence