Silvio Berlusconi

Seeing as I’ve been out of action for a while, I thought I’d kick off with a brief post-flu round up of what has been in the news in Italy recently. To be honest, there is not much which is all that new. It’s all variations on old themes really. Theme 1 – Berlusconi Let’s face it, Italy would be a dull place without Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi has weathered quite a few scandals remarkably well, which is more than can be said of transsexual prostitute frequenting ex, but not quite, head of Italy’s Lazio region, Piero Marrazzo . Nearly former politician Marrazzo, however, is ... Read Full Story

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will go go on trial on corruption charges November 27, judicial sources said Saturday, after a top court this month stripped him of his immunity. The trial was suspended last year after Italy's parliament passed legislation giving the premier immunity. But the Constitutional Court struck down the law on October 7, paving the way for legal cases against Berlusconi to resume. Berlusconi is accused of paying his British former tax lawyer, David Mills, 600,000 dollars (400,000 euros) to give false evidence in two trials in the 1990s. Mills, who was tried separately, is appealing a guilty verdict delivered in ... Read Full Story

The corruption trial against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will take place on November 27, judicial sources said Saturday, after a high court this month stripped him of his immunity. The trial was suspended last year after Italy's parliament passed legislation giving the premier immunity, but the Constitutional Court struck down the law on October 7, paving the way for legal cases against Berlusconi to resume. Berlusconi is accused of paying his British former tax lawyer, David Mills, 600,000 dollars (400,000 euros) to give false evidence in two trials in the 1990s. Mills, who was tried separately, is appealing a guilty verdict delivered in ... Read Full Story

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has no intention of resigning even if he were convicted in one of the trials against him, he said in an interview for a book to be published next week. The conservative leader faces two trials next month following a decision by Italy's top court to lift his immunity from prosecution and allow legal proceedings against him to resume. One, due to start on November 16, sees him accused of tax fraud and false accounting in the management of his media companies. It involves the acquisition of TV rights by Mediaset which, according to prosecutors, bought ... Read Full Story

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will stand trial on corruption charges, authorities said Saturday, as the premier defiantly insisted he would not step down even if found guilty. A trial date was set of November 27 for the corruption trial, judicial sources said, following a top court's decision earlier this month to strip Berlusconi of his immunity from prosecution. But the scandal-plagued premier, whose political career has been marked by repeated battles with the law, said a conviction would only toughen his resolve to cling to office, in comments published Saturday. "I still have confidence in the existence of serious magistrates who issue serious ... Read Full Story