Italian opposition in mass anti-Berlusconi rally 11/05/2011

[hvactec]

Italy's opposition turned out en masse on the streets of Rome Saturday to demand Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, accusing the prime minister of dragging the country into bankruptcy and global shame.

Italy's opposition turned out en masse on the streets of Rome Saturday to demand Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, accusing the prime minister of dragging the country into bankruptcy and global shame.

But the 75-year-old "Cavaliere", back to his defiant self after returning from Cannes where the G-20 humiliatingly placed Italy's economy under surveillance, tried to dispel mounting speculation he could step aside.

With "Silvio out!" as a rallying cry, tens of thousands of people heeded the call by the main left-wing Democratic Party and rallied to pile pressure on Berlusconi.

Energised by the large turnout, Democratic Party boss Pier Luigi Bersani blamed Berlusconi for Italy's financial woes and joined a growing chorus demanding early elections.

"Italy is on the most exposed side of the crisis because of an incompetent and discredited government," he said after singing the Italian anthem with a crowd all in the national colours of green, white and red.

"For the country's reconstruction, we urge Italians to put us to the test government and we will show them that we can be a reform party," he said.

At a summit of the world's 20 richest nations in the French resort of Cannes this week, leaders apparently unimpressed with Berlusconi's austerity package decided to put the country's economy under surveillance.

Europe's leaders fear that a collapse of Greece's economy, which is currently hanging by a thread, could have a domino effect and spread to the much larger economies of Italy and Spain next.

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said that Italy's main problem was "a lack of credibility".

The billionaire prime minister played down the gravity of the economic crisis with a trademark quip, claiming that "restaurants are full and the planes fully booked."

"I go to restaurants... to do the washing up," read one banner at Saturday's mass demonstration.

"The sooner we send them to the junkyard the better," read one large placard at the rally, plastered with the pictures of Berlusconi's ministers, as pressure mounted on the 75-year-old leader's government.

The placard also included pictures of his lawyer Niccolo Ghedini and Nicole Minetti, the curvaceous former showgirl who was promoted as regional councillor in Milan after serving as Berlusconi's dental hygienist.

Both are symbols of what the opposition sees as a corrupt administration.

read more Italian opposition in mass anti-Berlusconi rally -  Berita teranyar dunia dan pengembangan terdekat dengan tanah air - MSN Indonesia News

 

[Sallow]

Bound to happen. One of the most conservative Italian Prime Ministers in quite some time.

 

[waltky]

Silvio ain't goin' quietly...

Berlusconi threatens to bring down Monti government
Sat Oct 27, 2012 - Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday his centre-right bloc may withdraw its support from the government of Mario Monti, a move that could throw Italy into political chaos ahead of next April's national elections.

"We have to recognize the fact that the initiative of this government is a continuation of a spiral of recession for our economy," Berlusconi told a news conference in northern Italy a day after he was convicted and sentenced to four years for tax fraud related to his Mediaset media empire. "Together with my collaborators we will decide in the next few days whether it is better to immediately withdraw our confidence in this government or keep it, given the elections that are scheduled," he said.

The Monti government of non-elected technocrats is supported by the centre-left, the centre-right and the centre. It would lose its majority and have to resign if the entire centre-right, including Berlusconi's PDL party, withdrew support. Monti took office as prime minister last November when Italy's bond yields were soaring. He has pushed through tax hikes, spending cuts and a pension overhaul to cut public debt which is running at 126 percent of gross domestic product, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Unemployment in Italy has risen to 10.7 percent, its highest level since monthly records began in 2004, and unions are locked in disputes with companies over plant closures and layoffs. Berlusconi, a 76-year-old billionaire media magnate, gave no precise timing for when the decision on whether to keep supporting Monti or not would be made. An indication of the centre-right's strength will come on Sunday when Sicilians go to the polls to elect a new regional government.

ATTACKS GERMANY, MERKEL, SARKOZY

 

[waltky]

Italy's top court upholds Silvio's conviction...

Italy's top court confirms Berlusconi conviction
Aug 1,`13 -- Italy's highest court on Thursday upheld ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi's four-year prison sentence for tax fraud, the first time the former premier and billionaire media mogul has definitely been convicted of any crime.

The tensely awaited ruling, however, ordered a review a five-year ban on public office that was part of the lower court's sentence. Another court will now have to determine the length of a public office ban. A state prosecutor had recommended this week that the political ban be reduced to three years because of conflicting laws on public office bans.

Berlusconi is unlikely to actually go to prison. Three years will be shaved off as part of a general pardon aimed at easing prison crowding, and it is unusual for defendants to serve sentences of just one year for a first offense, particularly at Berlusconi's age.

But his conviction heightens pressure on Premier Enrico Letta's fragile coalition government as some in the center-left may find it unpalatable to continue in a government with a party whose leader has been convicted of a crime.

Berlusconi, 76, awaited the sentence at his residence in central Rome with his lawyers, deputy party leader Angelino Alfano and his eldest daughter, Marina, all of whom were seen entering the building in the hours leading up to the announcement.

Source

See also:

Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed
1 August 2013 > Italy's supreme court has upheld a one-year prison sentence given to former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud.

It is the billionaire businessman's first definitive conviction in up to 30 court cases on a variety of charges. However, the court ordered a review of a five-year ban on public office that was part of the original sentence. Berlusconi faces house arrest or community service instead of going to jail because of his age - he is 76.

When Berlusconi was convicted in October last year, he was sentenced to four years in prison but this was automatically reduced to one under a 2006 pardon law. The ruling by Rome's Court of Cassation came after a three-day hearing. The judicial review of the five-year ban from public office will enable Berlusconi to remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for the moment.

The PDL is part of Italy's coalition government. The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says Berlusconi remains an influential figure and there are concerns that a political ban could threaten the stability of the government. The original ruling said that his Mediaset media empire had raised the price of film distribution rights artificially high, to avoid incurring a higher tax bill.

Berlusconi was labelled the "author of a whole system of tax fraud". The three-time prime minister and senator has faced a string of court cases. Appeals are pending in other cases in which he was convicted of having paid for sex with an underage prostitute and arranging for a police wiretap to be leaked and published in a newspaper. He accuses magistrates from his home city of Milan of pursuing a "vendetta" against him.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23542525

 

[Vikrant]

They have very corrupt political and social environment there.