In Italy, we are used to Berlusconi’s trials. Yet, they are still worth discussing.
Just last month, an appeals court confirmed his sentence for
tax fraud over deals made by his TV firm Mediaset (http://italianfactsrd.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/berlusconi-sentenced-to-jail-for-major.html).
Today, the Milan Court sentenced him to 7 years in jail and banned
him from public office for life, after finding him guilty of child prostitution
and abuse of power.
Silvio Berlusconi, Karima El Mahroug ("Ruby")
According to the Court, Berlusconi paid to have sex with a
Moroccan girl, Karima El Mahroug (known as Ruby “the heart-stealer”), when she
was only 17 (and he was aware of her age). He also allegedly pressured the
Milan central police station in order to have her released when she was
arrested for theft in May 2010. This episode became particularly famous in
Italy, because in order to have her free Berlusconi said one of his most
colossal lies: he told the police station to let her go because she was Mubarak’s
niece (Mubarak being the former Egyptian president) and they had to avoid a
diplomatic incident.
Berlusconi will not spend time in jail unless the sentence
is confirmed by the appeals court, and this would take a very long time. Nevertheless,
this sentence is historical for Italy because it will certainly have major
repercussions on the current government, a grand coalition that cannot survive
without the support of Berlusconi’s party.
A few days ago an MP from The People of Freedom claimed that
the whole party would resign in case of a conviction. Even if this does not
happen, the leftist Democratic Party will be asked to explain how they intend
to remain in government with The People of Freedom, now that Berlusconi has
been sentenced in (another) trial.
Berlusconi’s sentence is the most attention-grabbing recent
event in Italian politics. Letta’s government is doing very little but stalling
(see the Financial Times “Letta’s lethargy”).
Now, in a country where government crises happen for much less,
this sentence may bring us back to the polls even earlier than we expected.
No comments:
Post a Comment