Silvio Berlusconi: the man of 2,500 court hearings

This article is taken from the Daily Telegraph (26/10/2012), the bold is mine, no need to add anything else, I'm sure the pattern is pretty easy to spot.

The Italian media mogul himself claims to have spent more than 200 million euros on lawyers to defend him.

In 2009 he declared he was "absolutely the most persecuted man by the judiciary in all the history of the entire world".

Mr Berlusconi is currently on trial in a court in Milan on charges of abuse of office and paying for sex with an alleged under-age prostitute, a Moroccan-born erotic dancer nicknamed 'Ruby the Heart Stealer'. He is alleged to have tried to hush up the affair by having her released from police custody in Milan after she was arrested on suspicion of stealing from a female acquaintance. Mr Berlusconi denies the charges.

But he has never been definitively convicted of any crime.

He has either defeated the charges on appeal – under Italian law he is entitled to two levels of appeal – or the cases have timed out under Italy’s statute of limitations.

Here are some of the most significant allegations of the past 22 years.

In 1990 Mr Berlusconi was declared guilty of false testimony over his membership of "Progaganda 2", a right-wing Masonic lodge which was described as a "state within a state" and counted among its members prominent industrialists, politicians, military leaders and journalists.
However, an amnesty passed the previous year meant that a court did not pass sentence on Mr Berlusconi.

In 1994, shortly after he was elected as prime minister for the first time, he was accused of bribing a member of the financial police. He was sentenced in 1997 to 33 months in prison but was acquitted on appeal in 2000 because the time limit for the offence expired.

In 1995 Mr Berlusconi was accused of having bought the football player Gianluigi Lentini for his AC Milan club with money from a slush fund. The signing for £13m in 1992 made Lentini the world's most expensive player at the time and the subsequent allegations attracted worldwide attention. However, in 2002 Mr Berlusconi pushed a law through parliament which partially decriminalised false accounting, and ensured that he would not stand trial for the accusations.

Again in 1995 Mr Berlusconi was accused of false accounting in his purchase of the Medusa cinema company, and he was later sentenced to 16 months in prison in 1997. However, he was acquitted on appeal in 2000. That judgment was upheld by the Italian supreme court in 2001.

Also in 1995 the Italian premier was accused of illegally financing the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) through an offshore company. He was sentenced to two years and four months in jail for paying 21 billion lire (about 10 million euros, or £8.3 million) to Bettino Craxi, his mentor and a former prime minister, via an offshore bank account code-named "All Iberian". But the case was later dropped because the limitation period expired.

In 1998 Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing a judge during his holding company Fininvest's buy-out of the Mondadori publishing house. A prima facie case was issued, but the magistrate decided to drop the charges. The state attorney appealed against that decision. At the appeal level the case timed out under the statute of limitations.

Again in 1998, Mr Berlusconi was accused of bribing judges to block the buy-out of the food industry conglomerate SME by the Italian industrialist Carlo De Benedetti in 1985. The supreme court acquitted Mr Berlusconi in 2007.

In March 2006, Milan prosecutors asked a judge to order David Mills, a British lawyer and the estranged husband of former cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, and Mr Berlusconi to stand trial on corruption charges. Mills was sentenced in February 2009 to four years and six months in prison for accepting a £400,000 bribe from Mr Berlusconi to give false evidence on his behalf in corruption trials in 1997 and 1998.
The sentence was overturned a year later. Mr Berlusconi was jointly accused when the trial began but his government passed a law last year giving the prime minister and other top Italian officials immunity from prosecution.

In July 2008, Mr Berlusconi and others were acquitted by a Spanish court after being indicted for charges of tax fraud and violation of antitrust laws regarding the private TV network Telecinco.

 

Italians are 'choosy'

Elsa Fornero, the Italian Minister for Work and Pensions under the Monti Government, said during a press conference this week, that young people shouldn't be too choosy when looking for a job, especially if it's the first one.

I must say that I broadly agree with her and, writing in English for a non-Italian audience, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. However, to say that in Italy it's probably only a bit less unpopular than admitting to like the gnamgnam style (which I hate BTW).

Although it is very true that most young people cannot find any job at the moment, let alone the DREAM job, it is also true that in Italy it's not unusual for "young" people to complete a 3-year undergraduate course in 10 years, while getting no work experience and being supported by their parents.

Facebook and Twitter are exploding with claims that she is out of touch and has no idea of what the situation is, propelled by headlines in every single media outlet where a small sentence has been taken out of context to generate headlines and create the choosygate.

Ms Fornero must have one of the most difficult jobs at the moment, being minister for Work and Pensions in a country when there's no work and no much money for pensions, to me she's doing quite a good job. The current Government is actually trying to build opportunities for young people, something that to be honest the Berlusconi Government also did very well, but only if you were young, female and willing to sleep with him with absolutely no CV (in that case you might even be made Minister of Education, Environment or Equal Opportunities).

Elsa Fornero

The shadow of Berlusconi

I have been extremely quiet on my blog recently for various reasons.

The main reason is that this blog started out of the frustration caused by the politics in Italy and especially by Berlusconi, and as he has been removed from power, in a way I had less to write about.

However, with a bit more time in my hands these days I have been wanting to start writing again, and today's news of his court appearance gave me the final push. It is sadly clear that this man has no intention to go away, and he is still fooling most of the population. Italians have a very short memory and are still fooled by his media power. Watch one day of Italian TV, and you'll see pensioners claiming that it's better to "be like him, than be a faggot", housewives justifying that "he needs a little release because he works so hard" and so on.

He still manages to bring out very strong feelings from the population, you either hate him or love him, but I'm afraid those who love him might be the majority.

With an opposition still in shambles, and his party that cannot survive without him, I can only pray that Monti stays where he is for as long as possible. Supporting somebody that has not been democratically elected goes against every principle I believe in, but when I look at what's happening in Greece I can't help but thinking that without him, Italy would be exactly in the same situation.

Blame it on the "un****able fat ****"

If you put together the worst, most right-wing and xenophobic aspects of the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Daily Express you might get an idea of what kind of newspaper the Berlusconi-owned Il Giornale is in Italy. Only you need to add a number of journalists that can barely make sense and write a grammatically correct sentence and you get the picture.

Il Giornale's editor Alessandro Sallusti today has written article that even by his low-standards can only be considered disgraceful. The title says it all, and really doesn't need much comment: Blame It On The Fat Ar**.

The article refers to the news published by the WSJ which claims that Angela Merkel has pushed Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to ouster the dwarf Silvi Berlusconi. Ms. Merkel is called Fat Ar** following a wiretapped phone call in which the dwarf Berlusconi referred to her as such.

The article is symptomatic of the normal behaviour of Berlusconi's owned media. If you are against him, every weapon to denigrate you is legitimated, nevermind if politicians should be judged by the size of their brain rather than the size of their butt.

Il Giornale made sure to chose a picture of Ms Merkel at her worst

2011 Review

So many things happened in 2011, it's hard to remember them all. The always helpful Google has posted the Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review video, to remember all the bad (Japan Earthquacke, Brasil Floods, Various Deaths - Amy, Steve Jobs, Liz Taylor, etc.) and good (Southern Sudan Independence, Arab Spring, Occupy Movement, etc) things happened this year:

One thing is missing from this video, Berlusconi's resignation as Italian Prime Minister. Here's a video of that historical night:

Berlusconi/Pinocchio: Spot the difference

If Mario Monti has been compared to Super Mario, the dwarf Silvio Berlusconi can easily be compared to Pinocchio.

I'm not just talking about the lies, but about that thing on his head his hair. Berlusconi seems to have been inspired by the famous puppet for his latest hairdo.

Berlusconi at a conference in Verona yesterday

Pinocchio, spot the difference

Il Vero Amore AKA The Real Sh*T

As if it wasn't enough all the bad things he has done to Italy, the dwarf Berlusconi, who once said he was only a part-time Prime Minister, is inflicting us a new CD of horrible songs with cheesy lyrics authored by him and sang by Mariano Apicella, the most untalented singer on earth.

If you are brave enough here's a small sample. Beware Michael Buble', Berlusconi is coming after you!

Welcome to Super Mario

When I started writing this blog, just over a month ago, I had no idea how things would change so quickly. Not in my wildest dreams I thought that the dwarf Berlusconi would have resigned. It was so nice to see the Italians celebrating their joy and the whole world praising his exit. The question that night was "what's gonna happen now?" and the answer was "I don't know, but it can't been worse than what it has been for the past 17 years".

President Napolitano had a key role in setting up a new Government so quickly, and Mario Monti, a man that couldn't be more far away from Berlusconi's nasty image, seems to have the skills and knowledge to be a good Prime Minister. Italians are not entirely happy (we like to complain), because this Government has not been democratically elected, but look what we have done the last time we had the chance to elect someone?

A technocratic Government is Italy best bet in my opinion at the moment. The economy has been neglected for so long, the parliament has been filled with incompetent show biz people that know nothing on how to run a country, it is finally reassuring to see people that have academic knowledge and business experience to be in charge.

People are worried because the connection of Monti et al. with the banks, but then again, that's what runs the economy and at least they will have the inside knowledge necessary to lift Italy up.

So go Super Mario go!

Silvio Berlusconi 1993-2011

After Mubarak and Gaddafi, 2011 has been a great year for democracy. The day I have been waiting for so long has finally come, the end of the era of the dwarf!

Who's laughing now?!

River of rubbish

Some really shocking images from Naples. Following heavy rain and flooding, a small river carrying tons and tons of rubbish. Berlusconi claimed he had solved the rubbish crisis in Naples.

Sora Cesira on Berlusconi's resignation

In all this seriousness and dispair regarding the Italian economy, thought I would share a video made by the incredible Sora Cesira on Berlusconi's resignation, based on a parody of Kate Bush's Babushka. It's in Ital-English, but shouldn't be too difficult to understand for the non Italian speakers.

Berlusconi resigning? No.3

Well, this time the title should be: Berlusconi resigning!

It's pretty much clear that the dwarf will resign in two weeks time. This time is different from before, I'm convinced that he will finally be out of the political scene. Even his allies want to be dissociated from him now.

The future is still very uncertain, elections too soon are not good, as the opposition is not ready yet. A government led by technocrats sounds like the best option to try to sort out the mess Italy is in at the moment.

Anyway, this is the start of a new era, his time is definitely up!

Are you worried now?

Berlusconi resigning? No.2

Tonight I will go to bed hoping that tomorrow will be the last day of the dwarf Berlusconi's Government.

What an historic day would it be? The rumours started in the morning, when Giuliano Ferrara, a journalist close to Berlusconi and one of his biggest a**-kissers supporters, announced that the prime minister was going to resign within hours. Berlusconi denied the rumours, but tomorrow confidence vote could force him to finally resign.

We have been there before, so I don't want to have my hopes too high, but what is certain now is that we are getting closer and closer to the end of the Berlusconi era in Italy.

Honestly, this man has no idea!

Not that we needed any more proof that Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy and has no idea of what's going on around him, but here's an allarming quote from the G20 published by the Guardian:

Berlusconi, facing defections from his own party, insisted he had invited the IMF to offer advice. He said on Friday he had rejected an offer of IMF funds. "I don't think Italy needs that," he said, claiming his country was more solid than France or the UK. "Italian restaurants and vacation spots are always full. Nobody has the sense the country is in a crisis".


Nobody has the sense the country is in a crisi? NOBODY HAS THE SENSE THE COUNTRY IS IN A CRISIS? NOBODY HAS THE SENSE THE COUNTRY IS IN A CRISIS?


Seriously mr. dwarf Berlusconi, are your eyes covered with parma ham (as the Italians say)? You must be the only person who has no sense the country is in a crisis, because everyone else does! Ask the thousands of graduates that have no hope of finding a job and still live with their parents in their 30s, or the young people that go abroad cause they are fed up with the Italian system, or the pensioners that struggle to get to the end of the month, or the people that have been working on the black market (as they have no other option) and won't even get a pension when they are too old to work, or basically just ask everyone that is not one of the prostitutes and mercenaries that surrounds you, because everyone will tell you that the country is not just in a crisis, is in a bloody mess!

Even at the G20 we all know what he was
really thinking about

Berlusconi - media mogul, prime minister, sex trafficker, etc..

Silvio Berlusconi has a long and extensive CV which includes entries such as mafioso, prime minister of Italy, media mogul, president of AC Milan, singer/songwriter and, only recently, sex trafficker.

He was in fact mentioned in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2011 published by the U.S. Department of State for facilitating child prostitution, due to his involvement in the infamous Rubygate.

To be totally honest, Berlusconi is still under trial for underage prostitution, and therefore innocent until proven guilty, but his mention in the report is definitely a further embarrassment for the country. I believe that in every other democratic country he would have no choice but to resign, how in Italy he is still allowed to stay in power is beyond my understanding.

The Dangerous Buffoon

The thing I notice the most when I read Berlusconi-related news in the UK is that nobody takes him seriously anymore; they see him as a buffoon, but they seem to forget that he's the leader of one of the largest European economies and his poor management of the country can have effects on a global scale.

Tim Parks wrote a very good commentary for the Evening Standard. The title makes a very good point "Berlusconi's leering pantomime could hurt us all"...it is a pantomime, but one to be taken seriously. Mr. Parks also well describes the frustration of many italians (including myself):

"Why aren't Italians tearing their hair out in exasperation? Some are. But for the past decade and more, Berlusconi has enjoyed almost total control of the country's television, and the message has been that the economy is sound. An enormous number of people buy into that. Denial is always comfortable. Others comment with amused irony, as if all this were happening on another planet."

Well, my hope is that those Italians who are in exasperation are actually the majority of the country, and this exasperation will be reflected in a defeat for Berlusconi's party in the next elections. However, my worry is that we are still a minority, and the brainwashed ones his supporters will want to secure five more years of denial.

Berlusconi resigning?

Rumours of a possible resignation of Silvio Berlusconi before Christmas have set the web on fire this morning. Nothing has been confirmed, and to be honest I don't want to set my hopes too high, but if confirmed, the news will definitely be welcomed by many.

My question is, given that polls show an all-time low in the popularity of the Italian Prime Minister, wouldn't this be political suicide? Knowing him, probably not.

The opposition in Italy is still not strong enough, they still haven't got a leader that could run for elections if called too early, and most of all, they do not have a political programme. I feel that the past campaigns of the left in Italy have been disastrous, it seems that all they can do is to argue against everything that Berlusconi says, rather than come up with something new. He does cast a big shadow, but the opposition's best bet would be, in my opinion, to simply try to forget about him. Someone said that all publicity is good publicity, and this is definitely true. If in Italy we can't have a political debate without mentioning him, then we won't be able to move on.

Thinking about elections next spring makes me excited, but am not sure if I should be more scared instead?

Aren't you tired Mr. Berlusconi?

Merkel and Sarkozy on Berlusconi

This video has gone totally viral already.

When asked whether they trusted Berlusconi and its commitment to reforms, Angela Merkel and Nicholas Sarkozy simply looked at each other and laughed.

Berlusconi is clearly perceived as nothing more than a joke by his peers, but unfortunately his actions are not laughing matter and the whole Europe will be affected by his non-existent economic strategy.

A Mediterranean Spring?

I was just reading this article from the Guardian, on the Tunisian bloggers  that have been so instrumental to the revolution that started an avalanche of revolutions in the Arab world and is eventually leading to the country's first free elections.

I wonder whether the Arab spring will finally infect Italy next spring, when we might have the chance of new elections? Also in Italy there is a lively online community of people against the system that share news outside the traditional media controlled by the dwarf Berlusconi.

It's very telling that even high profile journalists like Michele Santoro find the web as the only mean to keep expressing their opinions. Mr. Santoro is a left wing journalist and TV presenter that until last year presented Anno Zero, a programme on Rai 2 (RAI is the Italian public television but it's heavily controlled by the Government) which week, in week out received great ratings. RAI decided to stop the programme, a very odd decision as the programme was among the most successful for the broadcaster. The decision doesn't seem odd from a political perspective, as Santoro was alway very critical of the Berlusconi Government.

As a last resolution Mr Santoro has launched the website Servizio Pubblico "Public Service", a tongue in cheek reference to the public service, which RAI is supposed to offer, but is no longer doing due to political pressure. He will also start a new TV programme that will air mainly online and on a series of local and digital channels.

This clearly shows that there are many people in Italy going against the establishment, but how many people still rely only on the traditional media, and are therefore unlikely to be exposed to any anti-Berlusconi or even factual news? Let's no forget that Italy has an ageing population. And Italians love TV. Which is bad news as the quality of the TV programmes in Italy is terrible.

With Berlusconi controlling Mediaset, the main private TV broadcaster, and his Government also controlling the public TV, it's clear that freedom of speech is no longer granted in Italy.

David vs Goliath / Santoro vs Berlusconi

Inappropriate things to say when someone dies...

...in the specific, when a dictator that you've been a**-kissing until not long ago dies..

Silvio Berlusconi: "Sic transit gloria mundi" - a sentence normally used when someone great dies, not for a dictator...ok, we know that he thought you about Bunga Bunga parties, but still...

David Cameron: 'People in Libya today have an even greater chance after this news of building themselves a strong and democratic future.' - democratic? Really...let's not talk about democracy when somebody is summarily executed like that, but it's good that you care about the oil democratic future of Libya, Mr Cameron.


To end this post, just a couple of pictures to remind us just what hypocrites our leaders are: 

OK, not David Cameron, but same thing

Berlusconi kissing Gaddafi's hands