|
The tax fraud conviction against Italy’s former premier Silvio Berlusconi that was upheld on Wednesday angered his supporters, but also prompted assurances the ruling would not destabilise the country’s newly-installed government. |
The conviction of a key supporter of the new left-right coalition which last month solved the stalemate produced by inconclusive February elections, is a clear embarrassment for Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who hails from the centre-left.
Several members of Berlusconi’s conservative People of Freedom (PDL) party said the guilty verdict undermined the climate of “pacification” that the grand coalition was meant to usher.
“The judicial persecution is continuing against president Berlusconi, a political leader who is supported by 10mn voters,” the PDL’s speaker in the Senate, Renato Schifani, complained.
The media mogul and politician did not comment, but sources close to him told the ANSA news agency that he wanted to keep his legal troubles separate from government affairs, in a display of “a great sense of responsibility.”
“I imagine that nothing will change on the political front,” Alessandro Sallusti, editor of the Berlusconi family-owned Il Giornale newspaper, said on the LA7 TV broadcaster.
Berlusconi’s lawyer Nicolo Ghedini, who is also a PDL lawmaker, said he expected a confirmation of the conviction because Milan judges were “prejudiced.”
But he also added: “I don’t think there is a correlation between this ruling and political stability.”
Were Berlusconi to pull the plug on Letta’s administration, the PDL would be in a strong position to win early elections, according to surveys.
The main centre-left force, Letta’s Democratic Party, has imploded as many of its supporters are disgusted by its alliance with the scandal-prone Berlusconi. Its leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, has resigned, and there is speculation that the party may split.
But a government crisis might rattle markets and eurozone partners, which are anxious to see the currency bloc’s third-largest economy finally tackle its high debt and low growth problems, rather than slide back into political instability.
Berlusconi could exploit the situation by continuing to support Letta, while extracting a high political price. For example, he may force him to scrap an unpopular property tax and refund Italians what they paid for it last year, despite concerns about lack of funding.
Meanwhile, he may find ways to get out of his legal troubles, which include a second trial where he is accused of abuse of power and paying for sex with an underage prostitute. A first instance ruling is expected this month.
Berlusconi can challenge his tax fraud conviction a second time before the Court of Cassation, Italy’s highest court of appeal. He would have to serve his sentence only if the guilty verdict were to be upheld before the statute of limitation runs out, in mid-2014.
He may have another escape clause: The Court of Cassation is due to rule by June on another appeal brought forward by his defence on a technicality that - if successful - may require the first instance trial to start again.
In that case, there may be not enough time to exhaust proceedings before the statute of limitations expires.
Italian media noted that the new president of the Court of Cassation Giorgio Santacroce, elected on Wednesday, was a man with centre-right sympathies, suggesting that may help Berlusconi’s chances to avoid a final conviction. -DPA