Berlusconi delivers a speech during a rally in Brescia organised by the People of Freedom (PDL) party against ‘politicised magistrates’.


DPA/Rome


Supporters of Silvio Berlusconi held a rally in northern Italy yesterday to protest a court’s decision to uphold a tax fraud conviction against the former prime minister.
The rally took place in the northern city of Brescia where Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party was convening.
Opponents of Berlusconi were also present, sparking minor confrontations with his supporters.
A Milan appeals court this week upheld an October ruling that sentenced the 76-year-old to four years’ in jail, banned him from holding public office for five years, and excluded him from managerial positions in private companies for three years.
The charge against Berlusconi is that Mediaset – his family’s media firm – created an offshore scheme to reduce its tax bill in the early 2000s.
Berlusconi denies any wrongdoing.
He can appeal a second time before the Court of Cassation. However, if the guilty verdict were to be upheld again before the statute of limitation runs out in mid-2014, he would be stripped of his parliamentary seat and would have to serve his sentence.
Berlusconi 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 point of 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.
The scandal-prone Berlusconi is undergoing a second trial for abuse of power and paying for sex with a minor.
The prosecution is expected to make its sentencing request tomorrow and a first-instance judgment on that case is expected before the end of this month.
Italy’s conservative leader is a key backer of the left-right government installed last month after two months of political deadlock.
His conviction is an embarrassment for Prime Minister Enrico Letta and has fueled speculation about a possible political crisis.

Berlusconi backs government despite legal woes


Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi pledged yesterday to keep supporting the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta, despite hopes by opponents that the former premier would trigger a political crisis after judges rejected his appeal against a tax fraud conviction this week.
“They thought I could pull out and put the survival of the government at risk,” he told a rally in the northern city of Brescia. “But as always they were mistaken. We intend to continue to support this government.”
Berlusconi is not a minister in Letta’s coalition, which groups traditional rivals on the centre left and centre right, but plays a decisive behind-the-scenes role and could bring the government down by withdrawing support in parliament.