Berlusconi: court admits Senate of Italy as civil plaintiff in bribing trial

Wednesday, 26 February 2014. A court in Naples has granted the Senate of Italy's request to be a civil plaintiff in a new bribery trial with the involvement of Silvio Berlusconi.

A series of new investigations are leading a Neapolitanian court to set up a trial against Silvio Berlusconi, for bribing an Italian senator, though rumours spread that the senators might even be more than one.

Silvio Berlusconi screaming for vengeance against the "red judges"

The current case is about Mr Sergio De Gregorio, a member of the Senate of Italy who received €3m (£2.46m or $4.11m) for switching sides to centre-right, and by doing this helped bring down the centre-left government of Romano Prodi, and triggered an election that Berlusconi won, back in 2007.

Berlusconi expelled from Italy's Senate for good

Thursday, 28 November 2013. Voting 9 times “no” during an emotional meeting of Italy's Senate, Italian senators give way to Berlusconi's expulsion from the Italian Parliament, after tax fraud conviction.

Berlusconi is a «political prisoner» of the Red Brigades (hinting at leftists judges), according to his fans

The Senate of Italy was pretty crowded yesterday, even though one of the famously habitual absentee – Silvio Berlusconi – was absent.

Perhaps he meant to boycott the sitting, but since he is never present, no-one noticed that.

On the agenda nine votes, all related to the media tycoon turned into politician and his judicial woes. Mr Berlusconi somehow keeps on being the major issue of the country.

Berlusconi's senate expulsion vote will be held today

Wednesday, 27 November 2013. Berlusconi's supporters gather in Rome as their leader will face expulsion from Italian Senate and “political death” perpetrated by a “firing squad” (as he put it).

«It's a coup d'etat», reads the sign hung in Rome by berluscones

Tonight, apparently at 5 pm – but it can happen even earlier than that, or later, as we are talking about Italy – the Italian Senate of will vote over the expulsion of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, due to a definitive conviction for tax fraud. Sky TV will stream a special report 'til midnight, to cover the story, all Italian media are tuned in.

In this hours the Berlusconi's supporters brandishing the newly formed Forza Italia party's flags (also known as berluscones) have started converging on Rome as a last attempt to stop the “firing squad”, as the billionaire called it. Berlusconi's girlfriend Francesca Pascale and other family members might show up.

Berlusconi says that his children feel like Jews with Hitler and asked him to leave the country

Wednesday, 6 Novembre 2013. In a new book published by famous Italian journalist Bruno Vespa, Berlusconi reveals that his children said they feel like a Jew family during Hitler's times.

In the run-up to the Italian Senate vote about the ousting of Silvio Berlusconi (as he was found guilty of tax fraud and convicted by all levels of Italian judiciary), the former prime minister is struggling to stay politically alive, and the publishing of his friend's book is a good chance to state his case and fight his war against his enemies.

77-year old Silvio Berlusconi seems to be worrying about his political future

“My children say they feel as Jewish families might have felt in Germany during Hitler's regime. Everybody is against as.” answered to Bruno Vespa's question about whether it is true that the children have asked him to sell out and leave Italy.

Berlusconi cross: Napolitano left him out of the life Senator's list

Thursday, 29 August 2013. Becoming a life Senator could have meant to Silvio Berlusconi a way out from legal woes, but Giorgio Napolitano did not include the former prime minister in the list of celebrities. Too bad.

An angry Berlusconi (Photograph: Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi)

Of course Berlusconi's People of Freedom party put all the pressure they could to get the former prime minister in the list of newly appointed life Senators, but in the end they had to cope with the fact that their leader will not be granted the honour, perhaps because he is not a former head of state nor a distinguished personality in the arts and sciences (nope, bunga-bunga parties do not count as achievement in arts).

Berlusconi did not take it well (actually he is cross!), since it could have meant cutting the Gordian knot in a situation where he doesn't seem to find a way out: in few days the parliament will be voting on his expulsion from the Senate, following his conviction for tax fraud, and he is more and more frightened by the prospect (nope, the European Court of Human Rights might not grant his salvation).

Berlusconi returns to the Senate of Italy, just to witness the defeat of his speaker candidate

Sat, 16 March, 2013. After leaving the hospital where he was cured for an eye conditions Silvio Berlusconi returns to the Senate of Italy, welcomed by protesters' boos and jeers

Facing court trial both on tax fraud and sex charges for paying and under-age prostitute (Karima El Mahroug aka Ruby the Heart Stealer), Silvio Berlusconi chose – at least this is prosecutor of the sex scandal proceedings, Ilda Boccassini's theory – to seek refuge in hospital, with the excuse (according to prosecution) of curing a form conjunctivitis called uveitis.

The new look of Silvio Berlusconi (attending to a session of the  Senate of Italy)

In the meanwhile Silvio's lawyers, who managed to see the former Italian prime minister's «legitimate impediment» recognised, are trying A) to move the proceedings to Brescia and B) to seek for a «legitimate impediment» for themselves (for political reasons, since they have to attend to meetings and gatherings, being members of the PdL – People of Liberty party).

Manoeuvres to gain time (according to the leftist prosecutors). But this isn't the point.

The point is that - finally - Silvio Berlusconi last Saturday had to leave the hospital, in order to participate to a vote in the Senate, where the speaker was about to be elected.

He was showing off an unusual pair of sunglasses, proof of the eye condition the prosecutors refused to believe.

Silvio Berlusconi and his allies got "slapped in the face", again

Tuesday, June 13 2011. Italian Northern League's Roberto Calderoli states he's fed up with getting slapped in the face, as Silvio Berlusconi suffers the umpteenth defeat in a referendum.

Left-wingers celebrate victory in referendum

It's not a favourable period for Silvio Berlusconi. And it's not a favourable period for his allies. After the crushing local election defeat at the end of May – when both PdL (The People of Freedom) and Northern League reckoned a huge loss in votes – in last weekend Italians mass participation represented another overwhelming setback for the prime minister.

Calderoli (right) with Northern League's leader Umberto Bossi

Even though Berlusconi has downplayed the significance of the vote, Roberto Calderoli, member of the Senate of Italy and Minister for Legislative Simplification, is the one to speak out for his party: they are tired of being involved in Silvio's defeats.

In 2009 Silvio Berlusconi picked as one of his favourite pieces the resumption of nuclear power programme. Unluckily for him, just three months before the referendum, a huge earthquake – and an even more devastating tsunami – stroke Japan, creating one of the most serious incidents in the history of nuclear power in Fukushima. The final outcome of the incident still needs to be fully evaluated.

It's been relatively easy for the anti-nuclear movement – particularly strong in Italy – to reach (and exceed) the legal number of 50% of the voters plus one (indications shows that around 57% of the electorate took part in the referendum). Greenpeace called it a historic result, it comes few weeks after German chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Germany will cast nuclear power plants by 2022.

Actually Berlusconi tried anything in order to undermine the referendum results. Amongst his moves, he temporarily shelved his initiative for new power plants, then appealed against the referendum, saying that it was no longer needed (and hoping to avoid the defeat in the other three questions). But he did not succeed. Few days before the referendum – on June 7 – the Constitutional Court unanimously voted to let the referendum go ahead.

Bossi and Berlusconi: a friendship coming to an end?

And – as the prime minister knew already – it tuned out top become a major defeat for the forces of the Italian cabinet. The overwhelming majority (almost 95% of the voters) voted in favour of the four questions, related to the nuclear power, to the privatisation of water (two questions, voting “yes” meant saying rejecting it), and abrogation of the “legitimate impediment” (which allows the prime minister and cabinet ministers to avoid criminal trial's hearings).

Today the Rubygate trial will resume: other slaps in the offing?

Video from our YouTube Channel: Berluschannel