Rubygate: who knows the truth and who's interested in it?
Thursday, 4 April, 2013. Silvio Berlusconi's favourite belly dancer (and alleged prostitute) Ruby the Heart Stealer holds an emotional protest in front of Milan's tribunal (and raises angry reaction from other bunga-bunga women).
“The Ruby case: Are you not interested in the truth any more?” read on the signed carried by the curvaceous Ruby the Heartstealer (real name: Karima El Mahroug) as the young Moroccan staged a protest (this time properly dressed up) by reading a statement to the journalists.
Prosecutors state that Ruby had paid sex with Silvio Berlusconi when she was 17, and the billionaire is also accused of having abused of his position as prime minister, when he intervened with police after Karima was arrested because she was accused of stealing money from a friend.
Sunday,
February 3, 2013. “Even imbeciles are able to invent new taxes”
says Silvio Berlusconi, explaining that he is an intelligent one who
will make the Swiss pay for it.
Silvio
Berlusconi had a vision: in the first meeting of the new ministers'
cabinet – where the newly elected Silvio will play the role of the
Economy and Finance Minister – there will be decided the scrapping
of the unpopular property tax called IMU, and the reimbursement of
the tax the Italians paid during 2012 (the media tycoon called it a «shock proposal», his rival Gianfranco
Fini, the chair of the house of representatives, has another idea, he replied on Twitter
that in his second cabinet meeting, Berlusconi would «decree
that everybody wins the lottery»).
Promises, promises!
How?
In a previous attempt to convince the Italians how he would abolish
the propriety tax (when the former prime
minister faced his long-term enemy Michele Santoro on his TV show) Silvio Berlusconi declared he would raise new taxes on tobaccos,
spirits and gambling.
Then
the ex-premier of Italy realised that he needs to be (even) smarter. «Even imbeciles are
able to invent news taxes», declared the billionaire to his
supporters yesterday, on a speech in Milan, then he pledged to
convince the Swiss banks to help him to tax Italian assets and activities
in Switzerland. Not only they have to pay a one off tribute of 25
billion euro (about £21.7bn or $33.9bn), but – in Silvio's mind –
they will be keeping on paying €5bn every year.
Doesn't
it sound as a tax, Silvio? Are you an imbecile?
Anyhow,
the problem isn't exactly there - someone would argue – but in the
fact that nobody ever convinced the Swiss bankers to do so!
Never
mind, thinks Silvio, they (the new government made up by the People
of Liberty party and friends) will do it, they will convince them.
And
in the meanwhile, they take – as a loan – the money from the
postal savings system (CDP).
Tuesday, 1 January 2013 (Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God). Waking up in the morning of the first day of the new year, Silvio Berlusconi finds out his Twitter account has gained 60,000 followers in one night.
@Berlusconi2013 Twitter account, before the miracle
It took some time for Silvio Berlusconi to get involved in the fast growing social media Twitter, being overtook by a generally traditionalist fellow politician, Pope Benedict XVI, with his @Pontifex, and competitor #1, member of the Senate of Italy and prime minister candidate Mario Monti, with his @SenatoreMonti.
But when he went into it, he did it with his usual vigour.
Starting in the beginning of December 2012, the account @berlusconi2013 had been attracting around seven thousand followers, until the new year's eve miracle: in one magic night Silvio's fan on Twitter grew to over 70,000. It's not a scandal, just a remarkable event.
According to some sources, 70 per cent of the... 73,504 fans (update: 4 January, 10:54 GMT) is a fake, and 80 per cent are South American and Arab accounts – perhaps not very interest in the political events of Italy. How many of them are women? Couldn't find any data about it, but we bet it's more than a few...
Pato and Barbara Berlusconi smile on Twitter
The former prime minister of Italy's Twitter account launched also a kind of “I don't vote for the Left” campaign, by introducing a @iononvotolasx user and ionovotolasx.com internet site (currently not available). These links seemed to have disappeared in the most recent hours, replaced by the ForzaSilvio.it link (“Go Silvio!”).
But The Kight is not the only member of the Berlusconi family to have discovered the tweets: in the meanwhile, also Silvio's daughter – Barbara Berlusconi – appeared on Twitter, publishing a photo just to prove that her relationship with former AC Milan's footballer Alexandre Pato is still on (even though her father sold the player to Brazil's Corinthians).
Some think that Silvio might be totally unaware of what's going on, and the initiation to the twitterati could really be a gift from the founder of the “Silvio ci manchi” (“Silvio we miss you”) club, the tycoon official fiancée Francesca Pascale.
What would be of the President (he has always been president of something) without his women?
(Update: On 4 June 2013, at 13:52 GMT, the Twitter account @berlusconi2013 has 59,290 followers. At the same time @Pontifex has been occupied by a Francis, apparently a migrant from South America. Where has Joseph Aloisius - aka Benedict XVI - gone? Anyhow, the account has now 2.5m followers... Finally, Barbara Berlusconi's last tweet dates back to 11 August 2012.).
Saturday, October 27, 2012. Silvio Berlusconi does an about-turn: he will not leave politics, because he must reform the judiciary first. And he might end support for Monti's government as well. And he is still very angry at Merkel-Sarkozy, you know why...
An angry Silvio Berlusconi
The recent sentence by a Milan's tribunal in the Mediaset-trial – last Friday Silvio Berlusconi was condemned to four years in jail, diminished to only one year thank to a tax fraud official remission – irritated the former Italian prime minister to such an extent, that he burst out talking nonsense, as usual, using its powerful media machinery.
Sunday, October 14, 2012. Lombardy Regional Council's member and Berlusconi's favourite politician strips off for fashion and than declares “to be a politician there's no need to be prepared”.
Well done, Ms Councillor
Berlusconi met Nicole Minetti when she treated him – as a dental hygienist – for a broken teeth, after he was hit by a small statuethrown by a protester in December 2009. Silvio made friends with Nicole – some says to such an extent that she dresses as a nun at Silvio's parties –, and in 2010 she turned up as a candidate for the Lombardy Council, lead by Berlusconi's stalwart Roberto Formigoni, and got the post (won the election).
When criticised for supporting a sexy youngster to be a councillor, Silvio Berlusconi answered – by interrupting a live show Italian TV La7 with a telephone call – that Nicole Minetti was a “well prepared and serious” person, that she should not be considered just a bimbo.
Well, the councillor Minetti doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that anybody might think she's not “prepared” for the politician's job, in fact she declared on a Berlusconi-owned Canale5 TV show that “to be a politician you do not need to be prepared” at all.
Some of the questions put to Nicole Minetti by former CNN journalist (now an anchorman at Mediaset's Canale 5) Alessio Vinci were raised by the fact that the councillor – a couple of weeks before the interview – took part to a fashion show in Milan, were she showed herself scantily clad (of course, it was a beachwear show by Parah!).
When asked whether politics and fashion could be reconciled, she answered that in fact “politics must support fashion”.
Oddly enough, many asked for Nicole Minetti to resign, but she has several times declared that Angelino Alfano, her boss, never phoned her on the subject (even though some of the PdL – People of Freedom Party – women already solicited Alfano to do so, even by tweeting ti him).
One thing is for sure: five (update: 14 out of 85) members of Lombardy Council have already been arrested, on bribing, embezzlement and/or mafia links charges, fashion might be a more secure job sector nowadays in Italy.
What do Italian think of the whole story? Well, some of them just reckon that Nicole should strip off more...
Saturday, November 8, 2011. Many people are waiting for Silvio Berlusconi's resignation, in the streets, on the Internet, whilst still fearing a last minute trick from the Cavaliere.
Berlusconi's farewell
Silvio Berlusconi's end has been anticipated since, at least, the 14th of December 2010. Many were convinced that on that day the Italian prime minister would lose the majority in the Parliament, after Gianfranco Fini's Future and Freedom split, and bring to an end his government.
But the Cavaliere's end did not come. He managed to find unexpected allies, and his government carried on, even though it was barely able to pass the deep reforms Italy needed – and needs – in order to get rid of his enormous debt of almost €1.9trn and start to grow again, after a decade of stagnation.
Scilipoti's protest
The game lasted almost 12 months, but now seems to be definitely over, as last Tuesday some “traitors” (as the Italian Silvio called them) left the sinking boat, paving the way for the “coup d'etat” (as Scilipoti, Berlusconi's ally, put it) of Gianfranco Fini, supported by the banks lobby.
Today the Italian Parliament has approved the financial stability law, and Silvio Berlusconi – a few days ago – stated that will be the final act of the current government, and he will resign.
So today it could be – and should be – the day, as the Italian population is preparing to celebrate. On Twitter and Facebook the tension increases.
