Berlusconi Conviction Leaves Italian Government Hanging
A supreme court ruling upholding a tax fraud conviction against former center-right leader Silvio Berlusconi has left the fate of Italy’s fragile ruling coalition in the balance, although his supporters said the government would not be brought down.
Just three months after center-left Prime Minister Enrico Letta took office at the head of an uneasy coalition with Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party (PDL), Italy, the euro zone’s third largest economy, is again mired in uncertainty.
The 76-year-old billionaire reacted angrily to the decision by the supreme court to reject a final appeal against his conviction, protesting his innocence and accusing magistrates of persecuting him since his entry into politics 20 years ago.
The ruling, confirming a sentence for tax fraud involving inflated invoices at his Mediaset broadcasting empire, was the first definitive sentence he had received after dozens of previous trials on charges ranging from tax to sex offences.
More: Berlusconi Conviction Leaves Italian Government Hanging