Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: NYT sul Cavaliere Nero

Despite Charges, Berlusconi Vows to 'Forge Ahead'
Twitter
By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: October 8, 2009
ROME - A day after Italy's Constitutional Court struck down a law granting 
him immunity from prosecution, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi defiantly 
called the ruling "absurd" and said his government would "forge ahead 
calmly."
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday called Italy's top court "not 
an organ of guarantee, but a political organ."
But now that he faces fresh prosecution on the corruption charges that have 
dogged him for decades, the normally charismatic and cheerful Mr. Berlusconi 
seemed anything but calm. In radio and television interviews, the prime 
minister, also under pressure from sex scandals and restiveness among his 
own center-right political allies, seemed so embattled that many Italian 
observers wondered if he was losing his grip - if not on the country then 
certainly on his temper.
Calling in to a television talk show on Wednesday, Mr. Berlusconi unleashed 
a highly unusual attack on the nation's mild-mannered president, Giorgio 
Napolitano, 84. He accused the president, who is normally considered above 
the political fray, of stacking the court with leftist judges - remarks that 
prompted Mr. Napolitano to call a meeting on Thursday with the speakers of 
the House and Senate to help avert an institutional crisis.
When a guest on the same show, Rosy Bindi, a high-ranking member of 
Parliament from the Democratic Party and a former health minister, protested 
that Mr. Berlusconi's attacks had undermined the authority of the office of 
the president, he told her curtly, "You are always more beautiful than 
intelligent."
Ms. Bindi, 58 and one of the few women in Italian public life with gray 
hair, responded dryly, "Mr. Prime Minister, I am a woman who is not at your 
disposal."
The drama underscored yet again that Mr. Berlusconi has always been more 
Technicolor than technocratic.
"If today Berlusconi acted more normally I'd say he had gone crazy," said 
Gianluca Nicoletti, a commentator for Radio 24 of Il Sole 24 Ore. "The 
paradox is that the people will think he's crazy if he started acting 
normally."
And the tenor of the debate provided yet more evidence that Italy's public 
life centered on the larger-than-life personality, and personal problems, of 
Mr. Berlusconi - to the exclusion of almost everything else.
"Whatever happens, good or bad, he's still the protagonist in all his 
 glory," Mr. Nicoletti said.
Vowing over the radio on Thursday to show Italians that the charges against 
him were "ridiculous," the prime minister's voice seemed strained, his 
boundless charisma sapped.
"These two trials are laughable," he said. "I will defend myself in the 
courtrooms and ridicule my accusers, showing Italians my true grit."
Mr. Berlusconi has been defending himself for months against sex scandals 
involving young women, and at least one prostitute, who said they were paid 
to attend his lavish parties. The prime minister has denied any impropriety 
but has also told Italians, "I'm not a saint."
Wednesday's ruling struck down as unconstitutional a law granting immunity 
from prosecution to the nation's four highest officeholders while in office. 
The law had suspended Mr. Berlusconi's participation in a corruption trial 
during which a judge in February found his British tax lawyer, David Mills, 
guilty of taking $600,000 in exchange for false testimony. The case will now 
be retried before a new judge with Mr. Berlusconi as a defendant.
On Thursday, Mr. Berlusconi noted that he had been elected by a majority of 
the popular vote. He has a broad parliamentary majority. Since he entered 
politics in 1994, he has often accused magistrates of a leftist bias, an 
opinion his followers share.
Despite all the drama surrounding the ruling, few Italian commentators 
predicted a radical change of government. Nor did they think that the left 
would be able to capitalize on Mr. Berlusconi's weaknesses. The main 
opposition grouping, the Democratic Party, is hampered by infighting and has 
yet to elect a new leader more than six months after its previous one 
resigned.
Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London.


digli che, se Berlusconi � tanto amato, � grazie dell'opposizione.
Massimo D'Alema in un'intervista al Riformista parla cos�
di Silvio Berlusconi alla luce della sentenza sul lodo Alfano:
Non � il Pd, a suo avviso, che pu� chiederne le dimissioni: �Non � 
l'opposizione che pu�
cambiare il capo del governo..
quindi, quelli del NYT se ne stiano zitti..!