Today a court in Milan, Italy decided in part how ex-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi should be punished for his tax fraud conviction. Berlusconi requested that he be entrusted to the care of Italy’s social services and this has been accepted by the court.
The alternative punishment for Berlusconi was house arrest.
Full details of Berlusconi’s “punishment“, which is likely to be community service, will be announced between five and fifteen days, or within five days depending upon which news service you believe (Will ask some lawyers I know in Milan tomorrow). Berlusconi, who was not present in court, has asked to be allowed to work with the disabled.
While he was sentenced to four years for tax fraud, the sentence had been reduced to a single year and if Berlusconi behaves himself, his actual punishment period may last less than ten months.
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
His lawyers want Berlusconi to be permitted to continue his political activity during the period of his community service punishment. If he’s not allowed to continue to play the political game, all hell will let loose, or that’s what Berlusconi has stated.
For now, it is still not yet known whether Berlusconi will be allowed to participate in politics. He remains the leader of the Forza Italia political party, though he has been stripped of his seat in Italy’s senate.
Twitter in Italy today was alive with speculation and sarcastic comments on the Berlusconi sentence. The handful of Berlusconi fans who attempted to stand up for their hero found themselves vastly outnumbered.
We’ll all have to wait just a few days longer to find out just what Berlusconi will be ordered to do. His people will also be keen to know if he’ll be able to continue running Forza Italia – without the Berlusconi brand behind it, Forza Italia is a loose cannon with no ammunition.
