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Berlusconi says he could support leftist president

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi on Friday said he could consider supporting a candidate for president from his rivals on the left but only on condition that they form a grand coalition government with him.

Published: 12 April 2013 09:11 CEST
Berlusconi says he could support leftist president
Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

"We are certainly ready to discuss it," the scandal-tainted former prime minister, who leads a centre-right coalition that came a close second in February elections, told La Repubblica daily.

"If we agree a path to the presidency, then on the other side we need a grand coalition, with ministers chosen together. Otherwise, no deal," the 76-year-old billionaire tycoon said.

The centre-left, which won the elections but failed to garner enough votes for a majority, on Thursday denied that its leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, had been mooted as a possible president.

Presidents in Italy are elected by parliament and agreement on a candidate is seen as key to ending the deadlock on forming a new government, which has dragged on since the inconclusive elections.

Berlusconi, who has been convicted of tax fraud and is on trial for allegedly having sex with an underage prostitute, also denied that he wanted a president who would give him a legal amnesty.

"Nobody wants an amnesty," Berlusconi said.

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POLITICS

Italy’s Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

The president of Italy's northwest Liguria region and the ex-head of Genoa's port were among 10 arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping anti-corruption investigation which also targeted officials for alleged mafia ties.

Published: 7 May 2024 12:52 CEST
Italy's Liguria regional president arrested in corruption probe

Liguria President Giovanni Toti, a right-wing former MEP who was close to late prime minister Silvio Berlusconi but is no longer party aligned, was placed under house arrest, Genoa prosecutors said in a statement.

The 55-year-old is accused of having accepted 74,100 euros in funds for his election campaign between December 2021 and March 2023 from prominent local businessmen, Aldo Spinelli and his son Roberto Spinelli, in return for various favours.

These allegedly included seeking to privatise a public beach and speeding up the renewal for 30 years of the lease of a Genoa port terminal to a Spinelli family-controlled company, which was approved in December 2021.

A total of 10 people were targeted in the probe, also including Paolo Emilio Signorini, who stepped down last year as head of the Genoa Port Authority, one of the largest in Italy. He was being held in jail on Tuesday.

He is accused of having accepted from Aldo Spinelli benefits including cash, 22 stays in a luxury hotel in Monte Carlo – complete with casino chips, massages and beauty treatments – and luxury items including a 7,200-euro Cartier bracelet.

The ex-port boss, who went on to lead energy group Iren, was also promised a 300,000-euro-a-year job when his tenure expires, prosecutors said.

In return, Signorini was said to have granted Aldo Spinelli favours including also working to speed up the renewal of the family’s port concession.

The Spinellis are themselves accused of corruption, with Aldo – an ex-president of the Genoa and Livorno football clubs – placed under house arrest and his son Roberto temporarily banned from conducting business dealings.

In a separate strand of the investigation, Toti’s chief of staff, Matteo Cozzani, was placed under house arrest accused of “electoral corruption” which facilitated the activities of Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia.

As regional coordinator during local elections in 2020, he was accused of promising jobs and public housing in return for the votes of at least 400 Sicilian residents of Genoa.

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