Berlusconi awaits Supreme Court decision

(Vatican Radio) Lawyers for Silvio Berlusconi asked the supreme court on Wednesday to throw out a tax fraud conviction against the former Italian prime minister.

Berlusconi and three others were convicted in October of tax fraud in the purchase of TV rights for his Mediaset network. The former prime minister was sentenced to four years with a five-year ban on public office. If confirmed by the Court of Cassation, Italy's highest court, Berlusconi would lose his Senate seat and be banned from running in elections.

Berlusconi made his final appeal before a judge on Tuesday against the sentence.

“The consequences, particularly of a conviction, and possibly even of an acquittal . . . would put immense pressure on the Italian government, because parts of Berlusconi’s party have already said very clearly that they will bring the government down, they would walk out, they would resign as members of parliament,” says
James Walston, head of the department of international relations at the American University in Rome.

He explained: “Whatever happens, there will be a very strong reaction. If the conviction is confirmed, it will be a serious shock for Berlusconi, because he has never been convicted at the top level . . . And this would be the first time that the Supreme Court has confirmed a criminal case against a former prime minister and leader of a party which is supporting the government. So it would be a major crisis.”

Listen to Ann Schneible’s full interview with James Walston: