CBS 5's Frank Viviano explores the
increasingly party-less politics of Italy in his newest World View column. Here it is, in part:
Since 1990 alone, Berlusconi has been indicted and tried 12 times on
serious criminal charges. Three times he was convicted and sentenced to
prison terms that were never served, due to lengthy appeals that ended
in the Italian equivalent of hung decisions. In all but one of the
remaining cases, he was freed because of a blanket amnesty, subsequent
changes in the law pushed through by his own parliamentary majority, or
by exhausting the statute of limitations while he enjoyed immunity as
prime minister. Only once, in July 2008, has Silvio Berlusconi been
found unambiguously innocent in a court proceeding.
In the past year, he has been constantly in the headlines, on
allegations of improper relationships with underage girls – his
estranged second wife has publicly accused him of "frequenting minors"
– employing prostitutes at his private parties, and using government
airplanes to ferry his friends and guests to them.
At critical junctures, such embarrassing revelations have been abruptly
buried by sensational stories in the media, most of it controlled by
Berlusconi, reporting violent immigrant crime waves.
Read the entire essay online, and leave your comments below. Viviano always gives you plenty to chew on.
