ITALIAN PRIME minister Silvio Berlusconi was in court in Milan yesterday for a hearing of the “Mediatrade” trial, in which he is accused of “fiscal fraud” in relation to the acquisition of Hollywood movie rights for his Mediaset TV empire.
Mr Berlusconi’s presence at the Mediatrade hearing contrasted with his absence from last week’s “Rubygate” trial, in which he is accused of having sex with an underaged prostitute.
As is his wont, the prime minister used the occasion to launch yet another broadside on the judiciary. Speaking to reporters before he entered court, he opened up in a typically jocular vein, saying: “Given that I’ve got little to do in government, I’m here looking for a job. ”
However he soon changed tone when speaking of that “part of the judiciary” which “works against the country, throwing incredible mud not only at me, and after all I’m a rich man, but also at the whole country”. The prime minister repeated his oft-stated allegation that he was the victim of a political witch-hunt by left-wing magistrates, something, he said, which made reform of the justice system all the more urgent.
When a reporter from daily La Repubblica, often critical of the prime minister, asked Mr Berlusconi why he had chosen to speak to the media rather than to the judges, he replied: "Listen, Mr Stalin, what paper do you work for?"
Asked about the “Rubygate” trial, where he is accused of “exploitation of underage prostitution” and of “abuse of office”, the prime minister (74) offered a previously unheard explanation of his relationship with Moroccan Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug (18).
“I gave her money so that she would not prostitute herself,” Mr Berlusconi said.
“I gave her the chance to set up an aesthetician’s parlour with a friend, a shop for which she needed a laser for depilation costing, I think, about €45,000.
“She said that in the end it cost €60,000 and I ordered that she be given the money so that she wouldn’t have the need, wouldn’t be forced to prostitute herself but rather would be taken in the opposite direction.”
In relation to the accusation that he put pressure on Milan police to release Ruby last May, at a time when she was being investigated on theft charges, by claiming that she was the granddaughter of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Mr Berlusconi said: “I asked for information. I was worried about a situation which could have led to a diplomatic incident.
“Later, I was told that the girl was not Egyptian and the matter ended there. So there’s no abuse of office.”
Mr Berlusconi also said that “in a serious country”, the wire taps which form a large part of the prosecution’s case in the Rubygate trial, would not count as evidence.
For much of the last two years, the prime minister has been trying to push a so-called “gag law” through parliament which would limit the use and publication of wire taps.
Likewise, later this week parliament is due to pass a “quick trial” bill, which will in effect shorten the period after which a charge which has not yet been brought to trial is declared null and void.