The Italian cabinet has reportedly passed an emergency decree aimed at saving one of three
television channels owned by the family of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from possible closure, a government source said.
Critics of the prime minister have said the move, which was expected, is the most glaring example yet of what they see as a conflict of interest between Berlusconi's massive business concerns and his political power.
The decree is a stop-gap measure which will protect the Berlusconi family's Mediaset group from fallout after the Italian president rejected a media bill that critics say was tailor-made for the prime minister's media empire.