| Berlusconi does not accept his defeat Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, 69, intends to challenge the verdict of the Court of Cassation announced on Wednesday, which confirmed the victory of the center-left Union coalition led by 66-year-old Romano Prodi in the parliamentary elections on April 9-10. Premiere party “Forward, Italy!” is preparing a claim to the administrative tribunal of the metropolitan region of Lazio. The time of its submission, according to Berlusconi’s ally and parliamentarian Niccolo Ghedini, will be chosen based on “political expediency.”
The verification of the results of the Senate elections will be completed in the coming days. But the Italian Ministry of Internal Affairs had previously predicted that the result would remain unchanged. The Ministry of Justice refrains from commenting. The first session of the new parliament has already been scheduled for April 28, and Romano Prodi intends to form a “strong government.” Thus, for the post of Minister of Economy, he has already proposed technocrat Tommaso Padoa Scioppa, the former representative of Italy to the European Central Bank. Prodi is focused on strengthening European integration, dialogue with the Arab world, and abandoning protectionism and excessive dependence on the United States.
Nadezhda Arbatova, Doctor of Political Science at the Center for European Studies at IMEMO RAS, considers the prospects for Russian-Italian relations under Romano Prodi “very good.” In an interview with Vremya Novostey, Ms. Arbatova noted yesterday that Prodi is “a supporter of intensifying relations with Russia.” And “the opinion of this respectable politician regarding strengthening Russia’s relations with the European Union and individual EU countries will be taken more seriously than Berlusconi’s also positive recommendations, which, due to the odiousness of his figure, few people took seriously.”
In mid-May, the powers of President Carlo Ciampi expire in Italy, and he, having refused a second term, will leave the oath of office of the new cabinet to his successor. Berlusconi may also compete for the post of head of state. But Ms. Arbatova does not believe that he will succeed in this endeavor: “Still, he was defeated, and a loser, as a rule, rarely comes to the presidency.” But “Berlusconi will make every effort to get this post,” our expert believes. Katerina LABETSKAYA |
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