Aside from his own, whose freedom exactly has Berlusconi’s political career ever been about ensuring?
he won’t go to prison because of his age. he can choose house detention for one year in one of his villas:
see pictures, article is in german.
There is no justice.
The fact that he expects a pardon is interesting as it’s hard to imagine he has much in the way of influence left at this point. I have to assume that most of his old cronies are doing their damnedest to erase any sign they were ever tied to him at all.
Lord Vetinari from Discworld put it best:
Never build a dungeon you wouldn’t want to spend the night in yourself
and
Never build a dungeon you can’t get out of
I’m guessing Terry Pratchett has to pay royalties to Berlusconi for those quotes.
When people say that Italy is corrupt, they’re not kidding.
His influence isn’t with the voters, it’s with the mob, who are far more powerful than the government.
Hookers and blow included I presume.
While its corruption is truly impressive, Italy shouldn´t get all the credit. While not as prominent, here in Austria, former Interior Minister Ernst Strasser´s sentence of four years for corruption in first inctance, has just been anulled by the supreme court. There is an actual video in which he unambiguously offers two undercover journalists political favours in the European parliament for money. His defence in court was that he was trying to “go undercover himself to expose corruption and lure the people who were offering him money into a trap”. A proper secret agent that bastard is. Aside from him, pretty much half of our former government´s ministers are under investigation or being prosecuted for one corruption or another over the last few years and none of them has had to actually serve a sentence so far. Politicians = corrupt shitmuppets
I hear Toronto needs a new mayor in 2014 … and has no extradition treaty with Italy … He’d have to take up drugs, though
It’s so maddening isn’t it? What is it with these assholes that makes them think they’re above the law? I can understand self preservation, but it’s that camaraderie they have (with each other, not those they’re employed to look after), like in the Police force, that really grates with me.
Well, yes, but Americans kept Reagan in power for 8 years.
Every country is as shit at holding people accountable as the next - but
from what I understand citizens in the US don’t have to routinely give
bribes to policemen, or give kick-backs to the taxman 
The next Celebrity Big Brother: Berlusconi, Bob Ford, Paul Flowers…
He´ll be back!
This is going to make for an epic Bugle
At first glance the photo looks like Berlusconi is giving the “P. Trudeau salute”, but he is merely extending his index finger.
Fuddle duddle.
Certainly is. And they´re right, they are above the law, at least as long as we let them be. And we let them be.
I sincerely hope he keeps a high public profile for years to come, because he is entertaining. Ford, too!
