"I am absolutely the person the most persecuted by the judiciary of all times, in all history and of anywhere in the world," [Berlusconi] told journalists on emerging from a cabinet meeting.I'd like to see them give this guy the peace prize. The backdrop to this absolute PR gem is a law Berlusconi had pushed (literally, if his 'gaffe' was no slip of the tongue) through which gave him and four of his goons complete immunity from prosecution. It was adopted last year, and you can read about it here.Berlusconi said he had made more than 2,500 court appearances and spent more than 200 million euros on his defence in the various legal cases against him.
In a typical Berlusconi gaffe, he said the money had gone on paying "consultants and judges", before correcting that to "consultants and lawyers."
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On Wednesday, Italy's Constitutional Court dealt Berlusconi a stinging blow by throwing out a law shielding him from prosecution while in office."The persecution is continuing of course," Berlusconi said Friday. "I would never have thought anyway that left-wing judges could approve" the immunity law.
"I will just have to take a few hours off from my work as head of government to deal with the trials."
The quality of the absurd that infuses Italian politics seems, especially at a distance, almost Blofeld-esque. Berlusconi's logic for exempting himself from the law, as far as I can tell, is something along the lines of 'I have had to spend 200,000,000 euros on these trials. Isn't that terrible?' In actual fact, it should have been 'I have committed a plurality of crimes so great as to equal in their defense the price of 200,000,000 euros, therefore I am a villain of comic book proportions.' Frankly, sir, shocked and appalled does not do what I feel justice.
All things considered, it must be nice being a judge in Italy. Where else can you be on the taxpayer's and the president's payroll?
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I think what's really at fault here is the international community insisting that Italy maintain its pretense of Democracy. Otherwise, Berlusconi could have put his hard-extorted money towards more practical ends, like augmenting a private security force. 200 million Euros is enough money to bomb the moon four times. Now that's Blofeld proportions.
ReplyDeleteOh man, Dan, please put that link up on the mainpage. We bombed the moon in my lifetime.
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