Immunity

Berlusconi, the lovable rogue of Italy*, whose policy of appointing cabinet ministers based on their figures, and other various shenanigans appear to delight red-blooded Italian men, thought he had the perfect scam. He'd get rid of all these pesky prosecutions by getting himself elected, then pass a law declaring himself immune from prosecution. It worked.

He got the votes, and got his law through parliament just as the husband of our very own Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister (no, seriously, it is a genuine ministry), David Mills, was convicted of taking a bribe for testifying in Berlusconi's favour in the 90's. Mills got 4 and a half years, and is appealing.

Berlusconi got nothing at all, of course, and went on to sleep with numerous women less than half his age, some of whom were barely 18, none of whom were his wife, some of whom were paid escorts, some of whom cavorted on a bed apparently used by Putin on a state visit, and one of whom was wearing a wire. He also ran the country, occasionally. He denies paying for sex, but seems to revel in the affirmation of his masculinity.

I still haven't worked out why the papers reported the Putin-bed as such an important detail, though.

However, the constitutional court has gone and thrown a spanner in the works, insisting that all citizens are equal before the law, and Berlusconi is no exception, despite the protestations of his legal team. Let's see what his next move is. My money's on him modifying the constitution itself.





*N.B. Tongue may be firmly in cheek.