Boos for Berlusconi's attacks on court system

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-26  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi called the nation's judiciary a "cancerous growth" yesterday, saying biased prosecutors had pursued him since he entered politics 14 years ago.

Crossing his wrists like someone in handcuffs, Berlusconi said: "Many prosecutors would like to see me like this."

Media mogul Berlusconi said he had spent 174 million euros (US$271 million) on legal fees in a series of cases linked to a business empire which ranges from private television to insurance services and AC Milan soccer club.

Critics of the conservative billionaire accuse him of being "obsessed" with a hatred of the courts. They say he is abusing his power to get a law passed that would suspend a long-running corruption case against him and British lawyer David Mills.

His latest attack on the judiciary, in a speech to a shopkeepers' conference, was met with boos and whistles.

Bitter battle

Berlusconi won a third term in May promising to crack down on crime. But he has spent much of his time since battling with prosecutors and judges.

The clashes have undermined a truce between the government and center-left opposition, whose leader Walter Veltroni called Berlusconi's latest outburst "embarrassing."

President Giorgio Napolitano worries the current climate could "rekindle a dangerous rivalry between politics and justice."

Berlusconi, the 71-year-old leader of the center-right People of Freedom party, accused the courts of "subverting" his government via "crazy and unfounded accusations."

"(From 1994) to 2006, 789 prosecutors and magistrates took an interest in the politician Berlusconi with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian people," he said.