Berlusconi lashes out at Italian establishment

By Crispian Balmer

ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
went on the warpath on Thursday, three days before a general
election, accusing the judiciary, the press, big business and
banks of plotting his defeat.

In a series of fierce outbursts, Berlusconi presented
himself as a martyr for democracy and warned that civil
liberties would be trampled on if his rival Romano Prodi won
the ballot on April 9 and 10.

Center-left opposition leaders accused the prime minister
of losing his nerve in the face of a likely election rebuff.

Speaking at a news conference, a furious-looking Berlusconi
said mainstream Italian newspapers, backed by major
industrialists, were working together to undermine his
campaign.

He also blasted magistrates in Milan, saying they had
deliberately tried to wreck his political ambitions by seeking
to press charges against him ahead of the election.

“There are state employees whose salaries came from the
citizens and who plot, plot and plot against the prime
minister,” the billionaire leader said, his trademark smile
replaced by a scowl.

Speaking later, he said United Nations observers should
monitor the election. “With all the newspapers on (the left’s)
side, with television stations behaving the way you’ve seen,
you bet they should come to defend us from these men who are
experts at rigging (elections),” Berlusconi said.

Berlusconi has dominated the acrimonious election campaign
with a string of pledges, outbursts and gaffes that have turned
the vote into a referendum on himself.

But he has appeared increasingly tense in recent days and
opposition leaders said he was losing his calm.

“Berlusconi is a man who is fighting against the entire
country. I don’t know how he can think to govern Italy in this
fashion,” said former prime minister Massimo D’Alema, chairman
of the largest opposition party, the Democrats of the Left.

“In fact, I don’t think he is going to govern it anymore.”

TALKING DEFEAT

Berlusconi’s coalition has trailed the center-left in
opinion polls for the last two years as voters signaled their
discontent with the economy which has barely grown since 2001.

An election poll blackout came into force two weeks ago, at
which point the opposition was 3.5-5.0 percentage points ahead.

The prime minister told a rally of his Forza Italia (Go
Italy) party on Wednesday that he had finally taken the lead,
but critics said he was bluffing. For the first time, he talked
on Thursday about the possibility of defeat.

“I feel as strong as a lion and am sure that I will win,
but even if I were defeated, which I don’t think will be the
case, it will be a very limited defeat and the left will have
to take account of us in parliament,” Berlusconi said.

The prime minister has led a remarkable campaign,
displaying a strength and energy that belie his 69 years. But
he has always complained that rigid electoral rules have
prevented him from going on television as much as he wanted.

On Wednesday he was forced to pull out of a prime time
interview on one of his own Mediaset television stations
following an avalanche of protests from opposition politicians.

“We have to be careful about this Mediaset case because our
freedom is at risk. This is a dress rehearsal for a regime,” he
said on Thursday.

But his anger was aimed primarily at prosecutors who want
him to stand trial on charges of bribing lawyer David Mills —
the husband of British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell.

Berlusconi has always denied corrupting Mills and on
Thursday he presented bank statements that he said proved the
money in question had come from a Naples shipbuilder.

Friday is the final day of campaigning with Saturday
reserved as a day of reflection.