Berlusconi to defend himself on TV, in courtrooms

ROME — Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Thursday he will go on TV and appear in courtrooms to prove that corruption and tax fraud charges in two trials against him are false.

The proceedings in Milan are to resume after a top Italian court overturned a law granting Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office. However, the main trial will have to start anew, lawyers said, making it unlikely that a verdict might be reached before the statute of limitations kicks in.

Still, the ruling by the Constitutional Court on Wednesday dealt a significant blow to the Italian leader, prompting a furious reaction by Berlusconi, who said the decision by a widely respected court was politically motivated.

The premier is already engulfed in a headline-grabbing sex scandal over his purported dalliances with young women. Last weekend tens of thousands took to the streets of Rome against his alleged attempts to curb freedom of the press. Then a court in Milan ordered his holding company Fininvest to pay a devastating euro750 million ($1 billion) to a rival for a case dating from the 1990s.

Berlusconi sounded defiant over the two trials set to resume in Milan.

"These two trials are laughable, they are a farce which I will illustrate to Italians also by going on TV," he said. "I will defend myself in the courtrooms and ridicule my accusers, showing all Italians ... the stuff I am made of."

Berlusconi has already ruled out stepping down, and his conservative allies, who have a comfortable majority in parliament, have rallied to his support.

"We'll continue to govern without this law," the ever-combative premier said on state radio. He added that he felt "absolutely necessary and indispensable to the democracy, freedom and well-being of this country."

Berlusconi, 73, is still widely popular in Italy, despite accusations from his wife that he has had inappropriate relationships with far younger women and allegations from a self-described call girl that he spent a night with her. The scandal erupted in the spring after his wife announced she was divorcing him.

Berlusconi says he is "no saint" but has denied ever paying anyone for sex or having any improper relationships.