Latest hair-raising scandal of Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi

January 28, 2010 Richard Owen in Rome

After the sex scandals, the corruption charges and the controversy over the attack on him in Milan last month Italians this week had yet another reason to talk about Silvio Berlusconi: the mystery of his disappearing and re-appearing hair.Last weekend Mr Berlusconi, 73, who has had hair transplants and cosmetic surgery, attended the wedding of Mariastella Gelmini, his Education Minister, with his tinted receding hairline in place as normal.
On Monday however, when the Prime Minister attended a check up at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan that was ordered by prosecutors investigating the attack, the hair on his forehead had disappeared. He looked bald, pale and tired according to before and after photographs published in the magazine Novella 2000.
By Wednesday, when Mr Berlusconi attended ceremonies in Parliament marking Holocaust Day, the thatch was back together with his ebullience. “Three versions in five days,” said La Repubblica. “A new Berlusconi mystery”.
Even Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by Mr Berlusconi’s brother Paolo, today noted the “mystery of the hair” adding “Now you see it. now you don’t”. It offered no explanation however, and the Prime Minister’s office declined to comment.
Piero Rosati, the surgeon who carried out hair transplants on the Prime Minister in 2004 and 2005, was quoted as suggesting that Mr Berlusconi’s hair had fallen out because of stress. It remains unclear however whether the reappearance of the hair two days later was due to emergency reinsertion of follicles or a toupee.
Mr Berlusconi’s first hair transplant was initially covered up by a bandana which he wore during a summer visit by Tony and Cherie Blair to his Sardinian villa. In that operation hair was transferred from the back of his head.
Mr Berlusconi said afterwards that he felt 25 years younger. “I am very happy to have subjected myself to such pain,” he told reporters. Hair transplants and cosmetic surgery were “a way of showing respect to those who share your life, your family, and to those who expect you to represent them on an international and national stage”.
It is not known whether he had cosmetic surgery during his month’s absence from public view after the Milan attack, in which Massimo Tartaglia, 42, threw a stauette of Milan cathedral at him after a rally.
Milan prosecutors ordered an independent examination of Mr Berlusconi’s injuries as part of their investigation against Mr Tartaglia. The results are due to be handed to prosecutors by February 8. By law if the victim’s injuries last more than 40 days charges of assault carry a heavier penalty.
At the time of the attack doctors at the hospital said that recovery would take 25 days, but Mr Berlusconi’s doctor said that it would take 90 days. Mr Berlusconi returned to work after 37 days with barely any sign of facial injury, giving rise to conspiracy theories — dismissed by his aides — that the assault was staged or exaggerated.
The Prime Minister remains popular despite his involvement with showgirls and escorts, which prompted his wife Veronica Lario to demand a divorce.
He faces regional elections in March which will be a crucial test of his standing after not only the scandals but also his attacks on the judiciary and his continuing attempts to push through Parliament laws which would have the effect of annulling two trials for corruption. The trials were revived in October when his immunity from prosecution was ruled unconstitutional.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7006353.ece

Silvio Berlusconi supporters angry at doubt over Milan cathedral attack

January 21, 2010
Richard Owen in Rome


Supporters of Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, have accused magistrates in Milan of "casting doubt" on the attack on him last month by demanding that he submit to medical checks to establish the true extent of his injuries.
The move came as the Senate passed a Bill shortening criminal trials in the face of protests by the centre Left opposition. It said it was an "ad personam" measure to enable Mr Berlusconi to evade justice by ensuring that two current trials in which he faces charges of corruption run out of time.
The Bill now passes to the Lower House, where it is expected to be approved next month, although it is not clear when — or whether — President Napolitano will sign it into law.
Mr Berlusconi, 73, suffered facial injuries when Massimo Tartaglia, 42, a Milan electronics engineer with a history of psychiatric problems, hurled a souvenir statuette of Milan cathedral at the Prime Minister while he was signing autographs at the end of a political rally.
The attack engendered a wave of public sympathy for Mr Berlusconi, who said it was the result of a "climate of hate" against him. He later attacked "politically motivated" magistrates for putting him in trial for corruption, saying they were "worse than Tartaglia".
A poll yesterday in the left leaning La Repubblica said he had maintained the personal popularity rating of 48 per cent he enjoyed after the attack, a rise of three percent on previous months when his ratings fell after of a series of embarrassing sex scandals.
On Tuesday Mr Tartaglia was transferred from the Milan prison where he has been held since the attack to a psychiatric hospital. Armando Sparato, the Milan prosecutor investigating the assault, said he had asked a medical team to examine Mr Berlusconi next Monday to establish "the extent and nature of his injuries, whether they are permanent or not, and the time needed for them to heal".

He said this was an "inevitable" part of the investigation since any charges against Mr Tartalia would depend in part on the damage he had inflicted. However Francesco Casoli, deputy head of Mr Berlusconi's ruling People of Liberty party in the Senate, said it was "an arrogant move to cast doubt on the real state of the Prime Ministers health".

At the time of the attack Alberto Zangrillo, the Prime Minister's doctor, said he had suffered deep cuts to his lips and left cheek, a fractured nose and two smashed teeth, and would need 90 days to recover. By law Mr Tartaglia faces a lower penalty if the injuries last for less than forty days. Above that limit the injuries are considered "grave".
Mr Berlusconi returned to work in Rome this month, 37 days after the attack, with little sign of the gashes on his face. He conceded that the injuries were barely visible, touching his cheek and saying "I have a little scar here". On Tuesday, visiting rehoused victims of last year's earthquake at L'Aquila in Abruzzo, he said he "two small scars" and had lost a tooth, adding "but I have another 35 left".
A video posted on YouTube shortly after the attack showed Mr Berlusconi instantly covering his face with a black handkerchief and holding it there while being bundled into his car. He then clambered out of the car and stood up on the doorframe, his face streaming with blood. His aides dimiss the idea that the attack was faked to gain sympathy as "ridiculous and insulting".

Last October Italy's Constitutional Court overturned a law giving Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while in office. This paved the way for the resumption of two trials, one involving allegations that he bribed David Mills, his British former tax adviser and estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, to give false evidence in court on his behalf in the 1990s.

The Supreme Court is to rule on 25 February on whether to uhold a four and half year sentence given to Mr Mills last year for accepting the bribe. Mr Berlusconi's lawyers have said he will attend a hearing two days later in his own trial for allegedly giving the bribe.

Mr Berlusconi was due to attend a hearing on Monday in a second trial involving alleged tax fraud by his Mediaset television company, but his lawyers told the court he had unavoidable duties elsewhere. Prosecutors allege that Mr Berlusconi siphoned off 280 million Euros (£242m) by using two offshore companies to purchase US film rights and then re-sell them to Mediaset at inflated prices.
Mr Berlusconi said the trials against him were "firing squads".
Since the law applies retrospectively, both cases involving Mr Berlusconi would lapse if the Bill is approved.
Anna Finocchiaro, leader in the Senate of the opposition Democratic Party, said Mr Berlusconi was abusing his power to save himself. "Your priority has been, government after government, to serve your private interests" she said. "To do this you have not been afraid of shattering our legal system, and you have never shown any shame". Opposition senators waved banners reading "Berlusconi, face your trials."

The centre Right said the bill was a long needed reform to Italy's slow and lengthy trials system. However magistrates say the law could sink up to 100,000 trials, including bankruptcy cases in which tens of thousands of small investors are suing to get their money back.
Mr Berlusconi this week took part in a ceremony at Parliament honouring Bettino Craxi, the disgraced former Prime Minister and Mr Berlusconi's political mentor, ten years after his death in exile in Tunisia after fleeing Italy to escape prison for corruption. Mr Berlusconi, who built up his television empire thanks to changes in media law under Mr Craxi, has argued that Mr Craxi, like himself, was the victim of judicial persecution.
The centre Right is drawing up further measures include a law allowing Mr Berlusconi not to attend court cases because "legitimate impediments" and a constitutional reform to restore his immunity.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6995720.ece

Un giorno di ordinario silenzio/assenso

Mattino. Scendi le scale. Porti la spazzatura nei bidoni differenziati. In ognuno ci sono rifiuti di ogni tipo. Esci in strada. Le strisce pedonali occupate da un Suv. Lo aggiri. Attraversi. Fermata dell'autobus. Macchine parcheggiate sull'area di sosta del mezzo pubblico. 15 metri a destra per trovare un varco e salire. Un fumatore in attesa butta il pacchetto vuoto sul marciapiede. Nell'autobus rubano un portafoglio a una signora. Osservi, taci (e se avesse un coltello?). Attraversi una piazza. Cani che cagano su un prato riservato ai bambini. Semaforo rosso, in mezzo alla strada una buca. Un motociclista potrebbe ammazzarsi. Qualcuno avvertirà i vigili. Bar. Frasi nell'aria: "Berlusconi e la giustizia a orologeria", "Di Pietro terrorista". Perché discutere? Tossisci, l'aria è irrespirabile. Qualcuno ci penserà. Apri una busta della banca. Il tasso di interesse è ridotto allo 0,1%. Per il mutuo sull'appartamento il tasso è invariato al 9%. In ufficio non hanno rinnovato il contratto a venti colleghi a tempo determinato. I dirigenti sono al loro posto. Il Senato approva il processo breve. Napolitano scrive una lettera alla vedova Craxi: "Pagò con durezza senza eguali". Latitante, non un giorno di prigione e miliardi rubati agli italiani: durezza senza eguali? Un tuo conoscente è morto sul lavoro, scivolato da un tetto. Nessuno lo ricorda, era solo una brava persona. Poste, coda di mezz'ora. Un pagamento alla Agenzia delle Entrate di 35 euro per una contestazione sul calcolo delle tasse di tre anni prima. Dal vetro, sporco, degli uffici postali intravedi una Ferrari. Un pensionato spiega a un altro che lo Scudo Fiscale ha fatto rientrare i capitali in Italia. Loda Tremonti. Sai che i soldi non sono rientrati, che sono capitali di mafiosi, di corrotti e di evasori totali ripuliti con il 5% allo Stato. Guardi avanti a te. Paghi. Metropolitana. Un bambino di forse cinque anni suona il violino. Chiede la carità. La gente guarda sopra. Domani ci sarà un altro bambino schiavo al suo posto e nessuna autorità in giro. Cammini verso casa. Costeggi il fiume a piedi. Sulle rive, cassette di frutta e sacchetti di plastica. L'acqua di colore nero brunastro. Chi sarà ad inquinare? Qualcuno interverrà. Uno scivolo per portatori di handicap è occupato, come tutti gli altri a vista d'occhio. Nel prato di fronte a casa ci sono delle gru. Uno stabile di venti piani. La luce non entrerà più dalla tua finestra. Accenderai la luce. Ora la spegni, è tardi. La tua giornata di ordinario silenzio/assenso è finita.

Postato il 23 Gennaio 2010 alle 18:45 su:http://www.beppegrillo.it/muro_del_pianto/#009005