Ethics Newsline®

ROME
In a move ironically designed to prevent international embarrassment, Italy’s lower house of parliament passed a bill granting prime minister Silvio Berlusconi legal immunity while he’s in office.

Passage of the bill, which received approval earlier by the Senate and, according to the Guardian, was originally proposed by Mr. Berlusconi himself, has sparked anger and outrage throughout Italy, as well as scorn from around the world.

With Italy set to assume the rotating six-month European Union presidency on July 1, the new bill guarantees that Berlusconi cannot be convicted of crimes, including pending charges that he bribed judges in the 1980s.

Praising the bill’s passage, Berlusconi, a media tycoon, told Reuters that “it brings Italy into line with other European countries.”

During a court appearance in Milan last week, he also stated that “throwing doubt and mud on the prime minister’s office throws doubt and mud on the entire country,” according to the New York Times.

His critics, particularly those in the left-wing opposition, clearly see things differently. Giuseppe Fanfani, an opposition member of Parliament, told the New York Times, “It’s a law of privilege; it’s not democratic for one person to have so much power.”

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that La Repubblica, a left-leaning Italian newspaper, ran a front page editorial after the bill’s passage declaring, “From today, Berlusconi can no longer face trial … as a citizen, therefore, he is no longer equal to everyone else. The law is no longer equal for all.”

A referendum movement organized by members of the Communist Party, Greens, and civil rights organization is already under way in an attempt to overturn the law, which is opposed by two-thirds of the Italian population, according to one recent poll cited by the BBC.

While charges could be reinstated after Berlusconi’s term expires, observers contend that is unlikely, according to the Guardian.