Rome, April 15: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has named his incumbent Justice Minister Angelo Alfano as his possible successor in the 2013 elections.
In a private session with foreign journalists on Tuesday, the Italian premier said he would not become a candidate in the upcoming elections, AFP reported on Thursday.
“I could head the list, but I don’t want to have an operational role,” he added.
Berlusconi also denied campaigning for presidency, naming his right-hand man Gianni Letta as an “extraordinary candidate” for the job.
His remarks during the private session were leaked to Italian news agencies and the story made the front pages of major newspapers.
Berlusconi, 74, stepped into politics in 1994 and has so far survived several trials over sex, fraud and power abuse allegations.
On Wednesday, Italy’s lower chamber voted in favor of Alfano’s judicial reform bill which was allegedly proposed to save Berlusconi from his ongoing trials.
Alfano had also drawn up a bill to give the prime minister temporary immunity from his trials. However, Italy’s constitutional court partly rejected the measure in January.
On Monday, Berlusconi walked out of a court room during his tax fraud trial, calling the hearing “a waste of time.”
On April 6, the Italian premier’s opening trial over “sex with a minor” allegations was adjourned until March 31, since he refused to attend the hearing.
Berlusconi, who has faced at least a dozen trials over the years, denies all charges against him, claiming that he has been victimized by leftist magistrates that are using the legal system to bring him down.
In Italy, underage sex is punishable by up to three years in prison, while abuse of power carries a maximum sentence of up to 12 years in jail.
——–Agencies