http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1083664/Obama-Berlusconi-faces-race-row-calls-Americas-black-president-suntanned.html:
Berlusconi: faces race row as he calls America's first black president 'suntanned'

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atPWXZTr0O58:
Berlusconi Targets Gypsies Amid Bias Against EU's Top Minority

http://www.brianmoylan.info/genoa/:
'Police and Paramilitary Brutalization of Protestors at Genoa G8 summit' by Brian Moylan

http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/31348-berlusconi-has-offended-nearly-every-g8-leader:
Berlusconi has offended nearly every G8 leader

http://www.brianmoylan.info/guestbook.php?godsaveus:
"God save us from the imbeciles"

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/g8-target-weak-berlusconi-1805615.html:
Mr Berlusconi's fellow leaders are unimpressed with his presidency of the G8 so far. Aid for developing countries is a big priority for this summit, as for all G8s, but Italy's performance in this area is a "total disgrace", according to one summit planner.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/business/31444-geldof-skewers-berlusconi-ahead-of-laquila-meet:
'Geldof skewers Berlusconi ahead of L'Aquila meet'

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1767924:
Attention-grabbing Berlusconi could hijack G8 summit
"..the billionaire Italian prime minister is usually found deep in a cauldron of controversy because of innumerable outrageous statements, sex scandals, corruption investigations, and alleged links to organized crime."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/honour-your-promises-over-aid-g8-leaders-urge-berlusconi-1736208.html:
Honour your promises over aid, G8 leaders urge Berlusconi
Italian summit host under fresh pressure to help world's poorest nations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jul/10/berlusconi-guardian-italy:
"Apology to the Guardian for Berlusconi"
I'm sorry for our prime minister's predictable reaction to a story about G8 summit preparations, please keep the spotlight on Italy.
Berlusconi's control over the media is exercised via his ownership of the largest Italian publishing house, Mondadori, as well as via the country's six television networks: three private Mediaset channels owned by Berlusconi himself and three channels of the public broadcaster RAI which Berlusconi indirectly controls and influences, with very rare exceptions I might add, through managerial staff appointments.
His virtually total control of the media allows him to maintain a dominant position and provides an endless source of revenue that helps to consolidate his position within the institutions via a wide-ranging system of patronage.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/berlusconi-accused-of-bugging-talks-1740208.html:
Berlusconi accused of bugging talks
The Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was at the receiving end of an unusual allegation yesterday when a senior Italian official claimed the Italian delegation had been secretly bugging the deliberations at the G8 summit - which protocol dictates are kept firmly off the record - to help Mr Berlusconi keep up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/17/italy.g8:
The bloody battle of Genoa
In the Italian city hosting the G8 summit in 2001, all but a handful came to demonstrate peacefully. Instead, many were beaten to a pulp by seemingly out-of-control riot police.
...
In one corridor, they ordered a group of young men and women to kneel, the easier to batter them around the head and shoulders. This was where Daniel Albrecht, a 21-year-old cello student from Berlin, had his head beaten so badly that he needed surgery to stop bleeding in his brain.

http://story.argentinastar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/88176adfdf246af5/id/523623/cs/1/:
The news brought to you by Silvio Berlusconi
While it is true that Italian politics has its own peculiar dynamics, cultural exceptionalism does not excuse rotten government. The real scandal is the way the story has been suppressed.

Mr Berlusconi controls enough Italian media outlets to stymie negative reporting. Where he does not directly own newspapers and TV stations, he owns companies that control advertising revenue. News of the sex scandal has been limited to a few Web sites and one major newspaper - La Repubblica. Mr Berlusconi has described its coverage as "subversive".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8289129.stm:
Italy mudslide deaths 'to hit 50'

EVEN MORE "camping holidays" for Italian people, says the moron.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/07/silvio-berlusconi-immunity-law-uncontitutional:
Italian court rules Berlusconi's immunity law unconstitutional

'Judges reject prime minister's act which would exempt him from facing a series of trials for fraud, tax evasion and bribery'

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/berlusconi-im-the-most-persecuted-man-in-all-history-1909927.html:
Berlusconi: I'm the most persecuted man in all history

'FEW would doubt that it has been a bad week for Silvio Berlusconi.

The Italian Prime Minister, who earlier lost the immunity from prosecution that has protected him from criminal proceedings, lamented his fate yesterday, saying that he was "absolutely the most persecuted by the judiciary in all of the history of the entire world".

Then he followed up with a slip of the tongue. Citing the 106 investigations and trials against him over the years, and the 2,500 court hearings they entailed, he mistakenly suggested, just for a second before correcting himself, that he might have bought judicial influence.

"Over the years I have spent €200m on consultants and judges ... sorry, consultants and lawyers," he said.

The remark elicited a ripple of laughter through the news conference...'

http://www.france24.com/en/20091003-mass-demonstration-rome-defend-press-freedom-protest-italy:
Mass demonstration in Rome to defend press freedom

'About 100,000 people demonstrated in Rome to defend press freedom against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's grip on the media. Berlusconi has filed a series of lawsuits against newspapers reporting on his scandal-plagued private life.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/12/berlusconi-taskforce-press-sex-life:
Silvio Berlusconi plans taskforce to fight bad press over sex and legal woes
'Foreign media to be bombarded with good news about Silvio Berlusconi and Italy'

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/6400484/berlusconi-says-communist-judges-out-to-destroy-him/:
Berlusconi says communist judges out to destroy him

'ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gave a foretaste of how he may defend himself when he goes back on trial for corruption next month, attacking the judicial system as overrun by  communists  out to destroy him.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8327072.stm:
Murdoch wins Berlusconi ad spat

'Silvio Berlusconi's Italian broadcaster Mediaset is being anti-competitive against Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, a Milan court has said.

A judge ruled the Italian PM's media arm was preventing News Corp's Italian unit, Sky Italia, from buying ads on its television networks.'

http://news.eircom.net/breakingnews/16737400/:
Italy's courts protest against Berlusconi's jibes

'Italy's magistrates staged courtroom protests across the country today over premier Silvio Berlusconi's latest attack on prosecutors and judges.

Mr Berlusconi has a history of legal woes stemming from his business interests before he entered politics. Earlier this week, he hit out at what he said were communist judges and prosecutors intent on destroying him.'

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/berlusconi-cut-deal-with-mafia-court-told-1834647.html:
Berlusconi 'cut deal with Mafia', court told

'Former hitman claims Italian PM gave 'benefits' to the Mob for political support'

http://www.france24.com/en/20091205-bloggers-silvio-no-berlusconi-day-protest-italy-prime-minister-corruption:
Bloggers organise 'No Berlusconi Day' protest

'A group of bloggers have organised a protest in Rome to demand the resignation of scandal-ridden Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. They estimate a turnout of 350,000 participants for what they are calling "No Berlusconi Day."'

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/berlusconi-placed--italy-in-the-hands-of-mafia-says-hitman-1965308.html:
Berlusconi 'placed Italy in the hands of Mafia', says hitman

'Italian PM mentioned in meeting with crime boss'

'Gaspare Spatuzza was testifying in Turin in the appeal of Marcello Dell'Utri, an associate of Mr Berlusconi and co-founder of the Forza Italia party. He is appealing against a nine-year sentence for association with the Mafia. Mr Berlusconi and Dell'Utri deny involvement with the Mafia.'

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1943676,00.html:
An Italian Town's White (No Foreigners) Christmas

'Italy's influential Northern League Party has stood out over the past decade for its particular knack in finding new (and not-so-new) ways of offending people based on country of origin and color of skin. In 2003, Umberto Bossi, founder of the party, which once espoused separatism, told an interviewer that police should open fire on the boatloads of undocumented Africans arriving on Italian shores, calling the would-be immigrants "bingo-bongos." Other Northern League pols have proposed everything from separate trains for immigrants to banning the building of new mosques and even prohibiting the serving of kebabs and other non-Italian food in city centers.'

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100123/tpl-italy-s-berlusconi-could-face-third-9eb7866.html:
Italy's Berlusconi could face third corruption trial: reports

'Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could face another corruption trial following an investigation into the purchase of television rights by part of his media empire, newspapers reported on Saturday.'

http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/2010/01/28/berlusconi-goes-in-mob-handed-for-injustice/:
Berlusconi goes in mob-handed for injustice

'Inequality under the law in Italy will become a reality if its controversial leader has his way, warns Andrea Mammone'

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=132140&d=31&m=1&y=2010&pix=world.jpg&category=World:
Italian judges walk out saying PM is aggressive

ROME: Magistrates walked out of courts across Italy on Saturday in protest against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's judicial reforms and what they see as aggressive language used against them.

"An execution squad, sewer, cancer, metastasis - these are some of the words that the prime minister and his deputies have used to describe us," said Gioacchino Natoli of the National Magistrates Association union, which organized the protest.

"We don't want to be subject to this continued aggression." Berlusconi has been on the warpath against the magistrates - whom he accuses of being "communists" out to destroy him - for months and has vowed to overhaul the judiciary with reforms that critics say are tailor-made to shield him from prosecution.

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/286703:
Opinion: The struggle for power in Italy

An important struggle for power is being waged in Italy, though it's not noticed enough by the world at large. The case is "prime minister and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi" versus "the independent justice system of Italian democracy".

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7010423.ece:
Berlusconi 'planning to nominate showgirls as poll candidates'

'Silvio Berlusconi was facing a party revolt yesterday over reported plans to field showgirls with little or no political experience as candidates in regional elections next month - a strategy that caused uproar last year.

The scheme to use attractive young women, including television hostesses, models and Big Brother contestants, as candidates in European and local elections last June was described by Veronica Lario, Mr Berlusconi's wife, as an abuse of power and "shameless trash . . . [to] amuse the Emperor".

Nearly all the candidates were withdrawn after similar criticism.

But amid a rise in popularity after a physical attack on him in December, the Italian Prime Minister appears to be reviving the plan.

Potential candidates for the ruling People of Liberty (PdL) party in March elections in Lazio include Francesca Pascale, a television presenter, and Cristina Ravot, a model and singer, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

Other prospective candidates are Francesca Provetti, a Miss Italy finalist and television host, to stand in Lombardy, and Giovanna Del Giudice, a former weather presenter on Rete 4, one of Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset television channels and now an assistant in the Senate, to stand in Campania.'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/world_agenda/article7023283.ece:
The secret of Silvio Berlusconi's popularity

'Outside Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is often seen as a gaffe-prone buffoon engulfed by sex scandals, who is using - or abusing - his power to change the law to avoid being put on trial for corruption. A leader who, many argue, is undermining the judiciary and endangering democracy in his attempt to avoid appearing in court.

Inside his home nation though, the Italian Prime Minister remains a popular conservative leader who has so far overcome all the scandals over escorts and tax fraud allegations and is likely to survive - if not triumph - at regional elections to be held next month.

At rallies this week Mr Berlusconi-s usual ebullience was restored. He showed no sign on his face of the injuries caused by an assailant who threw a souvenir of Milan cathedral at him in December. He dismissed speculation about the carve up of his business empire as the result of his impending divorce, saying that he had "nothing to repent" in his relations with women ("I have always acted with a sense of responsibility and respect," he said) and joked that he would be sending Valentines Day messages "to all my girlfriends".'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/world_agenda/article7023283.ece:
The secret of Silvio Berlusconi's popularity

'Outside Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is often seen as a gaffe-prone buffoon engulfed by sex scandals, who is using - or abusing - his power to change the law to avoid being put on trial for corruption. A leader who, many argue, is undermining the judiciary and endangering democracy in his attempt to avoid appearing in court.

Inside his home nation though, the Italian Prime Minister remains a popular conservative leader who has so far overcome all the scandals over escorts and tax fraud allegations and is likely to survive - if not triumph - at regional elections to be held next month.

At rallies this week Mr Berlusconi's usual ebullience was restored. He showed no sign on his face of the injuries caused by an assailant who threw a souvenir of Milan cathedral at him in December. He dismissed speculation about the carve up of his business empire as the result of his impending divorce, saying that he had "nothing to repent" in his relations with women ("I have always acted with a sense of responsibility and respect," he said) and joked that he would be sending Valentines Day messages "to all my girlfriends".'

http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20100216/bribery-scandal-clouds-berlusconis-election-hopes.htm:
Bribery scandal clouds Berlusconi's election hopes

'ROME - A high-profile corruption scandal involving Silvio Berlusconi's inner circle is denting the Italian prime minister's hopes of a sweeping victory in regional elections next month.

For the past week, magistrates probing lucrative public work contracts have closed in on Guido Bertolaso, the head of the civil protection department and Berlusconi's right-hand man in dealing with natural disasters.

On Monday, they questioned the national coordinator of Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party, Denis Verdini, who later revealed he was also under investigation.'

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=54309:
Corruption cases in Italy up by 229 pc

Legal sanctions are no longer a sufficient deterrent, Italy's state auditor said on Wednesday, fuelling a mounting debate on the morality of public life.

'Corruption is rising dramatically in Italy and legal sanctions are no longer a sufficient deterrent, Italy's state auditor said on Wednesday, fuelling a mounting debate on the morality of public life.

The Rome-based Audit Court, which oversees and controls possible irregularities in public spending, said cases of corruption increased by 229 percent last year from 2008.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is on trial for corruption and accounting fraud and accuses prosecutors of waging a politically motivated campaign against him.

"Corruption is part of our culture and the legal code is no longer enough", said court president Tullio Lazzaro. "We need a return to ethical behaviour on the part of everyone and I do not see that."'

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.1.35736438:
Italy: Premier rejects mafia-linked ally's resignation

'Rome, 19 Feb. (AKI) - Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has refused to accept the resignation of mafia-linked treasury under-secretary Nicola Cosentino. He offered to step down after the announcement of a criminal investigation of another close Berlusconi ally this month amid a widening corruption scandal.

Cosentino, a member of parliament who is also the coordinator of Berlusconi's conservative People of Freedom party in the southern Campania region where Naples is located, reportedly offered to quit on Thursday.

"I appreciate the high-minded reasons behind the Hon. Nicola Cosentino's gesture," said Berlusconi.

"It was aimed at preventing the opposition making political capital during the election campaign in Campania," Berlusconi added, referring to next month's regional elections.

"But I cannot accept his resignation and must reiterate my esteem for him and urge him to stay, in the interests of the party and of the country," the premier said.'

http://sify.com/news/sex-and-bribery-claims-rock-berlusconi-s-world-news-international-kcvmEeibgcb.html:
Sex and bribery claims rock Berlusconi's world

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has become mired in yet another controversy in run-up to the nation's regional elections.

Just weeks after shrugging off a series of sex scandals, Berlusconi is now involved in a new scandal that includes sex, bribes and the exploitation of the earthquake that struck the town of L'Aquila in April last year, killing 307 and leaving 50,000 homeless.

At that time, the way Berlusconi handled the reconstruction process was widely applauded. But now, transcripts obtained by magistrates through wire-taps have led to allegations that one of his political allies swapped rebuilding contracts for sexual favours, reports The Guardian.

As per the transcripts, two building contractors boasted that ties to the government would win them lucrative work.

"I was laughing at 3.30am in bed this morning," said Francesco de Vito Piscicelli, referring to the precise time of the tragedy.

The magistrates wiretapped Piscicelli and since the revelation three public officials and a contractor have been arrested. Twenty-seven people are under investigation, including Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, who is often seen at Berlusconi's side.

"These magistrates should be ashamed of themselves," was Berlusconi's first reaction. But after the news spread to newspapers, the prime minister has retreated into silence.'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8540134.stm:
Italy's Silvio Berlusconi attacks 'Taliban' judiciary

'Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, embroiled in two trials for fraud, has likened Italian prosecutors and judges to the Afghan Taliban.

He told a rally in the northern city of Turin that they were waging a subversive, political campaign to bring down his government.

He spoke after a UK lawyer accused of taking a bribe from him had the conviction quashed.

Magistrates condemned Mr Berlusconi's "insults and aggression".'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8541279.stm:
Silvio Berlusconi 'avoiding justice', demonstrators say
via Carl @ Kirklees Unity

Ten of thousands of Italians have demonstrated in Rome against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, over what they say are attempts to evade justice.

'Mr Berlusconi is on trial in two corruption cases. But legislation being discussed in parliament would in effect stop him going to court.

The protesters accuse the PM of seeking to undermine the legal system.

He says he is the victim of political persecution by the judiciary, which he recently compared to the Taliban.

Some demonstrators carried banners reading: "Enough, the law is the same for everyone."'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8566450.stm:
Thousands attend anti-Berlusconi protest in Rome


Speakers attacked Mr Berlusconi for what they said were his flouting of laws
'Tens of thousands of Italians have been taking part in a protest in Rome's main square against the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The demonstrators, called out by the opposition and unions, accused him of changing laws for his own benefit.

The protest organisers also called for employment, education and health to be at the centre of campaigning for this month's regional elections.

A recent opinion poll showed only low levels of support for Mr Berlusconi.'

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Served+Silvio+girls+marijuana+private/3772118/story.html:
Served up for Silvio, girls and marijuana on his private jet

Most Italians thought Silvio Berlusconi could not drag their country's reputation any lower. But yesterday the sleaze allegations against the Italian prime minister plumbed new depths when a call girl claimed that his private jet was used to supply marijuana to sex parties at his villa in Sardinia.

Nadia Macri', 28, has told investigators the billionaire premier paid her euros 10,000 (pounds 8,738) for intercourse when she visited him at Villa Certosa in Sardinia last year and at Arcore, his private residence outside Milan in April.

Miss Macri', an aspiring model and television showgirl who dreamed of appearing on the Italian equivalent of Big Brother, said marijuana joints were provided for about 25 young women who had been invited to Villa Certosa, where Mr Berlusconi has entertained Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin.

"There was grass available in all the rooms, it had been brought in on the prime minister's private jet," she told investigators, according to transcripts published by several Italian newspapers. "I saw a number of guests smoking, but never the prime minister."

The claims surfaced in an unrelated investigation into a cocaine trafficking ring involving Perla Genovesi, a former official in Mr Berlusconi's People of Freedom Party who is now a police whistle-blower. In 300 pages of testimony recorded last month, Miss Macri' said: "I've been to Berlusconi's homes three times, but we had sex on only on two occasions: once in Sardinia and once at Arcore. He gave me euros 10,000 and other small presents. He personally gave me the money in an envelope."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/07/silvio-berlusconi-sex-antics?CMP=twt_gu:
Silvio Berlusconi's sex antics disgust me and other Italian women

One of Italy's leading journalists bemoans the prime minister's philandering and the culture of machismo that celebrates his habitual womanising

I feel trapped. I try to get on with my life, but he finds me everywhere. On my couch, when I turn on my computer, and in my office, where he dominates all discussion. He's there in the morning, when I drink my cappuccino at the Ruschena bar in Rome and my fellow customers make jokes about him. He's there at parents' evening, where apparently conservative parents stop and ask me whether we should start a revolution.

And he's there in the evening, when I meet my exhausted, centre-left friends. The girls' nights out are the worst. The constant exposure to images of him, our 74-year-old prime minister, and of the half-naked young women allegedly linked to him is seriously affecting our mood. Not to mention our libido.

Being an Italian in what are - maybe - the last days of Silvio Berlusconi is confusing. Being an Italian woman is even more so. Many of us are worn out and ashamed, but we are also divided. There are those of us who can't take it any more. But there are also those who seek somehow to justify Berlusconi's behaviour.

"Oh well," they shrug. "Men will be men." We don't care, they say, about what he does in the privacy of his own home(s) as long as his government protects us from crime and immigration. Quite what they make of the latest headlines to grace our country's newspapers, therefore, is unclear.

I'd especially like to hear their opinions on Karima Keyek, the 17-year-old second-generation immigrant who frequented the prime minister's parties. Or, indeed, on allegations that his state jet was used for such grandiose functions as delivering cannabis to his Sardinian villa.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/nov/16/press-freedom-italy:
Mission finds serious press freedom concerns in Berlusconi's Italy

A week-long press freedom mission to Italy by the International Press Institute (IPI) uncovered "pockets of serious concern" about the state of the country's media.

The major worry, unsurprisingly, centred on the media holdings of the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. These have, said IPI's report, "negative effects on the diversity and plurality of Italy's television news spectrum."

It referred to Berlusconi's ownership of Italy's most powerful private broadcasting company, "in what by many democratic standards would constitute a clear conflict of interest, along with his willingness and ability to politically influence Italy's public broadcaster, RAI.

According to a news report by IPI's press freedom manager Anthony Mills who led the mission, "the politicisation of public broadcaster RAI is worrisome". Though it pre-dates Berlusconi's rise to power, "it appears to have intensified under his leadership."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8262852/Berlusconis-sex-orgy-flats-found-say-prosecutors.html:
Berlusconi's 'sex orgy' flats found, say prosecutors


Prosecutors are investigating whether Mr Berlusconi paid for sex with the then 17-year-old girl, Karima El Mahroug Photo: REUTERS By Nick Squires, Rome 5:20PM GMT 16 Jan 2011

The claims, contained in 300 pages of legal documents, provide details for the first time of the so-called "bunga-bunga" parties that a teenage Moroccan nightclub dancer said she witnessed last year at the prime minister's mansion at Arcore, outside Milan.

Prosecutors are investigating whether Mr Berlusconi paid for sex with the then 17-year-old girl, Karima El Mahroug, who gave herself the stage name of Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby the Heart Stealer. Paying for sex with a woman under the age of 18 is a crime in Italy and Mr Berlusconi faces a prison sentence of up to three years if the allegations are proved. Prosecutors want to interview him this week and insist that he face trial immediately.

The 74-year-old prime minister allegedly kept up to 14 women in apartments in Milano II, a housing estate he built on the outskirts of Milan in the 1970s. Police allegedly found sex toys, gifts of expensive jewellery and envelopes stuffed with 20,000 euros (£16,800) in cash in the flats. Mr Berlusconi, who defeated a parliamentary no confidence vote last month, said at the weekend that the investigation was a politically-motivated attempt to destroy him by Left-wing prosecutors.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/12/us-italy-idUSTRE7AA2GC20111112:
Crowds in Rome jubilant over Berlusconi's departure | Reuters


(Reuters) - Crowds gathered at government buildings on Saturday celebrating the imminent departure of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after parliament cleared the way for his resignation by approving a budget aimed at rescuing Italy from financial crisis.

Hundreds of demonstrators waving banners mocking Berlusconi flocked to the president's residence at the Quirinale Palace and shouted "clown, clown, clown" as the motorcade carrying the billionaire media entrepreneur who has been Italy's longest serving prime minister entered.

Berlusconi arrived at the palace, which was under heavy security, to formally hand his resignation to President Giorgio Napolitano and bring an end to one of the most scandal-plagued periods in recent Italian history.