Berlusconi Expelled from Senate in Italy

New York Times ^ | 11/27/2013 | JIM YARDLEY

[SeekAndFind]

ROME — Having spent months manufacturing procedural delays or conjuring political melodrama, Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday could no longer stave off the inevitable: Italy’s senate stripped him of his parliamentary seat, a dramatic and humiliating expulsion, even as other troubles loom on his horizon.

In the hours before the vote, Italian senators read speeches for or against Mr. Berlusconi, the once-powerful former prime minister. Mr. Berlusconi responded with an outdoor rally in central Rome, transforming the day into a televised, split-screen standoff: on one screen was the former prime minister, declaring himself a victim of persecution and pledging to remain a political force; on the other, the Italian senate, with a majority of rival politicians, who finished their speeches and lowered the boom.

[GeronL]

Shouldn’t Senators be chosen by... elections? even in Italy you would think so

[DannyTN]

He was convicted of tax fraud. Our senate would do the same thing if a Republican was convicted. And put him in charge of the IRS if he was a democrat.

He also is expected to soon start performing one year of community service for the tax fraud conviction that is the basis of his removal from the senate. Moreover, a court in Milan has ruled that Mr. Berlusconi cannot seek any public office for the next two years.

[b4its2late]

Center Right must equate RINO in Italy?

[Lx]

So much for Il Duce II. I kind of liked his antics, I mean come on, didn’t they elect a porn star too? Exactly how much can you get away with as a politician in Italy? Seems like a lot.