NAPLES: Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial for corruption yesterday, in a fresh legal blow to the centre-right leader following his conviction for tax fraud in August and a string of other cases.
Naples prosecutors accuse Berlusconi of bribing Sergio De Gregorio, a former senator in the small Italy of Values party, to switch allegiance as part of an attempt to bring down the centre-left government of former Prime Minister Romano Prodi in 2006.
De Gregorio, who has admitted receiving ¤3m from Berlusconi and attempting to persuade other senators to change sides, was sentenced to 20 months in jail after plea bagaining. His change of sides contributed to destabilising Prodi’s government and contributed to its eventual collapse.
REUTERS
