Richard Owen
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ROME Three weeks after he was sworn in as Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi is under fire for trying to “smuggle through Parliament” laws to benefit his personal business and media interests.
The centre-left Opposition had walked out of the Lower House in protest at parts of a Government decree allowing Rete 4, one of three channels owned by Mr Berlusconi’s family, to keep broadcasting on analogue until 2012. After the protest the Government dropped the controversial passages of the decree.
Under EU competition rules Mr Berlusconi’s Mediaset company is obliged to move Rete 4 on to digital channels, thus freeing up frequencies for rivals. Rete 4 has been at the centre of a legal dispute for the past nine years with rival broadcaster Europa 7, which says its frequencies were illegally given to Mediaset’s channel. Paolo Romani, the deputy Communications Minister, said the Government would reintroduce the Rete 4 measure “at the first opportunity”.
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Berlusconi is the Law! If he wants his TV channels to be broadcast then Italian Parliament, actually the Members of the Italian Parliament, democraticly elected (?), will make the Laws to fit his needs.
Now that is what I call "TRUE DEMOCRACY".
Viva L'Italia!!! ( ...and not Forza Italia).
Andrea, Palermo, Italy
rete4 IS NOT the last problem!
we don't hava a free information... press is financed by government and all the televisions made politics propaganda. three of them are property of berlusconi and the other three are property of berlusconi as well.
roberto from rome is right, please help us!
giorgio, torreglia, padova
Please Help Us.
Roberto, Rome, Italy
So that you have understood..Sixty millons of italians are stupid or maybe, criminals. They have openly voted; they have freely chosen but ..they didn't understand. Your case is different: just you are permitted to know. First rule of democracy stands into a genuine respect of different viewpoints
B. Dianda, Florence, Italy
Italian politicians have ALWAYS passed laws only for THEIR interests.The country is in a mess and 'political' organized crime is what it is, thanks to 50years of bad governing. The last problem is Rete4.Urgent matters as Clean Magistrates & Crime now need urgent attention using New ideologies.
Anna, Rome, Italy
Despite his attempt to pass himself off as a legitimate and democratic political leader, Berlusconi has not changed. His own (business) interests come first, and then those of his friends. The interests of Italy naturally come last.
Lindsay, Milan, Italy
What Mr. Berlusconi does is not in the Italians people interest, only in Berlusconi,s one.But Italy has other much bigger problems and that is the organized crime wich is eating the heart of the economic structure way.
As long as crime thrives, Italy will suffer. Crime has roots in Italy .
L.A. ISUFI, Bergen County.N.J, United States