The Billionaire Toreador

The libel charges Silvio Berlusconi has filed against European media lie on questionable legal ground; but armed with enough cash to fight a multi-front legal battle and a bureaucracy slow enough to make things painful for his opponents, the Italian PM may still emerge a winner, Eric J Lyman comments for ISN Security Watch.

The most disconcerting aspect of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s latest questionable lawsuits against a series of European media is not that that he may win, but that he may succeed without winning.

The disarmingly gregarious Berlusconi is the most controversial Italian leader since World War II, with a multi-billion euro media empire at his disposal and a penchant for verbal gaffes. It’s tempting to see the recent spate of lawsuits as the latest in a long series of what appear to be off-the-cuff maneuvers from the colorful leader, but that would be short-sighted.

From a legal perspective, the lawsuits against Spain’s El Pais, France's Nouvel Observateur and Italy’s La Repubblica, among others, have little merit. They are all charged with detailing the 72-year-old Berlusconi’s unlikely relationship with an 18-year-old would-be model, the sex parties at his Sardinian villa, and recorded negotiations with high-end prostitutes.

None of the media are accused of reporting anything that is untrue. But, the prime minister contends, they are accused of tarnishing his already colorful reputation.

“Freedom of the press does not include the freedom to insult,” Berlusconi said of the cases.

Adds Niccolo Ghedini, the prime minister’s lawyer, “These newspapers repeat misguided opinions so often that they become accepted as fact by the public.” Ghedini argues that there is an “intolerable … [and] secret effort” to discredit Berlusconi.

Back in 2001, similar charges were made when Berlusconi sued The Economist weekly magazine for arguing in an editorial that Berlusconi was unfit to lead Italy due to past misdeeds and conflict of interest issues. Berlusconi’s lawyers charged at the time that the magazine sought to undermine Italian democracy, and one pro-Berlusconi newspaper wrote that the magazine’s London editors were “drunk with power.” The case inched through the Italian courts for seven years before a Milan judge finally dismissed the charges last year.

While Italian law does feature statutes providing for the “protection of personal honor,” legal experts say that odds are that most of the recent cases will end up like the one against The Economist, either thrown out or denied.

That is little consolation for those named in the suits or who fear being named in future suits. With the financial health of many newspapers in question amid the world in economic turmoil, it is easy to imagine that the risk of damages - Ghedini estimated that the suits could seek up to €1.5 million in sanctions - and the certainty of legal fees could be enough to convince many editors to call off the dogs in their coverage of Berlusconi.

If that happens, the effects could be worse than having the next round of sex scandals go underreported. At risk are more important topics that could be left unexamined, ranging from the Italian government’s increasingly xenophobic policies, its economic nationalism, the prime minister’s problematic conflict of interest issues, or the government’s uncomfortably cozy relationships with Moscow, Tehran and Tripoli.

Dario Franceschini, the head of main party in the feeble opposition, called the prime minister’s attacks on his critics “a sign of Berlusconi’s fears and weakness.” That may be at least partially true, but it has so far failed to significantly weaken Berlusconi’s grip on power.

There are many reasons for that: The anemic opposition Franceschini heads and Berlusconi’s control of a media empire that includes three major television networks, a leading newspaper, and a top publisher play a role. And the development of what is likely to be an increasingly timid stance from the media Berlusconi does not control is likely to only help his prospects.

For his part, Berlusconi insists there is a certain nobility in his role. “Our opponents are attacking us like angry bulls,” Berlusconi said of the media critical of him. “But they do not know that I am a bullfighter who is not scared of anything.” Apparently lost on him is the amusing notion that he has been playing the role of the toreador armed not with the traditional red cape, but with red tape.
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