Disgraced former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi begins community service for tax fraud
PUBLISHED : Friday, 09 May, 2014, 11:17pm
UPDATED : Friday, 09 May, 2014, 11:17pm
Agence France-Presse in Cesano Boscone
Silvio Berlusconi arrives at the hospice yesterday. Photo: AFP
Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi began his community service for tax fraud yesterday.
The billionaire tycoon, who was convicted last year and has been expelled from parliament, has been ordered to work four hours once a week for up to a year helping out in a hospice for Alzheimer's patients near Milan.
"To prison!" shouted a trade unionist protester in a clown hat as 77-year-old Berlusconi arrived at the clinic with his security detail in a chauffeur-driven car.
The three-time former prime minister wore a navy blue suit with a badge from his Forza Italia party. The Catholic Church-run hospice in Cesano Boscone has said it will not allow Berlusconi to use his stint for political grandstanding in front of the world's media and will treat him like any other volunteer.
But Berlusconi's presence was anything but normal.
Volunteers working at the hospice said relatives of patients had been requesting visits for yesterday to see Berlusconi and even staff from other departments had been asking for transfers to the Alzheimer's section.
Italian media reported that medical workers had been asked not to take photos or videos inside the hospice.
Berlusconi has dominated Italian politics for two decades and is leading a campaign for European Parliament elections despite being barred from running. His party is expected to come third with about 20 per cent of the vote.
Massimo Restelli, head of the hospice's care services, told the La Repubblica daily that Berlusconi's introduction would be "gradual" so he and the elderly patients could get used to each other. "It will be small steps so as not to make any mistakes. Then he could do all sorts of things. He could help with meals, which are tricky because sometimes you have to 'remind' the patient that they are eating," he said.
Berlusconi himself has said in interviews that he has a "big surprise" in store and has hinted that this could involve a deeper commitment to Alzheimer's sufferers.
"I think in the end I will stay a lot longer than I have to. I have a big surprise prepared. It took me just 10 days to learn the different cure methods that can be used," he told a radio show.
Berlusconi's 29-year-old girlfriend Francesca Pascale told the Il Mattino daily that he was "not afraid". But she added: "He does not deserve this".
