SILVIO BERLUSCONI, the Italian Prime Minister, plans to sue The Economist after it published an open letter accusing him of “misdeeds” in business dealings, his Fininvest company said yesterday.
The letter to Signor Berlusconi challenged him to answer questions over his business and political career. “Lawyers for Fininvest are studying the dossier and plan legal action,” Fininvest said. Signor Berlusconi refused to comment. His spokesman said that the Prime Minister “has better things to do than to read The Economist. His lawyers will be reading it.”
The magazine’s letter made headlines in Italy, and many papers published it at length.The Economist concentrates on SME, a state-owned food conglomerate. Eight people, including Signor Berlusconi, have been accused of bribing judges over a bid to sell SME in 1985. The Italian parliament granted immunity to the Prime Minister while in office and the trial was suspended.
The Economist said that Signor Berlusconi brought a defamation case against it after an article in April 2001 that said that he was “not fit to run Italy”. It was ironic that he believed that the courts should protect his reputation, even if he wanted immunity in other cases, the magazine said.