Berlusconi spells more trouble ahead for Italy

In the month following a Supreme Court decision to uphold a guilty verdict for tax evasion against former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, political instability in Italy has risen towards boiling point.

While a lower appeals court is reconsidering the length of an accompanying ban on holding public office handed down to Berlusconi, anti-corruption legislation introduced by Mario Monti’s technocratic administration in 2012 already prohibits felons convicted to jail terms exceeding two ...