Basta

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi Says He won't Run In 2013

Likely successor pushes measure to clear some of PM's charges.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in 2013 and named his likely successor, Sicilian justice minister Angelino Alfano. Alfano, meanwhile, pushed a measure through parliament Wednesday that would effectively halt the trial in which Berlusconi is accused of bribing his British lawyer, David Mills. The bill would also halt the trials of 14,000 other people accused of similar offenses and has been defended by Berlusconi as a way to speed up the country’s notoriously delayed legal system. But this measure will not clear Berlusconi of some of the other charges against him, including one in which he is charged with paying an underage teenager for sex and then using his position to organize a coverup.