<p>But commentators warned that tension stemming from the Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday could destabilise the political landscape and spill over into the economy.<br /> <br />“The government will forge ahead calmly, tranquilly and with even more grit than before because this will be absolutely indispensable for freedom and democracy in this country,” Berlusconi said in a morning radio interview. <br /><br />In a major blow for the 73-year-old Berlusconi, the court ruled that a law granting him immunity from prosecution while he is in office violates the constitution. The verdict will reopen two trials against him that were suspended. <br /><br />Berlusconi also has been hit by a spate of scandals surrounding his private life, including allegations a businessman paid women to sleep with him. His wife announced in May she wanted a divorce because of his womanising. <br /><br />Berlusconi has responded by attacking Italy’s president, the media, magistrates and the constitutional court as leftists scheming against him. “The two trials against me are false, laughable, absurd, and I will show this to Italians by going on television and I will defend myself in the courtroom and make my accusers look ridiculous and show everyone what stuff they are made of and what stuff I am made of,” he said. <br /><br />The immunity law, one of Berlusconi’s first acts after winning last year’s election, halted all the cases against him, including one in which he is accused of bribing a British lawyer. Two other cases, one accusing him of tax fraud and false accounting and another alleging he tried to corrupt opposition senators, have also been frozen. <br /></p>
<p>But commentators warned that tension stemming from the Constitutional Court ruling on Wednesday could destabilise the political landscape and spill over into the economy.<br /> <br />“The government will forge ahead calmly, tranquilly and with even more grit than before because this will be absolutely indispensable for freedom and democracy in this country,” Berlusconi said in a morning radio interview. <br /><br />In a major blow for the 73-year-old Berlusconi, the court ruled that a law granting him immunity from prosecution while he is in office violates the constitution. The verdict will reopen two trials against him that were suspended. <br /><br />Berlusconi also has been hit by a spate of scandals surrounding his private life, including allegations a businessman paid women to sleep with him. His wife announced in May she wanted a divorce because of his womanising. <br /><br />Berlusconi has responded by attacking Italy’s president, the media, magistrates and the constitutional court as leftists scheming against him. “The two trials against me are false, laughable, absurd, and I will show this to Italians by going on television and I will defend myself in the courtroom and make my accusers look ridiculous and show everyone what stuff they are made of and what stuff I am made of,” he said. <br /><br />The immunity law, one of Berlusconi’s first acts after winning last year’s election, halted all the cases against him, including one in which he is accused of bribing a British lawyer. Two other cases, one accusing him of tax fraud and false accounting and another alleging he tried to corrupt opposition senators, have also been frozen. <br /></p>
