Berlusconi Sex, Fraud Trials Halted So He Can Run Again

Italian judges may be mostly "feminist, communist" types, but they were nice enough to Silvio Berlusconi to postpone his underage sex trial, as well as tax fraud trial and other legal issues, until after elections at the end of the month, reports Reuters. The Milan judges agreed that campaigning represents a legitimate obstacle to attending the trial, so they have all been pushed back until March.

Despite promising not to run for office again when he stepped down in disgrace at the end of 2011, Berlusconi is doing just that. To make the latest center-right coalition work, he's had to stand aside from the actual prime minister's spot, but the Financial Times says Berlusconi getting re-elected would make him a dominant figure in the government and his big-spending ways would be a "disaster" for Italy.