The party of Silvio Berlusconi
demanded a parliamentary inquest on Tuesday after a new book by
former US Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner fomented
suspicions of a coordinated plot among European leaders to oust
the three-time premier from office at the height of the
sovereign-debt crisis in 2011.
"The decisive proof of a European plot against Italy to
bring down Silvio Berlusconi comes from Obama's America," said
Renato Brunetta, the House whip of the center-right Forza Italia
(FI).
"We urgently call for the formation of a parliamentary
investigation committee, embodied with the full powers of the
Constitution".
In his 580-page book Stress Test, Geithner recounts
interactions with fellow members of the Obama administration as
it sought to repair the nation's financial system in the wake of
the 2008 financial crisis.
The former Treasury secretary writes that in 2011, at a
G-20 meeting, Europeans were pushing the White House to get
involved in pressuring Berlusconi out of office, as Italy risked
a Greek-style financial meltdown with the spread between Italian
10-year bonds and their German counterpart ballooning to over
500 points and yields above 7%.
In his account, Geithner was opposed to interfering,
writing, "We can't have his blood on our hands".
The Italian premier eventually stepped down in November
2011 as MPs from his party defected and upset his majority.
Berlusconi, a billionaire media magnate banned from office
last year for a 370-million-euro tax fraud, has long claimed he
is the victim of an organized left-wing conspiracy, citing his
20 years of legal entanglements as proof.
House whip Brunetta said Tuesday that Berlusconi's
"political and judicial ouster was the apex" of the alleged
plot.
In addition to his ban from office, the 77-year-old
ex-premier is currently performing community service at a
nursing home as part of his four-year commuted sentence.
He is also appealing a seven-year sentence for buying sex
from an underage prostitute nicknamed Ruby and abusing his
office in an attempt to cover it up.
And in another case, he is on trial for allegedly bribing a
Senator with millions of euros to switch parties and destabilize
the government of Romano Prodi.
In each case, Berlusconi denies all wrongdoing.
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