Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi said
Thursday he would return to the premier's office if the centre
right win the March 4 general election and the European Court of
Human Rights lifts a ban on his holding public office.
Berlusconi was ejected from the Senate in 2013 after the
office ban, stemming from a tax-evasion conviction.
"If a sentence that quashes the Senate's decision were to
come from Strasbourg I wouldn't be able to draw back and I would
go to (the premier's office in) Palazzo Chigi," said the
three-time former premier and media magnate.
But he acknowledged that it was "unlikely because I know how
long things take in Strasbourg".
The centre-right Forza Italia (FI) leader appealed to the
ECHR last year to lift the ban, arguing that it was wrongly
applied retroactively.
The court is not expected to rule before the March vote.
FI is in a coalition with the rightwing League and the
nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, which is topping the
polls among alliances.
FI has yet to choose its premier candidate.
Berlusconi was speaking on La7 TV.
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