Berlusconi says never insulted M5S

(ANSA) - Udine, April 26 - Centre-right Forza Italia (FI) leader Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday said he had never "insulted" the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) and had "only made a quip about none of them filing incomes returns". He said he thought this was "risible compared to what they said about me, that I am the absolute evil". Berlusconi was answering a question about centre-right leader Matteo Salvini, of the anti-migrant Euroskeptic League, who guaranteed there would be no more insults against the M5S from the centre right.
    Former premier and media magnate Berlusconi recently said the M5S would only be up to "cleaning the bogs at Mediaset", his media empire.
    On Wednesday he compared them to Hitler.
    Berlusconi said Thursday that the language of M5S leader Luigi Di Maio is "worrying, he wants to attack a political adversary in his private activity and patrimony, like 1970s-style proletarian expropriation, he is a danger for democracy and freedom". Berlusconi rejected Di Maio's contention that his TV stations were biased in his favour, allegedly highlighting a conflict of interests. Describing Di Maio's charge as "very serious", Berlusconi said "there is no commercial possibility" that media company Mediaset "can take someone's side because it would eliminate the others from its audience". The media magnate turned politician, who owns Italy's three largest commercial TV stations, said "I complain that (Mediaset) is always with everyone and a bit less with us, so as not to be a biased television".