Berlusconi urges 'tougher' anti-corruption norms

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed yesterday to toughen norms punishing corruption as the country is engulfed in graft scandals.

"At the next Cabinet meeting I want to present a provision on crimes of corruption to toughen current norms," Berlusconi told the Ansa news agency.

Guido Bertolaso, head of the Civil Protection Agency and one of the most respected figures in Italy for his handling of last year's earthquake in the central Abruzzo region, was placed under investigation for corruption last week.

Italy's state auditor called corruption a "serious disease" on Wednesday, with complaints more than tripling in the first 11 months of 2009 compared with a year earlier.

Italians believe corruption is deeply rooted in their society, with 92.5 per cent thinking it is a "somewhat" or "very" common pheno-menon, according to a poll conducted by the Eurispes think-tank in January.

Mr Berlusconi also said politicians who have been convicted or are on trial should not run for office.

Mr Berlusconi's centre-right People of Freedom party has "decided that those under investigation or on trial in principle should not be included in electoral lists, but also that if there are doubts on their culpability it will be the party leadership to decide on a case-by-case basis," the Prime Minister said.

"There are not going to be 100 saints out of 100 people. It is known that there are one, two, three, four or five people who can be scoundrels who take advantage of their position out of personal interests," Mr Berlusconi said.

The billionaire Prime Minister himself is on trial in two cases, one on corruption charges and the other for alleged tax fraud involving his sprawling media empire.

He has faced multiple legal battles since he came to power in the mid-1990s but has never been definitively convicted.

Italy's ranking on corruption watchdog Transparency International's annual list of countries according to "perceived level of public-sector corruption" slid to 63rd last year, from 55th in 2008 and 41st in 2007.