Italy’s next moral compass? Berlusconi, 85, eyes presidency

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Italy is poised to elect a new president, a figure who is supposed to serve as the nation’s moral compass and foster unity by being above the political fray. Silvio Berlusconi thinks he fits the bill. The 85-year-old billionaire media tycoon and three times premier has been intent on adding Italy’s highest office to his resume. But his lobbying efforts to secure the votes needed for victory when lawmakers gather next week to elect the head of state might have stalled. A survivor of sex scandals and heart and other medical problems, including COVID-19, Berlusconi is being pressed by his conservative allies to decide whether to bow out.