Berlusconi says acquittal 'better late than never'

A Milan court acquitted Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on corruption charges that have dogged him throughout his term, a ruling he said was ”better late than never”.

By clearing the billionaire politician of charges he bribed judges in the 1980s, the three-judge panel's verdict yesterday deprived the centre-left opposition of fodder in the run-up to 2006 elections.

It also spared the country the potential embarrassment of having its leader convicted and capped a trial that began 4 and a half years ago, before Berlusconi took office.

"Better late than never,” Berlusconi said in a statement after the verdict. “I was right to be serene because my conscience was clear that I’d done nothing wrong.”

The premier, who has long insisted he was the target of left-wing prosecutors, later told his allies that he was glad “the attempts of political parties that use the justice system were unsuccessful”, according to the ANSA news agency.

The verdict comes a week before Berlusconi’s planned trip to Washington for talks with US President George Bush.

More than 24 hours after the case went to the panel, Judge Francesco Castellano read the verdict to the packed courtroom: acquittal on one count and a ruling that the statute of limitations had run out on the second corruption charge.

The defence said it would appeal the ruling on the second charge, saying it wanted a clear ruling of innocence.

There was no immediate reaction from prosecutors, who had asked the court to convict Berlusconi on both charges and sentence him to eight years in prison. Each charge could have brought a sentence of one to five years.

The 68-year-old conservative leader – Italy’s richest man – wasn’t present for the verdict; the country allows defendants to not attend their trials if they wish.

“This closes 10 years of trials,” said Niccolo Ghedini, one of Berlusconi’s attorneys, referring to previous cases related to the premier’s business empire.