Silvio Berlusconi wins seat in Italian senate after tax ban

Silvio Berlusconi casts his vote in Milan (Antonio Calanni/AP)

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is making his return to Italy’s parliament, just in time to celebrate his 86th birthday, winning a seat in the senate nearly a decade after being banned from holding public office after a tax fraud conviction.

Mr Berlusconi, who has made personal comebacks a hallmark of Italian politics for three decades, was re-elected to Italy’s upper house with more than 50% of the votes on Sunday in the northern city of Monza, where he also owns a soccer team that was recently promoted to Italy’s top division.