ROME: Silvio Berlusconi has suggested a Carabinieri (military police) general could be Italy’s next prime minister if his center-right bloc wins national elections slated for early 2018.
Berlusconi, a four-times prime minister, is barred from holding public office because of a 2013 conviction for tax fraud. He is trying to overturn the ban, but is seeking alternative candidates if his legal battle fails.
“I have many names, but there is someone who is very capable ... who has had success and is esteemed by everyone, General (Leonardo) Gallitelli,” Berlusconi told a Sunday night chat show on state broadcaster RAI.
Gallitelli headed the Carabinieri, a military police force that operates under the control of both the defense and interior ministries, from 2009 to 2015. He is currently head of Italy’s anti-doping office.
Berlusconi said he had not yet discussed the idea with Gallitelli. He has previously suggested that European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi or the CEO of carmaker Fiat Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, could be his prime ministerial candidate.
The billionaire media tycoon was widely written off after he quit as prime minister in 2011 amid a sex scandal. But he has made a remarkable political comeback and his Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party is now the lynchpin of a center-right coalition that leads in opinion polls ahead of next year’s election.
Berlusconi, 81, said if his bloc took power he would like to see 12 people from outside the world of politics appointed to the Cabinet, with only 8 ministries entrusted to politicians.
His allies, the far-right Northern League and Brothers of Italy, are likely to baulk at the suggestion. The three parties have agreed that whichever group gets more votes next year should nominate the prime minister.
Forza Italia is just ahead of the Northern League in the polls, but surveys indicate no one party or bloc will win enough votes to govern alone, meaning a hung Parliament looks likely.
Berlusconi suggests Italian general could be next prime minister
Berlusconi suggests Italian general could be next prime minister
Contaminated water kills 9 and hospitalizes 200 in India’s Indore city
- The drinking water in the Bhagirathpur area of the city was contaminated due to a leak, and a water test had confirmed the presence of bacteria in the pipeline
NEW DELHI: At least nine people have died and more than 200 have been hospitalized in the central Indian city of Indore after a diarrhea outbreak that officials said was linked to contaminated drinking water, according to a lawmaker and local health authorities.
Kailash Vijayvargiya, a lawmaker, said nine people had died in Indore.
Indore’s chief medical officer, Madhav Prasad Hasani, told Reuters by phone that drinking water in the Bhagirathpur area of the city was contaminated due to a leak, and a water test had confirmed the presence of bacteria in the pipeline.
“I cannot say anything on the death toll but yes over 200 people from the same locality are undergoing treatment at different hospitals of the city. The final report of the water sample collected from the affected area is awaited,” Hasani said.
Shravan Verma, the district administrative officer, said authorities had deployed teams of doctors for door-to-door screening and were distributing chlorine tablets to help purify water.
“We have found one leakage point that could have contaminated the water and that point has been fixed,” Verma said, adding that officials had screened 8,571 people and identified 338 with mild symptoms.
Indore, in Madhya Pradesh state, has been named India’s cleanest city and has topped the national cleanliness rankings for the past eight years.
