HE'S BACK

ANSA) - Rome, April 15 - Italian centre-right chief Silvio Berlusconi, who has stormed back into power for a third time, said on Tuesday that he would use his unexpectedly strong majority to tackle problems ranging from inflation, crime and Alitalia to a rubbish crisis in Naples. Speaking at a press conference a day after his election win, the 71-year-old media tycoon promised immediate delivery on pledges to abolish council taxes on first homes, lift minimum pensions, detax overtime and introduce one-off 1,000-euro 'bonuses' to couples who have a baby.

On the business side, Berlusconi his first cabinet meeting would also approve the detaxation of profits which are reinvested in production.He said cracking down on crime would be a priority for his new government which would put more police on the streets, deport illegal immigrants and introduce stiffer penalties for repeat offenders.

''We need to increase the number of neighbourhood police officers who must form an 'army of good' in the squares and streets to come between Italian citizens and the army of evil,'' Berlusconi said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

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Whether this is good news for Italians I don't know, but perhaps it is good news for Italian crime writers as their detectives cogitate over the reasons for the third coming of this incredible politician.

I would say Berlusconi is bad with a capital B......Andrea Camilleri quoted in The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones