He'll take office on Monday, and will immediately instruct Romano Prodi, the newly elected Prime Minister, to form a new government, finally ending the grip on power of Berlusconi that officially ended only after he was forced to resign by the election of new Speakers in both chambers of Parliament (and not by the election of a new Prime Minister, as is customary).
Up until that moment, he had refused to step down, citing voting irregularities (no significant ones were found) and the injustice of a system that was giving the center-left movement more seats in Parliament than the votes they got would have granted them in the past.
A new system that Berlusconi himself, overcoming a fierce opposition, put in place, hoping it'd help him and his coalition keep their grip on power. But it backfired, and Berlusconi showed the world what a grown up baby looks like, refusing FOR THREE WEEKS to concede his loss to Prodi, and even stating, at some point, that he'd never formally concede.
Unfortunately, given Prodi's slim majority of just 2 seats in the Senate, Berlusconi can make life really hard for him, especially when you read quotes like this:
One of Prodi's next tests, in the face of the right's threat to block every move his government makes, will come when he seeks a vote of confidence.And this:
"Our objective is to bring it (the government) down as soon as possible," said outgoing Welfare Minister Roberto Maroni on Friday.
"Berlusconi knows that if it lasts five years, he will find it difficult to run as head of government again. But if it doesn't last even a year, he will go forward," he said.
Outgoing Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who waited three weeks before conceding defeat, on Thursday vowed that the opposition would give Prodi "no honeymoon period."So puerile. So childish. So shameful.
"We will present an opposition without pity," he said.
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