Banned anchor: I blame the PM

His fans see him as an aggressive but penetrating TV anchorman.

But to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who owns most of his country's private channels and wields indirect control over the state network, RAI, he is a dangerous leftie.

Meet Michele Santoro, the temporarily banned hero of Italian current affairs broadcasting.

Santoro, who presents Italy's top current affairs show, Annozero, was suspended for two weeks last week by RAI's managing director, Mauro Masi.

The outspoken broadcaster had accused the RAI management of denying contracts to his co-presenters and appeared to half-utter the Italian equivalent of "go f*** yourself" on air.

But he says his two-show ban is to do with a vendetta waged against him by the Prime Minister, whose speeches Santoro once compared with those of Mussolini.

In his latest show, Santoro addressed Berlusconi about his suspension.

"We are the top current affairs show on Italian TV, which is why you - who I have always respected - are so put out. We are not losing, we are strong, and that is a huge problem."

The grey-haired presenter then appealed to his audience to sign a petition against his suspension.

Unusually among Italian broadcasters, Santoro has made a habit of probing the dark corners of Berlusconi's political and business empire, covering corrupt contracting allegations, supposed dalliances with prostitutes, and alleged past links to the Mafia.

Berlusconi has shrugged off countless inquiries. But what reportedly enrages him is the ratings Santoro wins - numbers that grow every time the Prime Minister allegedly urges RAI functionaries to sabotage the show.

When Annozero, with all other political talk shows, was pulled off RAI by the Government before regional elections in March - officially to guarantee balanced broadcasting - Santoro struck a deal with Sky, opening his show with the Mussolini comparison.

Masi, who joined RAI 18 months ago after serving in Berlusconi's cabinet office, has also become a target.

When he was wiretapped in a criminal probe and the transcripts were leaked, Santoro delighted in revealing how Masi had said that "not even in Zimbabwe" did governments work so hard to censor the press. Masi made his comment after an official at Italy's TV watchdog complained that Berlusconi rang him regularly to try to force him to axe Annozero.

"It's me or Masi," Santoro said last week as the battle of nerves between the two escalated. With record ratings of six million for Annozero last Friday, the smart money is on a new boss at RAI.

For Santoro, all this is part of a remarkable comeback. Many thought his career was over in 2002, when his show was cancelled after Berlusconi accused him and two other presenters of making criminal use of RAI. He did not broadcast again for four years.

Berlusconi claimed last year that it was unacceptable for state TV to criticise the Government.

His stranglehold, which has helped to push Italy to 72nd place, just behind Tonga, on the Freedom House ranking of press freedom, has been bolstered by the sustained attacks on Berlusconi's foes by Il Giornale, the newspaper owned by Berlusconi's brother.

- Observer