Claim austerity bill benefits Berlusconi

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has attracted the ire of Italian MPs across the political spectrum after it was alleged that government legislation before Parliament had been designed to benefit one of his companies.

Alert officials in the office of State President Giorgio Napolitano have spotted small print in a bill that proposes €47 billion ($82 billion) of public spending cuts, which appears less than austere with the billionaire PM's finances.

The offending paragraph will allow Berlusconi's Fininvest group to avoid a crippling €750 million compensation payment to a left-wing business rival, Carlo De Benedetti.

Under the proposals, such payments of more than €20 million would not be obligatory until cases are finally settled in the Supreme Court - which in Italy can take years - and would save Fininvest millions of euros in interest payments.

- Independent