Silvio Berlusconi

By clearing the billionaire politician of charges he bribed judges in the 1980s, the three-judge panel's verdict deprived the center-left opposition of fodder it could use in the run-up to 2006 elections.

It also spared the country the potential embarrassment of having its leader convicted and capped a trial that began 4 1/2 years ago, before Berlusconi took office.

The premier, who has insisted he was the target of left-wing prosecutors, later told his allies he was glad "the attempts of political parties that use the justice system were unsuccessful," according to the ANSA news agency.

The Japan Times Weekly: Dec. 18, 2004
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