Silvio Berlusconi's trip to Naples has been cancelled. The Knight was expected in the afternoon at the Mostra d'Oltremare in the capital of Campania for the closing rally of the electoral campaign. According to his staff, behind the forfeit there would be problems related to the conjunctivitis that he has been suffering from for a few days. The former Premier should still send a video message to the supporters of Naples. However, Berlusconi's presence has been confirmed this evening on Rai for the final press conference.
Meanwhile, from Switzerland a shadow is cast over the Knight's main electoral promise: the return of the 2012 IMU on first homes (four billion in all). The financial coverage of the operation was to be guaranteed for the most part by the funds obtained by the Confederation thanks to the tax agreement between Bern and Rome (25/30 billion according to Berlusconi).
The Swiss Finance Minister, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, wrote that “because of the electoral period in Italy and given the uncertainty about the outcome of the vote, it is currently difficult to predict when the negotiations begun with the Monti government will conclude. In any case, even assuming that the agreement is signed by the end of this year, it is difficult to think that it will enter into force before January 2015”.
But the bad news for the Knight is not over. The Public Prosecutor's Office of Rome today opened a file free of crime hypotheses and suspects in the case of the letters on the Imu reimbursement signed by Berlusconi and sent to millions of Italian families. The action by the magistrates began after the complaint by the candidate of the Civil Revolution for the Lazio Region, Gianfranco Mascia, who spoke of a swap vote.
