Italy’s Berlusconi confirms he will run for PM again

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said he will run for PM again in a general election next year, Sky News reported.

"I am running to win," the leader of the right-wing People of Freedom party told journalists near the northern city of Milan.

Berlusconi, 76, stepped down in disgrace last year as Italy was on the brink of financial disaster. His resignation paved the way for a government of unelected technocrats led by Prime Minister Mario Monti.

Berlusconi has since been convicted of tax fraud and now faces plunging poll numbers. He is also on trial on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute - an allegation he has denied.

"The campaign is already on," Berlusconi said, adding that he is running "out of a sense of responsibility" toward his recession-plagued country.

Italy is to hold a general election in 2013, though the date has not been set.