Scandal-prone Silvio Berlusconi confirms new push to be Italian prime minister
Scandal-prone former prime minister announces his sixth push for the post
Silvio Berlusconi yesterday ended weeks of speculation by announcing that he would run again for the job of prime minister, the post he was forced out of last year.
"I am running to win," the leader of the right-wing populist People of Freedom (PDL) party told journalists in Milanello, near the northern city of Milan.
He had called a meeting of the PDL for today and had opened talks with his former coalition allies the Northern League to try to agree on a joint campaign backing a single candidate, he added.
"When I did sport, when I worked and studied, I never entered into a competition to be well-placed, but always to win," he said.
"I hope to be in a position to be able to explain to Italians that there is a need for a force that enjoys a majority to change the rules of the constitution."
A general election is expected to be held in March or Apri but the precise date has not been set.