http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324492604579082600561095042.html
While a final full-floor vote on whether a law banning criminals from
office is still some time off, Mr. Berlusconi has little room for
maneuver after his conviction this summer on tax fraud charges.
Press reports based on briefings from various allies and family
members say the former prime minister has considered accepting his fate
and even resigning, asking for a presidential pardon, or defiantly
pulling his party out of the governing coalition, causing a political
crisis.
But even if Mr. Berlusconi is removed from the public arena—subject
to his choice of house arrest or some form of community service—he won't
have to lose his political base. Beppe Grillo, whose new Five-Star
Movement emerged as a critical force in this year's general election,
isn't a lawmaker himself and is in fact barred from holding office due
to a long-ago manslaughter charge linked to a car accident.
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