Berlusconi Hints at Stepping Down in 2013

Italy's scandal-ridden prime minister suggests he might end his incomparable 17-year political career before the next election.

Inundated by sex scandals and allegations of influence peddling, tax fraud, and embezzlement, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says he might not seek re-election when his term ends in 2013. Speaking at a dinner with foreign press, the embattled Berlusconi, who is currently on trial on charges of paying a minor to have sex and then trying to cover it up, said his justice minister, Angelino Alfano, would make a worthy successor to lead the right-wing People of Freedom party. Alfano is currently leading an attempt to amend the constitution to protect the country's top officials from prosecution. Berlusconi, a media mogul and the second-longest-serving Italian prime minister after Benito Mussolini, has dominated the country's politics since 1994.