You're reading: Berlusconi says he is running again for premier

Silvio Berlusconi says he's running to be premier again — for the good of Italy.

The media mogul confirmed
to reporters Saturday that he’ll try for a fourth term. Berlusconi quit
in disgrace as premier last year after failing to save Italy from its
sovereign debt crisis. He has since been convicted of tax fraud and now
faces plunging poll numbers.

He yanked support for Premier Mario Monti’s technocrat government on Thursday, increasing the prospects for early elections.

Monti
calls the political crisis triggered by the loss of Berlusconi’s
support “manageable” and says his government has rescued Italy from
financial disaster.

Berlusconi says “the campaign is already on” and he’s running “out of a sense of responsibility” toward recession-plagued Italy.