Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was booed and catcalled on Wednesday as he launched yet another attack on the country's magistrature, describing is as ''a cancer in our democracy''.
Addressing national retailers' association Confesercenti, the premier accused judges and prosecutors of left-wing bias and said he was ''outraged'' that democracy was ''under the probation of politicised judges''.
''Many prosecutors want to see me like this,'' he added, miming handcuffs being placed over his wrists.
Referring to investigations into his vast business empire, Berlusconi bemoaned the fact that he could no longer spend Saturday mornings ''going to visit colleagues who are ill''.
''Ever since I entered politics, I spend Saturdays with my lawyers preparing the two or three trials to which I am continuously called,'' he said.
''Citizens have a right to be governed by the people they have chosen democratically: I can't accept that (the magistrature) wants to change who is in government, harming citizen's rights, with false claims,'' Berlusconi added.
The National Magistrates' Association (ANM) and opposition politicians hit back at the premier's tirade.
''These unjustifiable attacks risk delegitimizing the entire institution,'' said ANM president Luca Palamara.
The House whip for opposition party Italy of Values (IDV), Massimo Donadi, said the premier's comments were those ''of a man terrorised by justice and his personal responsibilities''.
''Berlusconi turns these fears into hatred of the judges, and it's a hatred that spills out onto the country, dividing it and damaging the institutions. We can't let him wreck the country to solve his own problems,'' he said.
Pino Sgobio of the Italian Communists' party said Berlusconi had gone ''beyond the limit'', describing the premier's comments as ''serious, disturbing and unacceptable''.
''The head of government in a democratic country can't attack, intimidate and offend the magistrature like that,'' he said.
Prior to the premier's speech, President Giorgio Napolitano on Monday expressed concern over recent mudslinging.
''I'm not going to pretend I'm not seriously concerned,'' he said, calling for and end to ''harmful conflict'' between politics and justice which is ''damaging for everyone''.
''There must be a climate of reciprocal understanding and constructive discussion on these issues between all the components of the world of justice and the world of politics,'' he added.
'TRIAL FREEZE' BILL PASSED
Berlusconi's comments came a day after the Senate passed a controversial amendment to the government's emergency security decree that opposition politicians say is designed to help the premier wriggle out of one of his ongoing trials.
Under the amendment, trials relating to lesser crimes committed before June 30 2002 - including that of Berlusconi - are frozen for a year, ostensibly in an effort to free up the justice system to deal with more serious cases.
Justice Minister Angelino Alfano announced earlier this week that a bill suspending trials against Italy's top public figures will be presented at the next cabinet meeting on Friday.
The bill is expected to be a revised version of a short-lived 2003 law which said the country's top five serving officials including Berlusconi could not be tried while in office before it was thrown out by the Constitutional Court.
Berlusconi is currently on trial alongside British corporate lawyer David Mills in two separate cases.
In one trial, Berlusconi and 11 other defendants stand accused of fraud over film rights relating to Berlusconi's private TV network company Mediaset.
In another, the prime minister is accused of paying British corporate lawyer David Mills a $600,000 bribe to hush up incriminating evidence in earlier trials. Both Berlusconi and Mills deny wrongdoing.
Last week Berlusconi's lawyers lodged an official objection against a Milan judge presiding over the bribe trial.
According to the objection, judge Nicoletta Gandus has repeatedly expressed thoughts that reveal ''serious enmity'' towards Berlusconi.
Berlusconi also hit out at trial prosecutor Manlio Minale last week in a letter to Senate Speaker Mario Schifani, describing the trial as ''one of many fanciful cases that prosecutors from the extreme left have brought against me for political reasons''.
