Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is ''old inside'', the leader of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, Dario Franceschini, said Monday.
Commenting on the first convention of the premier's People of Freedom Party (PdL), which saw it officially merge with the right-wing National Alliance, Franceschini hit out at 72-year-old Berlusconi - officially voted PdL leader on Sunday - for trying to increase his powers
''Berlusconi has created a new party not to make more reforms but to ask for more power for himself,'' he said.
''It was a congress oriented towards the past. The world is full of young and dynamic leaders, while Berlusconi has only fed old fears and old ghosts, because he's old inside,'' he said.
But Franceschini, 50, said the creation of the People of Freedom party was ''positive'' because it moves Italy closer towards a two-party system and ''simplifies political life''.
