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"Papa in jail, Berlusconi defeated", headlines La Repubblica. On Wednesday 20 July the lower house of the Italian parliament authorised the arrest of Alfonso Papa, at the heart of yet another scandal for the Silvio Berlusconi. Papa, MP for the ruling PDL party and a former judge, is accused of being part of a network suspected of using illegally obtained information to help individuals, including a senior PDL official, avoid judicial investigation. Berlusconi had tried to rally his majority to save him, but the Northern League announced that it would vote for the arrest, sparking the premier's anger. In the same day, the upper house voted against the arrest of an opposition senator accused of bribery. "The League had never let the premier down on justice before. The moribund Berlusconi-Bossi government is no more", comments La Repubblica, stating that by autumn early elections or a unity coalition will have ended this instability: "Italy, under the fire of international speculation, cannot afford it".
