Berlusconi says he told Papandreou and Samaras of desire to buy Greek island
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi revealed on Sunday that he has tried to buy a Greek island.
The billionaire, who is a candidate in the current Italian election race, said that he had spoken to former Prime Minister George Papandreou and current Premier Antonis Samaras about acquiring a Greek islet.
The billionaire told reporters of his plans before casting his ballot and mistakenly referred to Papandreou as “Papadopoulos” before being corrected.
“I told Papandreou that if there is a nice island which I could buy, he should let me know,” he said, adding that prices of real estate had dropped as a result of the economic crisis.
“I also told Samaras that I wanted to buy an island,” added Berlusconi.
The government passed a law last week that allows islands to be leased, not sold, to investors and only if the transaction has the approval of the Defense Ministry.