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 he 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.

Source: ekathimerini.com