. >> the media turned out in force to watch mr. berlusconi begin his first for our weekly stint at the care home for the elderly. allow --uards won't his bodyguards were not allowed inside. the former italian prime minister had been warned by justice authorities not to give interviews. he arrived and left without saying a word. he was originally sentenced to four years in prison. this has been commuted to community service. thatarticipant shouted out he ought to be in jail. a regular volunteer of the care home is unhappy about all the publicity mr. berlusconi still gets despite his conviction for fraud. italian criminal law is leading into offenders over 70 years of age. has been stripped of his seat in parliament after his conviction for tax fraud from one of his media companies, yet he still intends to lead a and thel campaign forthcoming european elections. he is banned from leaving the country and restricted in his movements in the area that he lives. show about onels in five italians are still prepared to give him their votes.

mr. berlusconi is carrying community service at the moment after being convicted of tax fraud. he's been speaking to the bbc's jeremy paxman, not at least expressing his fears that the euro could collapse without a radical shakeup. >> translator: we need to radically change the situation in europe. for example, the fact that the uk is not in the eurozone and we are is a complete disaster. szings we need radical changes, otherwise the economic situation will force us and other european countries to abandon the euro and go back to our national currencies. the european central bank is supposed to fight inflation. and it needs to become a central bank like the federal reserve. like the bank of england or the bank of japan. what does it need to do? firstly, it needs to guarantee the debts of the euro countries. secondly, to print money when needed for those countries that cannot pay their debts. >> do you have a particular problem with angela merkel? is it true you called her an [ bleep ]? >> translator: no. i have never had any problems with angela merkel. in 20 years of politics,

that mr., a sign berlusconi does divide a lot of butians here in italy, still a dominant force in political life. berlusconi is still campaigning, isn't he, even though his legal woes are far from over? >> exactly. aside from this definitive conviction for which he's serving this community service, he's also appealing the trial for the underage sex conviction for the infamous ruby gate trial . he's also facing trial for allegedly bribing a senator, as well as another case on in the illegal wiretapping issue. his legal woes are far from over. and technically, he is banned from holding any kind of political office and has been expelled from parliament. but he can still campaign, particularly for the european parliamentary elections scheduled later this month. he is still the leader of his center-right party. and he is a central figure in it. campaigning. there has been a media blitz in recent weeks on television talk shows and radio talk shows. but later today he is likely to make another statement. perhaps in another 45 minutes. we will see whether he makes any kind of statement. but he has