President of the Italian parliament and former Leader of National Alleance party Gianfranco Fini speaks during the first congress of Silvio Berlusconi's new party "Il Popolo della Liberta'' (People of Freedoms-PDL) on March 28, 2009 in Rome. Berlusconi, 72, kicked off a long-expected party congress consolidating right-wing forces under his increasingly dominant leadership and was to preside over the merger of his 15-year-old Forza Italia party with the older National Alliance into the People of Freedoms (PDL) party -- the banner under which the media tycoon won elections nearly a year ago. AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLARO