Berlusconi notes 'disgust' with politics

CARVAGO, Italy, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said in an interview voters are "disgusted" by Italian politics.

Speaking in Carvago, Italy, Friday, Berlusconi pointed to recent elections in Sicily, which he said "confirmed that which all the polls are reporting. Seventy percent of Italians are disgusted by these politics, by these parties and by the current protagonists. Courage to change is required. Let's see what can be done between now and the elections."

In Sicilian regional elections last month, 47 percent of voters went to the polls, compared to nearly 60 percent in 2008, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

A general election in Italy next year will come at a time of economic contraction for the fifth consecutive quarter, the national statistics office said Thursday.