Italy's former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could be making a political comeback.
The 81-year-old is infamous for wild sex parties and tax fraud, but he has a serious chance of winning next month's election.
His centre-right coalition, the Forza Italia party, is ahead in the polls.
Supporters gathered in a Rome hotel for a campaign launch, but Mr Berlusconi himself appeared only via a pre-recorded video message.
One attendee told Channel Seven she was holding out for "Berlusconi's revenge".
"I think that Berlusconi is the link between the past and the future," said another.
Italy's longest-serving post-war prime minister no longer holds rallies. He instead prefers to appear on one of the three national TV networks he owns, where he is asked soft-ball questions by his own employees.
He is promising to raise pensions, drop taxes and deport 600,000 migrants.
Mr Berlusconi's political career was thought to be over seven years ago, when he was found guilty of tax fraud.
Charges that he had sex with an underage prostitute were overturned, but his debauched 'bunga bunga' parties were known around the world.
Newshub.
