Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been “offered” to contest the European Parliament elections in Malta, Romania, Bulgaria and Spain, according to reports in the Italian media over the weekend.

Italian law prohibits him from contesting in Italy for a public post after being found guilty of tax fraud, but as a European citizen the tycoon could technically still be eligible to put his name forward in other elections, various Italian media report.

Malta is among the countries that have been mentioned by the media, with Berlusconi however insisting that his first preference would still be Italy.

Il Messaggero, La Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore and Sky Italia were among the many Italian media to state that in a meeting Berlusconi had with his closest allies on Friday, he said that he had been offered to contest the May European Parliament election in Malta, Bulgaria, Romania and Spain.

They report that Berlusconi’s lawyers are of the opinion that although he is ineligible to contest the election in Italy because of a two-year interdiction, he could contest in other European states.

He is reported to have said that he is ready for another battle for liberty, even because he still insists that he should not have been found guilty. “I would like to exercise my rights as a European citizen because I am innocent,” Sky reports.

Similar reports about a possible Berlusconi candidature outside of Italy had surfaced for the first time last year, but as the elections draw nearer – the Malta EP election will be held on 24 May, that in Italy a day later – speculation in the Italian media continues to mount.

This past weekend has in fact seen a flurry of reports on what Berlusconi purportedly told his closest collaborators, and the quotes picked up by the media are similar to each other.

The question however is: Will he do it?