Scandal deepens for Italy's premier
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ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi denied ever paying a woman for sex, as he faces growing political pressure over lurid allegations that he slept with a female escort who was paid to attend his parties.
“I have never paid a woman,’’ Berlusconi said in an interview with the Chi weekly owned by his Mondadori publishing empire.
“I’ve never understood what satisfaction there is other than that of conquering’’ a woman, he told the magazine, according to excerpts.
The popular premier’s credibility has come under attack over a string of scandals related to his friendship with an 18-year-old girl and parties with young women, prompting him to angrily declare last week that he would not be forced out.
But the opposition and the influential Catholic Church have demanded that Berlusconi clear up the facts, after a corruption investigation in southern Italy brought forward a female escort who said she spent the night with the premier and had recordings to prove it.
Berlusconi has accused the media of mounting a smear campaign before the G8 summit he will host next month.
His center-right coalition has an ample majority in both houses of Parliament. But it turned in a poorer-than-expected performance in European and local elections this month amid the media frenzy over his private life.
Patrizia D’Addario told an Italian newspaper last week that a local businessman now under scrutiny by magistrates paid her nearly $1,400 to dine at Berlusconi’s residence along with other young women - what she described as a “harem.’’
The latest scandal erupted after Berlusconi was forced to deny having sex with the 18-year-old aspiring model amid accusations from his divorce-seeking wife that he “frequents minors.’’ Berlusconi said he doubted a reconciliation with his wife was possible now.
