Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has promised to further explain his relationship with an 18-year-old woman at the heart of a political and personal scandal.
In an interview aired on Monday with CNN, Berlusconi denied that he had lied about his relationship with Noemi Letizia, adding that he was confident he retained the backing of the public.
Berlusconi’s wife, Veronica Lario, cited the prime minister’s presence at Letizia’s 18th birthday party in Naples and reports that he had given her a gold and diamond necklace in announcing a few weeks ago that she would divorce the 72-year-old.
But Berlusconi said that his wife of nearly 19 years should not believe everything she reads in the newspapers.
“Even my wife fell into this error and believed what the press said,” said the prime minister.
Berlusconi denied any scandalous relationship with Letizia and said he knew her father through decades-old Socialist Party circles. He said he attended the birthday party because he happened to be in Naples that day.
Berlusconi told CNN there was nothing “negative” about the relationship.
“Now, they have accused me of having lied in my statements to newspapers, so to confront such an accusation I will react, I will explain exactly what the situation is and I will have once again all the Italians with me,” he said.
He said there would be a “boomerang” effect against the opposition once the truth comes out.
Opposition demands for clarification heated up on Sunday after the left-leaning La Repubblica published an interview with Letizia’s ex-boyfriend, Gino Flaminio.
The newspaper quoted Flaminio as saying Berlusconi had invited Letizia and several other young women to his Sardinian villa for a week over New Year’s and described what he said were phone calls between Berlusconi and Letizia that he listened in on. He said the prime minister asked her about her schooling, her interests and what her parents do in one call.
Letizia’s father, Benedetto Elio Letizia, has said he would sue La Repubblica and Flaminio for what he said was a report that was “seriously defamatory since it attributes to [Noemi] things never done, said, or thought” by her, the ANSA news agency reported.
The CNN interview was recorded on Saturday, before La Repubblica’s interview with Flaminio was published. Officials said, however, that Berlusconi’s position hadn’t changed.
Berlusconi hasn’t responded directly to Flaminio’s claims. In a statement on Sunday after the article was published, his spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, focused on opposition demands that Berlusconi clarify his relationship.
Bonaiuti said the opposition was afraid of being beaten by Berlusconi’s People of Freedom in the next European Parliament elections.
Berlusconi described a “great sense of sacrifice” in leading the nation.
“I’m here because unfortunately right now Berlusconi is considered the only leader capable of holding the center-right together,” he said in the CNN interview. “On the opposite side, on the left, there isn’t a credible or respectable leader, and so I think this is a cross I must bear and bear it I will with sacrifice for a while,” he said.
Berlusconi also blamed the media for portraying him as gaffe-prone.
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