By most modern democratic standards, Silvio Berlusconi’s wild 15-year political ride would seem closer than ever to crashing. The 72-year-old Prime Minister is facing a swirl of questions linked to his personal
life, including the latest allegations that a high-paid escort stayed
with him at his Rome residence the night of Nov. 4 as results were
coming in of Barack Obama’s election victory. But as damning as the news
may appear, it is still too early to predict the demise of the
billionaire TV tycoon, who rose to power in 1994 with an often
disorientating formula of government, gossip, over-the-top charm and
expansive media influence.
The signs of danger, however, are undeniable. Ever since his wife’s
April request for divorce sparked questions about his personal life,
Berlusconi has been noticeably edgy. Now he faces criticism even from
some of his most trusted allies.
The latest brouhaha began two months ago when Berlusconi’s wife of 20
years, Veronica Lario, announced the end of their marriage and accused
him of “frequenting underage females.” The Prime Minister then spent
weeks fending off questions about his relationship with an 18-year-old
Neapolitan blonde named Noemi Letizia, after he arrived at her birthday party with a diamond necklace gift.
Berlusconi largely quieted that episode with explicit denials of
anything “spicy” in his relationship with Letizia. But a potentially
more damaging turn came last week when investigators in the southern
city of Bari confirmed that they were probing accusations that a
local businessman, Giampaolo Tarantini, paid for women to attend dinners
and parties at Berlusconi’s private Rome residence, Palazzo Grazioli,
and his villa on the island of Sardinia. One of the women, Patrizia
D’Addario, had told Milan daily Corriere della Sera that she was paid
several thousand euros to attend two dinner parties at Palazzo Grazioli
last fall, and stayed the night of Nov. 4. D’Addario, who was also
offered the candidacy in Bari local elections with the backing of
Berlusconi’s Freedom People’s party, says that she secretly made audio
recordings of the encounters, which she turned over to prosecutors.
Now it has emerged that one of D’Addario’s friends from Bari, Barbara
Montereale, was also paid to be at the Nov. 4 party. Montereale told
Rome daily La Repubblica that she left after dinner but also described
D’Addario as a professional “escort.” Montereale says D’Addario told her
that she’d had sex with the Prime Minister on Nov. 4. In subsequent interviews, D’Addario has neither confirmed nor denied Montereale’s account.
Montereale says she subsequently attended a party at the Sardinian
villa, which was filled with a score of other young, attractive women,
including several dressed as Santa Claus. She says that Berlusconi gave
her an envelope of cash to help with the costs of raising her child
alone, but insists that she did not have any physical contact with him.
Tarantini told Italian new agency ANSA that he only reimbursed the women
for their travel and expenses, adding that Berlusconi didn’t know about
the payments.
Berlusconi has dismissed the newspaper accounts as “trash,” and has
insisted on forging ahead with his work, including plans for the G8
summit next month in L’Aquila, the central Italian city devastated in an
April earthquake. But allies have begun to question his past behavior,
and his current handling of the crisis. Industry Minister Claudio
Scajola, publicly one of his most loyal allies, counseled
“more prudence” to the man in charge, though ultimately blamed the woes
on opposition hatchet-men. Conservative newspaper editor Giuliano
Ferrara, a longtime behind-the-scenes advisor, was less forgiving, writing in a column last week that the Prime Minister
essentially had to choose between continuing with “parties and beautiful
girls” and seeing through his political agenda. Berlusconi has also
been urged to respond publicly and in detail to the accusations by
Avvenire, the newspaper of the influential Italian Bishops Conference.
Yet those predicting Berlusconi’s fall must remember that he has
single-handedly rewritten the rules of Italian politics. He carries
unprecedented weight with television news broadcasts, both in his
ownership of private channels and his influence over the management of
state broadcaster RAI.
Berlusconi’s power goes beyond just the physical instruments of
communication. He has perfected the art of politics as an
around-the-clock magician’s act. And in Italy, the only thing more
difficult than trying to imagine how he can avoid disappearing, is
imagining what public life would be without him.
See TIME’s pictures of the week.
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