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Pressure grows on Italy's PM to resign
Source: Agencies |
September 19, 2011, Monday
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ITALIAN Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday faced growing pressure to resign after embarrassing new revelations of parties and young women prompted questions about his ability to govern a country rocked by financial crisis.
Italian newspapers have replaced front-page headlines on soaring bond yields and sliding shares with wiretapped chats between Berlusconi and Giampaolo Tarantini, a businessman suspected of providing prostitutes for the premier.
In one excerpt published by Corriere della Sera daily, Berlusconi boasts of champagne partying with women until 6:30am at a Milan nightclub, and pocketing the phone numbers of eight women.
"If you have a girl - two girls, three girls - to bring," Berlusconi is quoted as asking the southern businessman ahead of their next encounter, "please don't get tall ones … because we are not tall."
In another excerpt reported by major daily papers, Berlusconi says "Gianpi" and his female friends could travel on the premier's flight to Milan.
Yet another has him joking to a young woman that he works as prime minister in his "spare time."
Calls to resign
Opposition parties stepped up calls for Berlusconi to resign after the latest disclosures, saying a country struggling to overcome a debt crisis that threatens the eurozone could not afford a premier who "governs in his spare time."
Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said: "We have very serious problems. Is there a single reason comprehensible to the world for why Berlus-coni should not resign?"
Berlusconi's ally-turned-enemy Gianfranco Fini also called for a new government, while the Italy of Values party run by centrist Antonio Di Pietro said it was time for elections.
Berlusconi loyalists rallied to defend the premier and said he had no plans to resign.
Berlusconi has hung on despite a barrage of lurid scandals over the years, including the "Rubygate" affair in which he is accused of paying for sex with a teenage prostitute. His wife asked for a divorce, saying he cavorted with minors.
Austerity package
Revelations of "bunga bunga" parties, with escorts and showgirls angling for jobs in his media empire, have prompted incredulity and sniggers but failed to push him out of power.
The latest disclosures come at a sensitive time for the premier, who is grappling with slumping ratings, frustrated allies, a financial storm that has driven up Italy's borrowing costs and an unpopular austerity package.
Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, is under heavy pressure to implement tough reforms to cut debt and revive growth.
Only European Central Bank intervention has prevented Italy's borrowing costs from spiraling out of control.
Berlusconi has kept up a defiant attitude through the various crises, blaming his old foes - "Communist" magistrates and a "leftist" press - for hounding him.
Italian newspapers have replaced front-page headlines on soaring bond yields and sliding shares with wiretapped chats between Berlusconi and Giampaolo Tarantini, a businessman suspected of providing prostitutes for the premier.
In one excerpt published by Corriere della Sera daily, Berlusconi boasts of champagne partying with women until 6:30am at a Milan nightclub, and pocketing the phone numbers of eight women.
"If you have a girl - two girls, three girls - to bring," Berlusconi is quoted as asking the southern businessman ahead of their next encounter, "please don't get tall ones … because we are not tall."
In another excerpt reported by major daily papers, Berlusconi says "Gianpi" and his female friends could travel on the premier's flight to Milan.
Yet another has him joking to a young woman that he works as prime minister in his "spare time."
Calls to resign
Opposition parties stepped up calls for Berlusconi to resign after the latest disclosures, saying a country struggling to overcome a debt crisis that threatens the eurozone could not afford a premier who "governs in his spare time."
Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party, said: "We have very serious problems. Is there a single reason comprehensible to the world for why Berlus-coni should not resign?"
Berlusconi's ally-turned-enemy Gianfranco Fini also called for a new government, while the Italy of Values party run by centrist Antonio Di Pietro said it was time for elections.
Berlusconi loyalists rallied to defend the premier and said he had no plans to resign.
Berlusconi has hung on despite a barrage of lurid scandals over the years, including the "Rubygate" affair in which he is accused of paying for sex with a teenage prostitute. His wife asked for a divorce, saying he cavorted with minors.
Austerity package
Revelations of "bunga bunga" parties, with escorts and showgirls angling for jobs in his media empire, have prompted incredulity and sniggers but failed to push him out of power.
The latest disclosures come at a sensitive time for the premier, who is grappling with slumping ratings, frustrated allies, a financial storm that has driven up Italy's borrowing costs and an unpopular austerity package.
Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, is under heavy pressure to implement tough reforms to cut debt and revive growth.
Only European Central Bank intervention has prevented Italy's borrowing costs from spiraling out of control.
Berlusconi has kept up a defiant attitude through the various crises, blaming his old foes - "Communist" magistrates and a "leftist" press - for hounding him.
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