Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may be one of the country’s most popular politicians, but his approval ratings are sinking fast with at least one person — his wife.
Veronica Lario publicly voiced anger over reports that Berlusconi’s party was lining up a troupe of TV showgirls and starlets as candidates for June’s European Parliament elections.
Berlusconi contended the reports were a fabrication by the opposition and left-leaning media. When the official list of candidates was presented on Wednesday, one of the reported names — a former Miss Italy contestant — was included, though other names that had circulated were not.
Late on Tuesday, Lario released a statement to the ANSA news agency slamming the party’s alleged election plans as “shameless rubbish” that offended her, her children and women in general.
Lario’s rage came after days of debate in which even Berlusconi’s allies raised eyebrows over reports by left-leaning newspapers that the party’s candidates could include a Big Brother contestant as well as actresses and models.
“The impudence and shamelessness of power offends the credibility of all [women and] damages women in general and especially those who have always struggled to defend their rights,” Lario said. “I want to make clear that my children and I are victims and not accomplices in this situation. We must bear it and it causes us to suffer.”
Lario, also a former actress, is Berlusconi’s second wife and the couple have three children.
Party spokesman Daniele Capezzone said the reports surfaced after the women attended a recent crash course on politics held at Freedom People headquarters in Rome, with Berlusconi and other top government officials as teachers.
“The party organized a course for dozens and dozens of people, many with extraordinary CVs and academic experiences, and only a few with a background in show business,” he said in a telephone interview.
In Tuesday’s statement to ANSA, Lario also reacted to media reports that the prime minister had attended the late-night birthday party of an 18-year-old woman in Naples.
“It surprised me very much,” she said. “Also because he never came to the 18th of any of his children, even though he was invited.”
Berlusconi said on Wednesday that since he happened to be in Naples, he quickly dropped by “to raise a glass” in honor of the 18-year-old, who he said is a friend’s daughter.
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