Politics
Italy: PM says he met teen model four times
Rome, 6 November (AKI) - Italy's scandal-hit prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has once again denied he had a relationship with teenage lingerie model Noemi Letizia and claimed he met her just four times.
"I never had a relationship with Ms Noemi. Everything that has been said and written about that is slander," Berlusconi said in an interview with veteran journalist Bruno Vespa published in his new book The Queen of Hearts.
The book - tipped to become a best-seller - is a study of the role women have played in history and politics.
Berlusconi's wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario, announced she was divorcing him days after he was pictured attending Letizia's her 18th birthday party in late April. He gave Letizia a 6,000 euro pearl and gold pendant as a birthday present.
Berlusconi has repeatedly denied ever having an improper relationship with Letizia, who told the media she called the prime minister 'papi' or daddy and went to meet him in Rome and Milan whenever he telephoned her.
Letizia has never said when or how she first met Berlusconi.
In the interview for Vespa's book, Berlusconi contradicts earlier claims by Letizia's father and says he first met Noemi on 19 November last year at the Italian Senate in Rome, then in September last year, at New Year and on her 18th birthday.
Letizia's father Elio told Naples daily Il Mattino on 25 May he first introduced his wife and Noemi to Berlusconi in Rome in 2001 during a family shopping trip.
In The Queen of Hearts Berlusconi also denied that he fielded Italian showgirls with dubious credentials as candidates for his ruling People of Freedom party.
"I proposed positions of high responsibility only to women with a high moral, intellectual, cultural and professional profile," he said.
Berlusconi's comments have been construed as the long-awaited replies to a series of questions published repeatedly by left-leaning daily La Repubblica about his flamboyant private life.
Italian opposition politicians maintain that Berlusconi should respond to questions from MPs on allegations that he slept with a prostitute, endangered state security by entertaining dozens of prostitutes, and fielded women with dubious credentials as candidates for his party.
One of the main critics has been high profile former prosecutor and Italy of Values party leader Antonio Di Pietro who has demanded his impeachment.
"The methods he chose and the evasive replies justify his impeachment. He can't choose who questions him. A head of government can't drip feed answers like they are gold dust and be able to avoid telling the truth.
"The questions posed by La Repubblica have relevance at institutional level, and Berlusconi must answer to the parliament," Di Pietro said.
"I never had a relationship with Ms Noemi. Everything that has been said and written about that is slander," Berlusconi said in an interview with veteran journalist Bruno Vespa published in his new book The Queen of Hearts.
The book - tipped to become a best-seller - is a study of the role women have played in history and politics.
Berlusconi's wife of 20 years, Veronica Lario, announced she was divorcing him days after he was pictured attending Letizia's her 18th birthday party in late April. He gave Letizia a 6,000 euro pearl and gold pendant as a birthday present.
Berlusconi has repeatedly denied ever having an improper relationship with Letizia, who told the media she called the prime minister 'papi' or daddy and went to meet him in Rome and Milan whenever he telephoned her.
Letizia has never said when or how she first met Berlusconi.
In the interview for Vespa's book, Berlusconi contradicts earlier claims by Letizia's father and says he first met Noemi on 19 November last year at the Italian Senate in Rome, then in September last year, at New Year and on her 18th birthday.
Letizia's father Elio told Naples daily Il Mattino on 25 May he first introduced his wife and Noemi to Berlusconi in Rome in 2001 during a family shopping trip.
In The Queen of Hearts Berlusconi also denied that he fielded Italian showgirls with dubious credentials as candidates for his ruling People of Freedom party.
"I proposed positions of high responsibility only to women with a high moral, intellectual, cultural and professional profile," he said.
Berlusconi's comments have been construed as the long-awaited replies to a series of questions published repeatedly by left-leaning daily La Repubblica about his flamboyant private life.
Italian opposition politicians maintain that Berlusconi should respond to questions from MPs on allegations that he slept with a prostitute, endangered state security by entertaining dozens of prostitutes, and fielded women with dubious credentials as candidates for his party.
One of the main critics has been high profile former prosecutor and Italy of Values party leader Antonio Di Pietro who has demanded his impeachment.
"The methods he chose and the evasive replies justify his impeachment. He can't choose who questions him. A head of government can't drip feed answers like they are gold dust and be able to avoid telling the truth.
"The questions posed by La Repubblica have relevance at institutional level, and Berlusconi must answer to the parliament," Di Pietro said.
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