Berlusconi rejects patch-up with wife, seeks apology

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-05-05 07:44

ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said even a public apology from his wife would not be enough to salvage his 19-year marriage after she disparaged him in the media.

His wife Veronica said over the weekend she planned to file for divorce, days after criticizing Berlusconi for attending an 18-year old aspiring model's birthday party and a "shamelessly trashy" selection of female candidates for European elections.

The 72-year-old prime minister and media magnate issued an emotional public apology two years ago when his wife reprimanded him for flirting with young starlets, but told La Stampa newspaper that he had called in the lawyers this time.

Berlusconi rejects patch-up with wife, seeks apology
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his wife Veronica Lario (L) attend a function at Villa Madama in Rome in a June 4, 2004 file photo. [Agencies]

"To tell the truth, there may even be conditions to sue for defamation, but it's best to leave that alone," he said.

Berlusconi lamented to the Corriere della Sera daily that his wife had been "stirred up" and "fallen into a media trap". Asked if a last-minute reconciliation was possible, he said:

"I don't think so, I don't know if I want it this time. Veronica should publicly apologize to me ... And I don't know if that will be enough. It's the third time that she has pulled off a trick like this during an election campaign.

"It really is too much," the prime minister said.

Berlusconi, who on Friday declared himself the world's most popular leader, said he did not believe the media frenzy surrounding his private life would hurt his approval ratings or his party's performance in the European elections in June.

A poll published last month showed Berlusconi's approval ratings rose in April to 56 percent thanks to his swift response to a deadly earthquake in central Italy, while the premier puts his own popularity at just over 75 percent.

Opposition members have declined to comment on the matter and called it a private affair, but center-left leader Dario Franceschini demanded Berlusconi stop suggesting his marital troubles had been stirred up by the left.

Defending at length his party's choice of female candidates that Veronica had lambasted as "entertainment for the emperor", Berlusconi said each woman had impressive qualifications.

"We never included any showgirl in the list and the three that we excluded at the last minute were very capable girls, with an excellent education. Anything but showgirls," he said.

"Veronica has believed many inaccurate things written in the press, unfortunately."

He also shrugged off Veronica's anger at his presence at the Naples birthday bash of an 18-year-old woman. Berlusconi said he agreed to stop by at the party only at the insistence of the woman's father, an old friend.

"There's nothing strange here, it's happened several times with birthdays and marriages," Berlusconi said.

The couple's marital problems has quickly become the main conversation topic in cafes and offices across Italy and dominated the front pages of Italian newspapers yesterday. "It's Veronica who must apologize", Corriere's headline declared.