COSA DICONO DI NOI ALL'ESTERO

1. Briefing
Spotlight:
SilvioBerlusconi
performersfor private functions.
But the latest Berlusconitidbit is
potentially the most damaging. fune On
r7,investigators the southerncity of
in
Bari confirmedtheywere carrying out a
criminal investigation into allegations
that businessmanGiampaoloTarantini
had hired prostitutesto attendseveral
Berlusconi bashes, althoughBerlusconi
himself is not under investigation.
On |une 17,one of the women,
Patrizia Dîddario, told the Milan daily
Corriere dellaSerathat shewas paid sev:
eralthousandeurosto attendtwo dinner
partiesat Berlusconi's Romeresidence
last fall and that shestayedthe nieht of
Nov.4. Shesaysshesecrltly made"audio
recordings during the parties, which
sheturned overto prosecutors. Two days
later,a friend of D Addario's, Barbara
Montereale,told newspaperLa Repubblica
that she,too, was paid to attend the
HE N TH E c-8 suunal r B E GIN SIN Nov.4 party, but left after dinner.
Italy on |uly 8, it will undoubt- Monterealedescribedher friend asa
edly garnera flood ofattention professional escortand saidDAddario
for its host.But while Prime Minister had told her she'd had sexwith Berlus-
SilvioBerlusconi was planning to bask coni at the party. In interviews since,
in the results of his bold, last-minute DAddario hasneither confirmednor de-
decision switch the siteof the meet-
to nied Montereale's account.Tarantini told
ing from La Maddalena Sardiniato
on Italian news agencyANSA that he only
Lîquila, the centralcity still reeling reimbursedthe women for their traveÍ
from April's deadlyearthquake, is theit and expenses, that Berlusconi
and didn't
storiesofBerlusconiasa party guy that know about the payments.
arecapturingthe imagination. Berlusconi says hasdonenothing
he
Since April, the coverage ofthe wrong and is simply a victim of a hate-
7z-year-old billionaire mogul turned filled pressand oppositionthat want
politico hasreadlike somethingbetween to bring him down with "trash"and
an airport romancenovel and soft porn. "gossip." possible,
It's ifthe investigation
On April 26,Berlusconi showedup at the into the prostitution allegations cJmeto
r 8th birthday party of leggyNeap-olitan any embarrassing conclusions, that Ber-
blond Noemi Letiziawith the eift of a lusconi might haveto stepdown, open-
diamondnecklace. Within t*ó d"yr, ing the way for a caretakergovernment
Berlusconi's wife of zo years, Veronica headed someone
by like Bank of Italy
Lario,announced wanteda divorce.
she GovernorMario Draghi or Economy
claiming that her husband"frequents Minister Giulio Tremonti. But don t
underage females." count Berlusconi yet. Perennialchal-
out
A TANGLED WEB The subsequent mediastorm has lengers like parliamentSpeaker
1 BarbaraMontereale(right) rainedan almostdaily showerof gos- Gianfranco Fini on the riqht and former
in what she saysis Berlusconi's sipytalesupon the Italian public.On Prime Minister MassimobAlema on the
Romeresidence2 Noemi
Letiziawith diamondnecklace,
fune 5,Spanish daily ElPaispublished Ieft, havelargelylost credibility in the
a photographsthat showedtoplesswomen
gift from Berlusconi 3 Veronica faceoftheir opponent's political savvy.
Larionowseeking divorce
and a nude man partying at Berlusconi's Italian politics is beginning to look like a
a from
Berlusconi4 Villa Certosa The
Sardinianvilla. And then therewasthe season Celebrity
of Survivor.Andnot only
investigation,later dropped,into allega- -
PM'sSardinian mansion is Berlusconi reigning championof
the
tions that he d useda governmentair- thisreality show,he is alsoits executive
plane to flyin youngwomen and showbiz prooucer.-B Y IE FF TS R A E LY I
r0