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Titolo: Finally!

 
 
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An A to Z of Silvio Berlusconi
 
Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned on Saturday 12 November
2011.
 
He was Italy's second-longest serving prime minister and has been listed
by Forbes as the 70th richest person in the world with a net worth of
US$6.5 billion.
 
But Berlusconi's time at the top of the political tree has not been
without controversy. To look at what has made the man such a controversial
figure, we have compiled an A to Z of Berlusconi and his most outspoken
moments.
 
A - Army personnel: In January 2009 Berlusconi announced an increase in
military personnel from 3,000 to 30,000, to patrol the streets of Italian
cities. When asked whether this increase would help keep Italian women
safe from rape, he replied: "You can't consider deploying a force that
would be sufficient to prevent the risk [of rape]. We would have to have
so many soldiers because our women are so beautiful." After being
criticised for the comments, Berlusconi tried to explain himself, saying
he was complimenting Italian women "because there are only about 100,000
people in law enforcement, while there are millions of beautiful women."
 
B - Bunga Bunga: This is a name given to the sex parties that Berlusconi
is alleged to have hosted at his mansion near Milan. An escort claimed she
was paid 10,000 euro to spend two nights with Berlusconi and that his
parties were "full of young girls". Although Berlusconi has dismissed many
of the reports of Bunga Bunga parties, he did say of his own role: "As a
host you might say I was unique. I love life and I love women. No one can
force me to change my lifestyle. I work flat out so no one can prevent me
from having a relaxing evening off every so often."
 
C - Corna: In Italy the corna, or sign of the horns, is a hand gesture
that is used to indicate a man whose wife has been unfaithful; Italians
generally view it as a vulgar gesture. In 2002 Berlusconi made the gesture
behind the back of the Spanish foreign minister, Josep Piqué, which many
felt was out of place at a European Union summit meeting. Berlusconi
laughed off the criticism saying that he was just kidding and that he was
trying to entertain a group of boy scouts who were close by.
 
D - Il Duce: In 2003 Berlusconi upset many in his own country when he
appeared to defend Italy's former fascist dictator Benito Mussolini
(nicknamed Il Duce). In an interview with the Spectator magazine
Berlusconi described Mussolini as a benign dictator who "never killed
anyone". Berlusconi added that "Mussolini sent people on holiday to
confine them".
 
E - Eighteenth birthday party: When Berlusconi attended the 18th birthday
party of Noemi Letizia, his wife filed for divorce on the grounds that
Berlusconi did not attend his own son's 18th and that she "cannot be with
a man who spends time with under-age women". Berlusconi denied any
scandal, saying Letizia (pictured) was the daughter of an old friend from
political circles and that he attended her birthday party because he
happened to be in Naples that day. Letizia's ex-boyfriend claimed that
Letizia and several other young women spent a New Year at Berlusconi's
Sardinian villa and that he listened in on phone calls between Berlusconi
and Letizia, fuelling speculation about an inappropriate relationship
between the two.
 
F - Forza Italia: This is the name of the political party led by
Berlusconi, but it is not without its own twinge of scandal. One
representative of the party is Mara Carfagna, a former showgirl and
topless model, of whom Berlusconi said if he wasn't already married, he
would marry her right away. Berlusconi also made Carfagna his minister of
equal opportunities, although she has recently resigned. After hearing his
comments about Carfagna, Berlusconi's wife conducted an interview with a
newspaper in which she demanded an apology.
 
G - Gun: In 2008 Berlusconi held a joint interview with his friend,
Russia's president Vladimir Putin. During the interview a Russian
journalist asked Putin if there was any truth in the rumours he was going
to divorce his wife and marry another woman. When Putin looked annoyed by
the question Berlusconi intervened and made a gesture towards the
journalist as if he were a gunman shooting the woman. She was reduced to
tears, but Berlusconi later played down the incident saying that it was a
"playful gesture".
 
H - Homosexuality: When coming under fire for his lifestyle and his
associations with young women Berlusconi announced: "I work extremely hard
and if every now and then I look at the face of a beautiful girl then it's
better to be passionate about beautiful girls than a gay." Needless to say
his comments caused outrage amongst gay rights groups.
 
I - Injury: In December 2009 Berlusconi was attacked at a rally in Milan.
Massimo Tartaglia moved forward from the crowd and hurled a statue of the
Milan cathedral at Berlusconi's face. The Italian PM suffered two broken
teeth and injuries to his nose and cheek. During the rally Berlusconi had
been heckled with people shouting "buffoon" and "thief" at him. Berlusconi
responded by saying: "I am not a monster as the opposition claims, and not
just because I am handsome."
 
J - Job prospects: When a young Italian woman, Perla Pavoncello, asked
Berlusconi how she could get ahead or a mortgage considering the lack of
secure jobs in Italy he replied: "You should perhaps look to marry a
millionaire, like my son, or someone who doesn't have such problems. With
that smile of yours, you could even get away with it".
 
K - Kids in China: Berlusconi outraged many Chinese and others with his
comments about China under the rule of Mao Tse-Tung. He said: "I am
accused of having said that the Communists used to eat children. But read
The Black Book of Communism and you will discover that in the China of
Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the
fields."
 
L - Left women: Ahead of elections in 2008, Berlusconi announced: "The
left has no taste, not even when it comes to women. As for our [women
candidates] being more beautiful, I say that because in parliament they
have no competition."
 
M - Mercedes Bresso: In the run-up to regional elections in Italy in early
2010 it looked as though Berlusconi's party were facing heavy defeats. The
prime minister decided to come out fighting and on one occasion he turned
his sights on Mercedes Bresso (pictured), who was running for regional
president in Piedmont, northern Italy. Berlusconi said: "You know why
Bresso is always in a bad mood? Because in the morning when she gets up,
she looks at herself in the mirror to put her make-up on, and sees
herself. And so her day is already ruined."
 
N - Nato Summit: At the 2009 Strasbourg-Kehl Nato Summit, Berlusconi kept
Angela Merkel waiting and eventually missed the start of the summit
because he was talking on his mobile phone. When Berlusconi car pulled up
to meet Merkel he got out and started walking away from Merkel, while
chatting on his phone. A bemused Merkel waited patiently for Berlusconi
but after a few minutes decided to leave him behind and led the delegation
across the Rhein River to meet French president Nicolas Sarkosy on the
other side. Berlusconi, who also missed the opening of the summit because
of the call, claimed he was talking to his Turkish counterpart in
Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
 
O - Obama: Just days after Barack Obama won the 2008 US presidential
election Berlusconi described the president-elect as "young, handsome and
tanned". When later questioned about the comment Berlusconi insisted that
it was "a big compliment" and that only an "imbecile" would interpret the
comment to be racist. One year later Berlusconi returned from a G20
summit, where he was snubbed by Michelle Obama, and told a party rally
that "I bring you greetings from a person who is called, a person who is
sun-tanned, Barack Obama. You wouldn't believe it, but they go sunbathing
at the beach together, his wife is also sun-tanned."
 
P - Papi: This was the nickname given to Berlusconi by Noemi Letizia, the
girl whose 18th birthday party he attended, and which resulted in
Berlusconi's wife filing for divorce. After Letizia confirmed that she
calls Berlusconi "Papi" speculation mounted that she might actually the
prime minister's illegitimate daughter, so she had to face the press
again, this time with her parents, insisting "that's my dad there".
 
Q - The Queen: Queen Elizabeth II was left less than impressed by
Berlusconi after a meeting of the G20 leaders at Buckingham Palace in
April 2009. While the leaders gathered for a photo shoot with the Queen,
Berlusconi shouted out "Mr Obama" despite the fact that the US president
was only a short distance from him. Video footage of the photo shoot
showed the Queen turning around with a mild look of irritation before
rhetorically asking: "What is it? Why does he have to shout?".
 
R - Ruby Rubacuori: Ruby Rubacuori is the stage name used by teenage belly
dancer Karima Keyek (pictured). Ruby claimed she attended sex parties
hosted by Berlusconi and that the Italian PM had given her an envelope
containing 7,000 euro. Ruby is at the centre of the allegations that may
see Berlusconi stand trial soon. It also emerged that in May 2010 Ruby was
arrested for theft by Milan police.There followed phone calls from
Berlusconi in which he falsely indicated that Ruby was a close relative of
President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and she was released.
 
S - Martin Schultz: Schultz was German member of the European parliament
who was the target of a Nazi jibe by Berlusconi in 2003. After Berlusconi
addressed the European parliament to launch his country's EU presidency,
the floor was opened to questions and Schultz commented on Berlusconi
avoiding bribery charges in Italy through the use of a new immunity law
passed by the Italian parliament. Berlusconi responded by saying: "In
Italy, they are making a movie on Nazi concentration camps. I would like
to suggest you for the role of leader. You'd be perfect". The comments
caused outrage with the parliamentary session cancelled, but Berlusconi
refused to apologise, saying it was an ironic joke.
 
T - Topless model: In July 2009 Italy hosted a three-day G8 summit.
Berlusconi fretted over how to look after the leaders' partners, chiefly
because his own wife was estranged from him. He solved the problem as only
he could. He asked Mara Carfagna to look after the spouses. Miss Carfagna
was recently voted the world's sexiest government minister by Maxim
magazine and is a former topless model, who is also Italy's equal
opportunities minister in Berlusconi's cabinet.
 
U - Upgrades: Berlusconi was heavily criticised after ordering upgrades to
two Roman marble statues on display at the PM's Rome residence. The
upgrades involved a replacement penis for one statue and a new hand on the
other statue. Both were paid for out of public money.
 
V - The Vatican: The Vatican and Berlusconi have had a strained
relationship. The former has often criticised the latter. In October 2010
the Vatican condemned Berlusconi for his "deplorable" jokes after he had
depicted Jews as money-grabbers. The Vatican has also criticised
Berlusconi for setting a bad example, and has said that "everybody, but
above all a head of government" must behave with "seriousness and
sobriety".
 
W - 'Weekend away': In April 2009 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit in Italy
close to the city of L'Aquila. Berlusconi initially gained credit for
cancelling a planned trip to Russia, instead heading to the earthquake
zone and telling victims that "no one will be left alone". But he was
criticised when he said that those who were now homeless should think of
it like a "weekend away". Berlusconi said: "They have medicaments. They
have hot food. They have shelter for the night. Of course, their current
lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of
camping." He made things worse while on the trip by asking woman
councillor Lia Beltrami, "Can I fondle you?" while they were on a tour of
an earthquake site.
 
X - X-rated: With allegations of sex parties, bunga-bunga and of using
prostitutes, it could be said that some of Berlusconi's behaviour has
verged on the X-rated.
 
Y - Young women: Although Berlusconi denies many of the allegations of
liaisons with young ladies, the insinuations were too much for his third
wife Veronica Lario, who said in her divorce papers that she "cannot
remain with a man who consorts with minors" and "is not well".
 
Z - Zzzzz: Escort Patrizia D'Addario claimed in a book that she was paid
to have sex with Berlusconi. She also claimed that he was an active and
passionate lover. Far from being a shy and retiring 73-year-old Berlusconi
has left D-Addario startled and tired. She admitted that "several times I
found myself hoping he would fall asleep".
 
http://news.uk.msn.com/world/an-a-to-z-of-silvio-berlusconi
 
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