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ROME (AFP) – Italian women have hailed the wife of ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for forcing a public apology from him for flirting with a young woman lawmaker.
Berlusconi, head of the country’s largest political party Forza Italia, was caught cooing to member of parliament Mara Carfagna, 31, at a recent gala dinner. He was quoted as saying:
- “I’d go anywhere with you, even to a desert island. If I weren’t already married, I would marry you straight away.”
Veronica e Silvio Berlusconi
A letter by his wife was printed on the front page of centre-left newspaper La Repubblica on Wednesday demanding a public apology. Berlusconi replied with a letter which asked for her pardon.
“Please forgive me, and take this public testimony… as an act of love, one among many,” he wrote in a letter carried by the ANSA news agency. “My days are crazy, as you know. Work, politics, problems, trips… a life under constant pressure.”
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Former PM Silvio Berlusconi humbled by his wife Veronica. It’s a shame my understanding of the Italian language is poor, but I can view a number of Italian satellite channels. So much passion …
Veronica"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."The man is 70, rich, and reportedly wants to be prime minister again. His wife is 50. She has the material stuff already. Requesting (and getting) a public apology was better than asking for a divorce. He’s on notice. Guess we know who thinks with the right head here.
Veronice, you go girl!
From my distant viewpoint, Berlusconi seems to add a grandly comic twist to the strange world of Italian politics. Although I doubt the joke is as funny as to Italians or Europeans.