Berlusconi is “an angry, defeated and depressed man”, claims columnist

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - Gianfranco Fini, Italy's speaker of parliament, is suing a newspaper owned by Silvio Berlusconi's brother for threatening "red light" revelations about him. Il Giornale had suggested that Fini, the 57-year-old speaker of parliament's lower house and a former foreign minister, should be kicked out of the People of Liberty (PdL) party for flirting with the left-wing opposition, reports The Times.

August 8th, 2009 LONDON - Despite drowning in scandals involving prostitutes and kinky parties, Silvio Berlusconi insists that he has nothing to feel sorry for and "no skeletons in his closet". While responding to apparent criticism from his daughter, Barbara, the 72-year-old premier said he had "no skeletons in his closet and cannot be blackmailed by anybody", reports The Telegraph.

July 23rd, 2009 LONDON - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has laughed off juicy allegations surrounding his private life by simply saying "I am no saint". The business tycoon's comments follow the release of audiotapes on the net, which purportedly reveal conversations between him and a prostitute, reports The Telegraph.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Besides Silvio Berlusconi and his alleged sexcapades, another mysterious element which emerged from the sex tapes was his reference to Putin's bed. The audiotapes of the Italian Prime Minister's alleged encounter with an escort girl at his Rome residence were posted on the Internet.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Patrizia D'Addario, the Bari prostitute who claims to have recorded footage that proves her encounters with Silvio Berlusconi, was apparently paid 1,000 euros to attend one of the Italian PM's parties and promised a gift if she stayed for a night. Berlusconi's private life came under the spotlight when fresh audiotapes of his alleged encounter with D'Addario at his Rome residence were posted on the Internet.

July 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi spurns a condom - at least that's what new tapes of a hooker's alleged dealings with the Italian PM which hit the internet suggest. The Sun reports, in one of the tapes, Patrizia D'Addario, 42, recoils as a business tycoon linked to Berlusconi's parties tells her: "He will give you a present.

July 21st, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi's private life is again in the spotlight after audiotapes of the Italian Prime Minister's alleged encounter with an escort girl at his Rome residence were posted on the internet. The Italian daily La Repubblica and its sister weekly, L'Espresso, published bits and bobs of the alleged bedroom conversation between Berlusconi and Patrizia D'Addario, the woman whom his aides describe as a prostitute, reports The Times.

July 17th, 2009 LONDON - An ex Italian MEP has hit out at Silvio Berlusconi, claiming that he was prevented from standing again for the Italian PM's party in the European election last month because he did not fit in with the party's "revolution" of selecting attractive young women. In 2004, Marcello Vernola, 48, was elected to the European Parliament for Forza Italia, now part of the centre-right People of Liberty (Pdl) party.

July 6th, 2009 ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in an interview published Monday, has denied the existence of photographs whose publication could further embarrass him as he prepares to host a Group of Eight summit later this week. Berlusconi was reacting to a report by the London-based Sunday Times that a series of photographs taken at the premier's luxury Sardinian villa would surface ahead of the G8 summit, which begins Tuesday in L'Aquila, Italy.

June 28th, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi has blasted an escort girl's claims that he slept with her. Italy's billionaire prime minister was accused by Patrizia D'Addario, 42, a former actress from Bari in southern Italy, who claimed that the 72-year-old had sex with her on the night of November 4, when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, at Palazzo Grazioli, Berlusconi's Rome residence, reports The Times.

June 25th, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi has blasted a call girl who claims she was paid to attend one of his parties, accusing her of being part of a coordinated "mission" to compromise his integrity. Responding to the claims that he slept with escort Patrizia D'Addario at a party at his Rome mansion in November, he said: "Someone gave a very precise and extremely well paid mission to this Miss D'Addario." The Italian Prime Minister gave the response in an interview with magazine, Chi, reports The Telegraph.

June 22nd, 2009 LONDON - Silvio Berlusconi has been dragged into further controversy after another woman claimed that she was paid to attend the Italian Prime Minister's parties. Model Barbara Montereale said that Berlusconi gave her 10,000 euros "as a present" after attending one of his parties at Villa Certosa.

June 21st, 2009 LONDON - Back in November last year, when Barack Obama was making history as US president, Italian premiere Silvio Berlusconi was enjoying a candlelit dinner party with three beautiful women at Palazzo Grazioli, his luxurious residence in Rome, reveals one of the guests. Patrizia D'Addario, 42, a former actress and escort girl said that the 72-year-old then asked her to stay for the night.

June 15th, 2009 ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has said that subversives are planning a palace coup of sorts to impose an un-elected leader on the country. Addressing a business lobby group, Berlusconi said: "There is a campaign of scandals against me.

May 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - After calling himself the Jesus Christ of Italian politics, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi boasted yesterday that he's the world's most popular leader. The 72-year-old said opinion poll findings in his possession showed his popularity at just over 75 per cent, making him far more popular than the American president, Barack Obama, or any other head of government.