Unless
they involve a law school dean, of course. But Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's diplomacy efforts in
anticipation of the G8 summit to be held July 8-10 in the Italian city of
L'Aquila have caused me to question whether, much like American financial scandals, most American sex
scandals are just not quite as juicy as their European counterparts. (The
Glom’s fine commentary on the Madoff sentencing notwithstanding, see here and here).
From Reuters:
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has denied ever paying a woman for sex, as he faces growing political pressure over lurid allegations that he slept with a female escort who was paid to attend his parties.
"I have never paid a woman," Berlusconi said in an interview with the Chi weekly owned by his Mondadori publishing empire.
"I've never understood what satisfaction there is other than that of conquering (a woman)," he told the magazine, according to excerpts sent to Reuters ahead of publication on Wednesday. (emphasis mine)
The woman in question, Patrizia
D'Addario, told an Italian newspaper that a local businessman paid her 1,000
euros ($1,386) to attend a dinner at Berlusconi's home along with other young
women and that she later spent the night with him. However, one of the
women who attended the party with D’Addario told reporters that D’Addario had
not requested money from Berlusconi in exchange for sex, because she was more
interested in obtaining building permit favors.
“Berlusconi said he doubted a reconciliation with his wife was possible now.” Gee, ya think?
Apparently, Berlusconi's approval rating dropped two percent after his wife announced that she would divorce him, but still stands at 49%. Considering that the historical average American presidential job approval rating is only 55% (as compared to President Obama's recent 60+% ratings), that number still seems high for a leader with Berlusconi's PR problems.
Related Post: American Financial Scandals Are Boring
(HT: Crooked Timber)
Why is no one here blogging about Villanova Dean Mark Sargent's resignation? You blogged about Heidi Hurd. What's with the double standard?
Posted by: a curious person | July 06, 2009 at 11:04 PM