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Silvio Berlusconi may be one of Italy's most popular politicians, but the premier's approval ratings are sinking fast with at least one Italian - his wife.
Veronica Lario publicly voiced her rage over reports that Berlusconi's party was lining up a troupe of TV showgirls and starlets as candidates for June's European Parliament elections.
A spokesman for the conservative Freedom People party said the reports were unfounded, adding that the official list of candidates would be presented later yesterday. Berlusconi contended the reported plans were a fabrication of the opposition and left-leaning media.
Berlusconi has already faced trouble at home and widespread criticism for flirting with women and filling his political ranks with female stars, including a Cabinet minister.
Two years ago, Lario received a quick and public apology from Berlusconi when she wrote to a newspaper complaining about a compliment her husband had paid to TV starlet Mara Carfagna, now the minister for equal opportunities.
Late on Tuesday, Lario released a statement to the ANSA news agency, slamming the party's alleged election plans as "shameless rubbish" that offended her, her children and women in general.
"Somebody has written that this is all for the entertainment of the emperor," she said. "I agree. What emerges from the newspapers is shameless rubbish, all in the name of power."
Lario's public rage came after days of debate in which even Berlusconi's allies raised eyebrows over reports by left-leaning newspapers that the party's candidates could include a Big Brother contestant as well as actresses and models.
Alessandra Mussolini, a right-wing politician and a former actress, ironically suggested the leading coalition should also have male models run for office as a measure of fairness.
Lario was less subtle in her criticism. "The impudence and shamelessness of power offends the credibility of all (women), damages women in general and especially those who have always struggled to defend their rights," Lario said.
"I want to make clear that my children and I are victims and not accomplices in this situation. We must bear it and it causes us to suffer," she told ANSA.
Lario, also a former actress, is Berlusconi's second wife and the couple have three children.
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(Agencies) |
意大利總理西爾維奧?貝盧斯科尼也許是該國最受歡迎的政界人物之一，但至少有一個人對他的支持率正在下跌——那就是他的夫人。
近日有報道稱，貝盧斯科尼領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的政黨挑選了一群美女演員和明星參加今年6月的歐洲議會選舉。貝盧斯科尼的夫人維羅尼卡?拉里奧公開對此表達了憤怒。
保守派“自由人民黨”的一位發(fā)言人稱，該報道毫無事實根據(jù)，并稱候選人的正式名單將于昨日晚些時候公布。貝盧斯科尼則表示該報道所描述的選舉計劃是反對黨和國內(nèi)的左翼媒體編造的。
貝盧斯科尼曾與多名美女私下調(diào)情，并有提拔美女明星從政的習(xí)慣（包括一名內(nèi)閣部長），所以他不僅在家里麻煩不斷，在外界也是廣受指責(zé)。
拉里奧曾在兩年前致信一家報紙抱怨其丈夫恭維電視臺美女主播瑪拉?卡爾法尼亞，之后貝盧斯科尼立刻就此事向她公開致歉。瑪拉?卡爾法尼亞是意大利現(xiàn)任機會平等部部長。
周二晚些時候，拉里奧向安莎通訊社發(fā)表了一份聲明，指責(zé)自由人民黨所謂的選舉計劃是“無恥的垃圾”，不僅侮辱了她，還侮辱了她的孩子和廣大女性。
她說：“有人寫文章稱這完全是當權(quán)者的自娛自樂。我同意這種看法。報紙所報道的選舉計劃不過是冠以權(quán)力名義的無恥的垃圾。”
在拉里奧公開表示不滿之前，有關(guān)該報道的爭論已持續(xù)了數(shù)日，甚至貝盧斯科尼的盟友也表示氣憤。據(jù)意大利國內(nèi)左翼報紙報道，自由人民黨挑選的歐洲議會候選人名單除了有美女演員和模特外，可能還有一名“老大哥”節(jié)目的參賽選手。
曾為演員的右翼女政客亞歷山大?墨索里尼暗諷稱，為了公平起見，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)聯(lián)盟也應(yīng)該允許男模特參選。
拉里奧的言辭還要溫和一點，她說：“當權(quán)者的輕率和無恥冒犯了所有（女性）的名譽，傷害了廣大女性，特別是那些一直為保護自身權(quán)利而斗爭的女性。”
她在接受安莎通訊社采訪時說：“我想說清楚，在這起事件中，我和我的孩子都是受害者，而不是幫兇。我們必須忍受，這讓我們很痛苦。”
拉里奧是貝盧斯科尼的第二任妻子，她曾經(jīng)也是一名演員。他們育有三個孩子。
相關(guān)閱讀：
意前總理與美女調(diào)情惹怒夫人 被逼公開道歉
調(diào)查：意大利男人全世界最帥
意大利：摘掉領(lǐng)帶抑制全球變暖
（實習(xí)生許雅寧 英語點津姍姍編輯）
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