Word: berlusconi
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...Berlusconi aide acknowledges that the safe political calculation may have been to let the private affairs pass, particularly after being praised in July for the G8 summit he hosted in earthquake-stricken L'Aquila. "But he feels defamed," says the aide. "He has faced daily attacks for months and has decided not to take it any more." And so the prime minister apparently decided it was time to double down. On July 29, in news that then got scant attention, the Berlusconi family newspaper, Il Giornale, hired back its former attack-dog editor-in-chief Vittorio Feltri, the first move...
...articles alleging that Dino Boffo, editor of Avvenire, the Italian Bishops Conference daily newspaper, was a "homosexual known to the Italian secret services" and had paid damages to a woman in a 2004 harrassment case. Feltri wrote that he was publishing these accusations against Boffo, who had criticized Berlusconi's private life, as a response to his "moralistic campaign" against the Prime Minister. Il Giornale also hammered away at the Church for past scandals involving pedophile priests. After repeatedly and vehemently denying Feltri's charges, Boffo resigned on Thursday, saying "my life, the life of my family and my newsroom...
...Boffo affair, which on the surface ended in apparent victory for the Prime Minister and as a slap against the Catholic Church, could nevertheless backfire on Berlusconi. The impression that he is now out for blood - and that no one is safe - may convince top Catholic politicians to abandon the Prime Minister despite his support for their legislative priorities on gay partnerships and euthanaisa. "There's a limit to everything, and once you go beyond the limit, things get dangerous," says one influential Catholic editor. "These incidents that spread chaos, scare everyone. The situation now is very fluid." Nonetheless...
...longer term battle for Berlusconi is the fate of his public legacy, and his pride. Already infamous for his media conflicts of interest and political incorrectness, his image has taken an unprecedented wallop with details of an alleged obsession for sex and the ready company of a long roster of women young enough to be his granddaughters. His attempt to undo the damage of the past four months also includes a series of lawsuits against the print media outlets - both in Italy and abroad - that have focused particular attention on his woes. Over the past 10 days, he has filed...
Meanwhile, Berlusconi's repeated claims that he is Italy's' victim No. 1 of the media strike many as absurd, or downright Orwellian. His ownership of and influence over some 90 % of Italian television is again on bright display, as commercials have been banned on all major TV stations of a new Swedish movie that criticizes Berlusconi's media control...