Word: primed
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...politics is poker, the best players know when to double down and when to cut their losses. For Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a sex scandal that had dogged him for months seemed to be finally quieting by late July. Though his reputation was stained, his popularity was solid and it seemed time to put the controversy behind him and get back to trying to run the country...
...Italians appeared to be losing interest, the 72-year-old billionaire was apparently still seething over the repeated publication of accusations from his estranged wife that Berlusconi "frequents underage girls" and the release of racy audiotapes of conversations he allegedly had with a high-priced prostitute. (Read about the Prime Minister of Italy coming under attack - from his own wife...
...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 in what has turned into a major end-of-summer counter-offensive by Berlusconi...
...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 have been violated in an act of sacrilege." He accused Feltri...
...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...