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Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hit back at his critics on Thursday, saying he is far and away the best leader in Italian history and has never considered resigning over scandals concerning his private life.
In a spirited performance even by his own standards, the 72-year media tycoon also attacked Spanish daily El Pais for its critical coverage, denied paying for sex and said a prostitute who taped an encounter with him could face 18 years in prison.
"I sincerely believe I am by far the best prime minister Italy has had in its 150 year history (since unification in 1861)," Berlusconi said in a televised news conference in Sardinia with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.
In answer to a reporter from El Pais, he dismissed as "calumnies" reports he had benefited from a prostitution ring and said he was the "victim" of escort Patrizia D'Addario who made tapes of what she said was a night spent with him.
Berlusconi, whose wife is seeking a divorce over his womanizing, has never denied sleeping with D'Addario but has said he did not pay her and did not know she was a prostitute.
"Never in my life, not even once, have I had to pay for a sexual encounter," Berlusconi said. "And I'll tell you why: for someone who loves to conquer, the greatest joy is the conquest, so I ask, 'if you pay, what joy can there be?'"
This philosophy helped to explain "why Italians like me and I have 68.4 percent of approval and admiration," said Berlusconi, who has been elected three times and is now the longest-serving leader in Italian post-war history.
For the first time Berlusconi threatened to take legal action against D'Addario, saying she had committed four crimes which could carry a total of 18 years imprisonment.
Berlusconi, who in Italy is normally only asked about his private life in pre-prepared interviews with reporters from his own media empire, said El Pais was "losing credibility" by attacking him and seemed to suggest it might go bankrupt.
"Losing credibility leads to losing copies, losing readers, losing advertising. In this way you head toward bankruptcy and I think El Pais knows something about that," he said.
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(Agencies)
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意大利總理西爾維奧?貝盧斯科尼于上周四對(duì)他的攻擊者們作出回應(yīng)，他稱自己是意大利歷史上最好的總理，而且從未考慮過要因自己的私生活丑聞而辭職。
這位72歲的媒體大亨還批評(píng)了曾對(duì)其進(jìn)行負(fù)面報(bào)道的西班牙日?qǐng)?bào)《國(guó)家報(bào)》，他否認(rèn)有過性交易，并稱錄下與自己過夜錄音帶的妓女將面臨18年的監(jiān)禁。這一舉動(dòng)即便按照他自己的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)看也夠勇敢。
貝盧斯科尼在撒丁島的一個(gè)電視記者招待會(huì)上說(shuō)：“我從內(nèi)心覺得，我是意大利（自1861年統(tǒng)一后）150年歷史上最好的總理?！碑?dāng)時(shí)他正在撒丁島會(huì)見西班牙首相何塞?路易斯?羅德里格斯?薩帕特羅。
在回答《國(guó)家報(bào)》記者提問時(shí)，他表示有關(guān)其與某賣淫團(tuán)伙有染的報(bào)道純屬“誹謗”，并稱自己被女伴帕特里齊亞?達(dá)達(dá)里奧給“害了”。達(dá)達(dá)里奧曾錄了幾盤據(jù)她稱內(nèi)容為與貝盧斯科尼共度春宵的錄音帶。
貝盧斯科尼從未否認(rèn)曾與達(dá)達(dá)里奧上床，但稱自己并沒有花錢找女郎，也不知道她是個(gè)妓女。由于他不斷招蜂引蝶，其妻子正申請(qǐng)離婚。
貝盧斯科尼說(shuō)：“我從不需要進(jìn)行性交易，一次也沒有過。我還要告訴你為什么：對(duì)于愛征服的人來(lái)說(shuō)，最大的樂趣在于征服的過程，所以我想問，如果你花錢，那還有什么樂趣呢？”
貝盧斯科尼稱，這種邏輯也能解釋“為什么我受到意大利人民的愛戴，支持率高達(dá)68.4%”。貝盧斯科尼已三次當(dāng)選總理，目前他是二戰(zhàn)后意大利在任時(shí)間最長(zhǎng)的總理。
貝盧斯科尼首次威脅將起訴達(dá)達(dá)里奧，稱其犯下了四樁罪行，將面臨18年的監(jiān)禁。
貝盧斯科尼稱，《國(guó)家報(bào)》對(duì)他的攻擊令這份報(bào)紙逐漸“失去可信度”，還暗示該報(bào)會(huì)破產(chǎn)。貝盧斯科尼在意大利接受采訪時(shí)，有關(guān)其私人生活的問題通常只會(huì)在事先準(zhǔn)備好的采訪中被問及，而采訪的記者也來(lái)自他掌控的“媒體帝國(guó)”。
他說(shuō)：“失去可信度會(huì)導(dǎo)致發(fā)行量、讀者和廣告的流失，那么離破產(chǎn)就不遠(yuǎn)了。我想《國(guó)家報(bào)》應(yīng)該很清楚這一點(diǎn)?！?/font>
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（英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津許雅寧 姍姍編輯） |
