A reality check: Latin style
For the last five weeks, the Torygraph has been firing relentless salvos on the UK public’s trust in politics.
How disappointing then that we discover that our MPs are actually quite pathetic in the scandal stakes in comparison with one of their European counterparts. .
Step forward Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister.
Mr Berlucsconi has never shied away from publicity. He has been premier no less than three times, and on each occasion has been accused of misdemeanours from byzantine and nominally legal business deals to gross political incorrectness (he famously admired President Barack Obama’s ‘tan’ ). Only recently, his long-suffering wife, Veronica Lario, publicly announced she was fed up of playing second fiddle to his career and to the endless succession of beauties the Prime Minister chose to surround himself with.
Berlusconi managed to squeeze past allegations that he might have had an inappropriate relationship with an 18 year old model. But he is now beset by claims that escorts and prostitutes were employed to attend his parties. Worse still, it is alleged that he slept with one escort late last year – a claim that seems to be corroborated by ‘souvenir’ pictures taken of his bedroom.
Will it be the Prime Minister’s undoing? Probably not. His reputation as something of a ladies man has always been a political asset for the 72 year old, and many Italians view the allegations as a left-wing plot designed by La Repubblica (the leading left newspaper) to topple the PM.
All of which goes to show how much standards for political behaviour vary, even within western Europe. Could Gordon Brown or David Cameron withstand such a scandal? No. And it certainly wouldn’t enhance their popularity with the public. The mid-1990s proved how prudish Britons are about the peccadilloes of their politicians.
So, much to the distress of the tabloid press, you probably won’t see Nick Clegg arm and arm with Jordan any time soon. Although Lembit Opik is probably another matter …