Sex, parties, and politics: Berlusconi answers critics in new book

Rome - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi holds forth on his various alleged sexual transgressions, his legal battles, and his views on government, both his own and through history, in a new two-volume book by a sympathetic Italian journalist.

In Donne di Cuori, or Queens of Hearts, Berlusconi attempts to set the record straight on his relationship with the Napolian schoolgirl Noemi Letizia, his contacts with other minors and his alleged orgies with prostitutes in the government palace.

Written with a celebrity journalist close to Berlusconi, Bruno Vespa, the book takes an unapologetic tone, according to Milan daily Corriere della Sera. In extensive interviews with Vespa, Berlusconi suggests that anyone would have done what he did in his position.

From his weakness for pretty women to his private pain caused by the huge burden of leadership, Berlusconi compares his predicament with those faced by others from Henry VIII to French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The media echo from the new book has not all been positive, however. "Incomplete, wrong, and 175 days too late," wrote the Berlusconi-critical Roman daily La Repubblica.

Berlusconi demanded a million euros (1.47 million dollars) in compensation from the paper for its daily publishing of 10 questions from his estraged wife. No legal action has been taken yet, however.

Posted in: Silvio Berlusconi