Society 09:10 29/11/2013

Silvio Berlusconi's girlfriend calls on Pope Francis to help clear his name

The 28-year-old girlfriend of Silvio Berlusconi has called on Pope Francis to grant her an audience so she can fight to clear the expelled senator's name, the Guardian reported.

In comments published the day after the upper house of the Italian parliament approved the historic expulsion of the three-times prime minister, who was convicted in August of tax fraud, Francesca Pascale said the move was "a coup d'état" that had caused her "unutterable bitterness."

"I am appealing to Pope Francis. An appeal for him to receive me and hear Berlusconi's story," she was quoted as saying in the daily newspaper Corriere della Sera.

At 76, the Argentinian pontiff is a year younger than Pascale's billionaire boyfriend.

Her declaration is not the first time the Vatican has surfaced as a perhaps unlikely source of salvation for a man who is, among other things, appealing against a conviction of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and then abusing his office to cover it up.

This week, rumours circled around Rome that Vladimir Putin would consider giving his old friend a Russian diplomatic passport as Moscow's ambassador to the Holy See. A spokesman for the Russian president dismissed the idea as "pure fantasy", according to the Ansa news agency.

Pascale, a former television showgirl from Naples, has made no secret of her desire to marry Berlusconi once his divorce from his wife, Veronica Lario, is finalised. Pascale's dog, a miniature poodle named Dudù, has become something of a character in his own right on Italy's increasingly bizarre political stage.

"I would like to take him [Berlusconi] away with me, distance my man from those who hate him, to keep him from the blows and unjust humiliation," she said after the senate vote. "But I know that that would not be him; he would not recognise himself in the mirror in the morning – and even I wouldn't recognise him."

In a defiant speech on Wednesday, the media magnate insisted that his removal from parliament would not preclude his continuation in politics as leader of his revived Forza Italia (FI) party, which is now in opposition to Enrico Letta's coalition government.

Draped in an FI flag, Pascale watched the speech from outside Berlusconi's Rome residence, Palazzo Grazioli, and was photographed appearing to kiss his hands as he got down from the platform.

She said she had been ready to go to Italy's head of state, Giorgio Napolitano, a former communist, and make a personal plea for a presidential pardon. But she said: "I realised that in reality those doors, for us, were closed."

In its verdict on 1 August, the supreme court ordered Berlusconi to serve a sentence of four years, commuted to one, of either community service or house arrest. The senate expulsion bars him from parliament for six years.

 

 



Source Panorama.am
Share |
Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:00
Armenian church honors St Gregory the Thaumaturgus and others
The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday commemorates St Gregory the Thaumaturgus, Nicholas the Bishop and St Myron the Wonderworker....
16:30
Banner at Armenian church in Watertown vandalized, police say
A banner at St. Stephen’s Armenian Church in Watertown has been vandalized, Watertown News reports, citing local police. The...
16:02
At least 3 arrested as Montreal anti-NATO protests turns violent
Montreal police say at least three people were arrested after protests turned violent Friday evening, with demonstrators throwing objects at...
15:45
Expert: Armenia pinned hopes on 'European fairy tales' and became isolated
Arthur Khachikyan, an international relations expert from Stanford University, claims the Armenian government’s poor foreign...
15:07
Armenian-Russian relations 'in agony', expert says
Hayk Khalatyan, a political analyst at the Verelq Information and Analytical Center, on Saturday accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his...
14:32
Powerful Israeli airstrike kills 11 people in central Beirut
A powerful airstrike killed 11 people in central Beirut on Saturday, the Lebanese civil defence said, shaking the capital as Israel pressed its...
14:15
Expert: Armenian-Azeri talks somewhat stalled
Political analyst Suren Sargsyan claims the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks have somewhat stalled amid the change of government in the United...
13:33
Temperatures set to plunge next week
Clear weather is expected in Armenia's regions over the weekend. Rain and snow are forecast for most parts of the country next week....
13:06
Magnitude 4․3 quake hits Azerbaijan, felt in Armenia
A magnitude 4․3 earthquake struck Azerbaijan on Saturday afternoon. The quake was recorded 42 km northeast of the town of Goris in...
12:35
Opposition MP slams Pashinyan's Western Armenia remarks
Opposition Hayastan faction MP Levon Kocharyan has blasted Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's remarks on Western Armenia and Baku’s fake...
12:00
MP Hovik Aghazaryan says decided on his parliament seat
MP Hovik Aghazaryan of Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party has made a decision on his parliament seat. The deputy has told the media...
11:36
US lawmakers request classified briefing on Turkey’s ties to Hamas
More than three dozen Democratic and Republican lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to offer a classified briefing on...
11:15
Armenia's Mushegh Mkrtchyan wins bronze at World Military Wrestling Championships
Armenian serviceman Mushegh Mkrtchyan (92 kg) has clinched a bronze medal at the 37th CISM World Military Wrestling Championships in Yerevan,...
11:00
Switzerland bans exports to Polish firm after Swiss-made ammunition ends up in Ukraine
The Swiss government said Friday it is barring exports to a Polish military hardware supplier after concluding that some 645,000 rounds of...
17:12
Armenia to face Georgia in Nations League play-off
The 2024/25 UEFA Nations League knockout stage and play-off ties have been confirmed following the draw in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday....
16:36
Hayk Marutyan agrees to debate with Tigran Avinyan
New Power party leader Hayk Marutyan has agreed to a TV debate with incumbent Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan. Marutyan, a former Yerevan...
15:45
Opposition politician: Pashinyan leading Armenia to 'final collapse'
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration is leading Armenia to the “final collapse” and Turkification, opposition...
15:05
Caretaker deputy justice minister sacked
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has signed a decree to dismiss Armenuhi Harutyunyan as Acting Deputy Minister of Justice....
14:35
Armenian parliament speaker confirms MP's resignation
National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan has issued a statement on the resignation of Narek Zeynalyan as an MP from Armenia’s ruling Civil...
14:06
Visa restricts media access to key event in Yerevan
Visa has restricted the media access to the Cashless Forum 2024 to be held in Yerevan for the first time on November 22. Only...
13:36
Orban says he will invite Netanyahu to Hungary after ICC warrant
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday he would invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit Hungary, saying he would guarantee...
13:11
Temps to plummet in Armenia
Clear weather is expected in Armenia's regions on Friday and over the weekend. Rain and snow are forecast for most parts of the country...
12:32
Alexis Ohanian showcases rare Armenian coin
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has showcased a rare Armenian coin from 95 BC featuring Tigranes the Great, a famous Armenian king....
12:16
German foreign minister criticizes Azerbaijan's human rights record
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized the human rights record of Azerbaijan during her first appearance at the UN Climate Change...
12:06
Minister shares new images captured by Armenia's first satellite
Armenia's Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan has shared new satellite images from orbit captured by ARMSAT-1,...
11:36
World Cadet Chess Championship passes its halfway mark
The 2024 World Cadet Chess Championship has passed its halfway mark in Montesilvano, Italy. After 6 rounds, in the Open 12 category CM...
11:15
Iran to launch 'new and advanced centrifuges' in response to IAEA censure
Iran said Friday it would launch a series of "new and advanced" centrifuges in response to a resolution adopted by the IAEA that...
11:00
Armenian, Iranian foreign ministers hold phone call
Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Thursday had a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi....
17:07
Winter military draft starts in Armenia on November 25
The winter conscription for compulsory military service starts in Armenia on November 25 to run through January 31, 2025. The...
16:45
Russian spokeswoman told not to comment on ballistic missile strike live on air
Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova received a phone call during a live press briefing on Thursday telling her not to...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}