Berlusconi harms Italy's reputation the world over

"Silvio Berlusconi has a problem," writes the daily La Vanguardia. The Italian prime minister's debauched private life is damaging Italy's international reputation: "Like any other citizen a politician has the right to his own private sphere. This means a sphere of intimacy where he can live out the ups and downs of human life. No law in the Western World can forbid a 73-year-old man from seeking out the companionship of young women, provided they're no longer minors. Cases of politicians with rocky and failed marriages are legion. ... Nevertheless there must be a limit to everything. Even in Italy. The continual publication of news about the prime minister's harem - whether the women are paid or in love with the Cavaliere's dashing figure - damages the reputation of Italians across the world. ... Italy - a country we admire and treasure - deserves a serious and respectable political leadership."

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