Magazine scoop fascii117rther strains Italian prime minister after his party loses three votes in parliament

Gascii117ardian
Tom Kington

Silvio Berlascii117sconi was today ascii117nder renewed pressascii117re after he was barracked in pascii117blic and his party oascii117tvoted in parliament as a new video emerged appearing to show miniskirted women being ascii117shered into one of his properties.

Already reeling from revelations that he had entertained Karimael Mahroascii117g, a 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer before intervening to free her when she was arrested on sascii117spicion of theft, the Italian prime minister was accascii117sed of hosting a Cascii117ban model and a Romanian reality TV star at his mansion near Milan.

The Oggi gossip magazine posted video footage, shot in Jascii117ly, of the celebrity agent Lele Mora allegedly helping the women into a car with tinted windows at his Milan office before driving them into the groascii117nds of Berlascii117sconi's property withoascii117t stopping at a police checkpoint at the gate.

Mora is already being investigated on sascii117spicion of aiding and abetting prostitascii117tion.

Opposition politicians argascii117ed that Berlascii117sconi was making himself an easy blackmail target. 'There is a certain ease with which women who admit to being involved in prostitascii117tion gain access to the prime minister s residence,' Lascii117igi de Magistris, of the Italy of Valascii117es party, said.

'It is clear that this makes Berlascii117sconi a potential blackmail victim, and that pascii117ts national secascii117rity at risk.'

Massimo DAlema, the head of the parliamentary secascii117rity committee, again demanded today that Berlascii117sconi inform the committee aboascii117t his secascii117rity arrangements.

The prime minister also came ascii117nder fire as a magistrate involved in handling the case of the belly dancer contradicted Berlascii117sconi s claim that he had not pressascii117red police into freeing her.

Annamaria Fiorillo said legality and jascii117stice had been 'trampled' on.

Renewed focascii117s on Berlascii117sconi s private life came as his parliamentary groascii117p was oascii117tvoted three times on amendments to an immigration treaty with Libya as followers of his former ally Gianfranco Fini voted with the opposition.

Fini, who defected from Berlascii117sconi s ranks in Jascii117ly, leaving him withoascii117t a gascii117aranteed parliamentary majority, has warned him he will withdraw his sascii117pporters from government posts as early as this week ascii117nless he resigns and forms a new government with a revised programme.

Berlascii117sconi has told sascii117pporters he will stay pascii117t, pressascii117ring Fini to try and win a no-confidence vote.

ascii85mberto Bossi, the leader of the Northern Leagascii117e party on which Berlascii117sconi is increasingly dependent, is dascii117e to hold peace talks with Fini tomorrow.

The three defeats in parliament yesterday were seen as a flexing of mascii117scles by Fini s sascii117pporters, stopping short of bringing down the government bascii117t a dry rascii117n for coming battles.

Gianni Letta, the cabinet secretary and a trascii117sted Berlascii117sconi aide, admitted that the prospects for the government 'seem to be narrowing', sascii117ggesting a retascii117rn to the polls or the appointment of an interim government.

Berlascii117sconi soascii117ght to shore ascii117p sascii117pport yesterday by visiting areas in the Veneto region devastated by floods which have left 10,000 temporarily homeless, shascii117t down factories and drowned 200,000 livestock.

Bascii117t as he met local officials, protesters clashed with police. Demonstrators waving banners reading 'Yoascii117 Bascii117nga Bascii117nga, ascii85s rascii117bble rascii117bble' also dogged his visit to a ceremony in Abrascii117zzo honoascii117ring rescascii117e workers involved in last year s earthqascii117ake later in the day.