Italian daily Corriere della Sera yesterday ran what it said was a letter from the ex-boyfriend, Gino Flaminio, in which he said there never could have been a sexual relationship between Berlusconi and Noemi Letizia "knowing Noemi and her values."
Last week, the left-leaning daily La Repubblica quoted Flaminio as saying Berlusconi had invited Letizia and several other young women to his Sardinian villa for a week over New Year's.
He described what he said were phone calls between Berlusconi and Letizia that he listened in on, saying the premier asked her in one call about her schooling, her interests and what her parents do.
The interview fueled speculation about a possible relationship between Letizia and the premier, particularly after Berlusconi's wife cited the premier's presence at Letizia's 18th birthday party in announcing a few weeks ago she was divorcing the 72-year-old.
The conservative premier has denied any scandalous relationship and said he knows Letizia's father through decades-old Socialist Party circles.
He has said he attended the birthday party because he happened to be in Naples that day.
Letizia's father announced he would sue Repubblica and Flaminio for defamation, and Berlusconi's aides have accused the center-left opposition of grabbing onto gossip to try to discredit him and his party before European Parliament elections this weekend.
Flaminio didn't say he was misquoted by Repubblica in his letter to the rival
publication Corriere, only that he felt used by people who wanted to hurt Berlusconi.
"I'm sorry for what happened, which I never could have imagined," Flaminio wrote, according to Corriere. "I publicly ask for forgiveness from Noemi and everyone, for the clamor that ensued from our love story, and I hope for a world of good for everyone."
"Isn't it possible that the (premier) could have a private life?" Flaminio wrote. "What's wrong with being friends with a normal family?"
On Saturday, Rome prosecutors seized hundreds of photos of the New Year's party in question after Berlusconi moved to block their publication.
They also placed the Sardinian photographer who took them under investigation for alleged violation of privacy laws and fraud, stemming from his efforts to sell the photos to magazines, news reports said Sunday.
source : www.dailymail.co.uk
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