Silvio Berlusconi's close supporters deny there will be any fuggi fuggi - rush to the exit - in the wake of highly-publicised scandals surrounding his private life, but senior allies in Italy's centre-right coalition are already contemplating a political future without their long-time leader.
Well-placed government sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, stress that they do not see the 72-year-old media tycoon and three-time prime minister resigning soon. Yet key ministers are starting to position themselves in the event that more damaging revelations might lead him to step down.
"This is a completely new scenario. The sands are shifting," one official said, looking back at the past two months since news broke about Mr Berlusconi's friendship with an 18-year-old would-be model and the subsequent declaration by his wife, Veronica Lario, that she wanted to divorce the man who "frequents minors".
An aide to Mr Berlusconi - maintaining the official position that the "scandals" are a fabrication and conspiracy involving opposition parties, newspapers and politically-motivated magistrates - said the cabinet fears prosecutors would time the announcement of an official investigation into the prime minister just as he is hosting world leaders at the Group of Eight summit next month.
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d0170a52-6120-11de-aa12-00144feabdc0.html
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