ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Silvio Berlusconi needs a resounding win in this weekend's European election to silence scandals about his love life and business dealings that threaten his credibility.
Despite grave problems in Italy's economy, which is heading for a 5 percent contraction this year, policy debate is taking second place to discussion of the prime minister's private life ahead of the vote Italy holds on June 6-7.
"The election campaign is like some reality show," said the left-wing head of the southern Puglia region, Nichi Vendola.
Berlusconi personally leads the list of candidates for his People of Freedom party (PDL), which the opposition complains cheats voters because he will have to resign his seat in the European Parliament immediately in order to remain premier.
Berlusconi's supporters say his participation is meant as an antidote to abstention, with pan-European polls suggesting turnout could be embarrassingly low at 49 percent or even less.
But in the run-up to the combined European and local Italian elections this weekend, the 72-year-old media magnate and the rest of Italy has talked of little else but his relationship with a teenage Naples girl.
That scandal has prompted his wife to seek divorce and met with stern disapproval from the Catholic church.
The center left, trounced by Berlusconi in an election last year, has latched onto the scandal to try to narrow the strong lead of his People of Freedom party in opinion polls.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5501X620090601
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