Despite a growing number of calls for him to reveal all or resign, Silvio Berlusconi today insisted he had no intention of answering questions about allegations that paid escorts attended parties at his homes.
The embattled Italian prime minister even likened his approach to the claims to his removal of rubbish from the streets of Naples last year after a garbage collection crisis.
But leading political figures, including the deputy speaker of the house, have called for Berlusconi to explain himself or step down, after a former showgirl claimed she had been paid by a Bari businessman to attend dinners at the prime minister's Rome residence, receiving an extra fee if she stayed the night. Speaking in Brussels at the end of the EU leaders' summit, Berlusconi said there was "nothing to clarify. It's all very clear: it's all rubbish. I already got rid of [the rubbish] in Naples and I'll do the same with this."
But the deputy house speaker, Rosy Bindi, of the centre-left Democratic party, said: "Either Berlusconi explains what happened or he must go."
Meanwhile, Antonio Di Pietro, leader of the Italy of Principles party, called for a no confidence vote in parliament, describing Berlusconi as a modern-day Nero whose "weakness" for women left him open to blackmail.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/19/silvio-berlusconi-inquiry-escorts-italy
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