Another Sex Scandal For Berlusconi

Teenage nightclub dancer Karima El Mahroug here last year, goes by the name of Ruby Heartbreak. She was a guest at one of Berlusconi's parties when still 17

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Scandals before, but now Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could be facing possible jail time. The prime minister is accused of paying for sex with an underage Moroccan belly dancer--known by her stage name Ruby. It's an offense that carries a three year sentence in Italy.

We’re investigating the scandal with coverage from France 24, RIA Novosti, Technorati, and BBC News.

Mr. Berlusconi says the allegations are nothing more than mudslinging, and Ruby has denied ever having sex with him, despite reports that he gave her 7,000 euros when they first met on Valentine’s Day in 2010. France 24 reports the prime minister probably won’t cooperate with prosecutors.

“Now this is very serious because the prosecutors are asking the prime minister to appear before their inquiry and respond to these allegations. That’s unlikely to happen, but it’s very, very damaging at this time.”

The investigation comes a week after Italy’s highest court partially struck down a law giving the prime minister immunity from prosecution in several non-related trials. An opinion piece in the Russian news agency RIA Novosti says Mr. Berlusconi might be leaving the political stage sooner than expected.

“[T]he opposition claims the premier is clutching to his post for fear of a prison sentence….It will be a pity to see him go, as Berlusconi added quite a bit of joie de vivre to European and global summit meetings, negotiations and conferences. He remains unrivalled in Europe for his bravado, his idiosyncratic turns of phrase and his weakness for the fair sex.”

Along with the prostitution allegation, the prime minister is also accused of abusing his power. He allegedly pulled some strings to get Ruby out of jail after police arrested her for theft. A writer for Technorati pokes fun at Mr. Berlusconi and his never-ending list of accusations.

“Corruption, sexual affairs, polemic declarations, involvement with the mafia, all of these scandals have followed Berlusconi throughout his political career. If you can't think of anything else he could be accused of, don't worry, he has shown himself to be creative enough to come up with new ones.”

Despite numerous allegations against him, the prime minister remains quite popular with the Italian public. A BBC News political strategist says this scandal probably won’t change much.

“Does the Italian public care? Well, the cumulative effect of these scandals has harmed Mr. Berlusconi's personal poll ratings. But very few politicians want to bring him down and trigger a general election, especially when they know that he would probably win again - with or without personal scandal.”

Is this one scandal too many for Mr. Berlusconi? Or will his personal problems take a back seat to his popular politics?