Babes out for Berlusconi as Italians march in anger

Silvio's babes are on the warpath: a platoon of glamorous female MPs, some of whom owe their political careers to the man dubbed the Great Seducer, are spearheading a campaign to save the Italian PM's political career.

Berlusconi faces a no confidence vote on Tuesday, in both houses of Italy's parliament. A 'no' vote in either house could trigger a general election and would certainly cost the 74-year-old PM his job.

Berlusconi's troubles worsened earlier this year when his old ally, co-founder of the People of Freedom Party and speaker of the lower house, Gianfranco Fini, broke ranks to call for his resignation.

But the Teflon-coated - and quite possibly Teflon-scalped – premier could count on his babes, it seems. Sixteen MPs including socialite and junior minister Daniela Santache and 38-year-old Maria Rosaria Rossi, with whom Berlusconi spent part of the summer at his Sardinian retreat, yesterday begged colleagues to unite in cross-party support of the PM.

Tellingly, the Santache made no attempt to defend her mentor, appealing instead for stability in the face of economic crisis – many observers fear Italy may follow Ireland into national default. She said: "I'm appealing to people’s sense of responsibility.

"It's about being Italian, about the good of the country. If the government falls, it will be a disaster for Italy."

Meanwhile, the streets of Rome were taken over by thousands of demonstrators yesterday who have come to see their billionaire leader as the Great Disgrace after stories of sexual escapades, corruption and rising unemployment.

The no confidence vote itself is the latest blow for Berlusconi in a series triggered by revelations over a year ago that he attended the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia (above), an aspiring model. The news prompted Berlusconi's wife Veronica Lario to seek a divorce.

Yesterday, Italian news agency ANSA quote Antonio Di Pietro of the Italy of Values Party as saying the situation "has reduced parliament, the temple of democracy, into an obscene market where MPs are prepared to sell their conscience and their dignity". ·