Berlusconi savaged for making light of rape

Silvio Berlusconi’s distinctly unreconstructed attitude to the fairer sex has landed him in trouble again. On Monday, the Italian Prime Minister was asked in parliament to stiffen up the government's response to a series of brutal rapes that have taken place in recent weeks, a situation that has already led to the deployment of 3,000 members of the Italian armed forces on the streets of the country's cities.

When it was suggested he should up the troop count following an incident in Rome this month in which five men of Eastern European origin raped a 21-year-old Italian woman after locking her boyfriend in the boot of the couple's car, the PM replied this would not offer any guarantee to the safety of the country's women, saying: "We could not field a big enough force to avoid this risk [of rape]. We would need so many soldiers because our women are so beautiful."

Needless to say this flattering of Italian womanhood did not have the calming effect he desired. "Berlusconi ought to refrain from saying offensive things about women," said Vittoria Franco, the shadow equality minister. "Basically what he is saying is that if women leave home alone they run the risk of being raped or attacked because it is not possible to make the country safe."

Seasoned observers of the 72-year-old billionaire will not be surprised by his comments. His attitude to woman is more in keeping with a flirtatious wine bar Lothario than a head of state. Two years ago, after he said he would gladly marry one of his ministers, 33-year-old Mary Carfagna, his wife, Veronica Lario, forced him to take out a full-page advert in a newspaper to apologise.

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