Silvio and Ruby

The next utterly predictable piece of news is that Silvio Berlusconi has got himself in trouble again. With a girl of course.

This time it is a 17 year old Moroccan belly dancer named Karima Keyek whose stage name, Ruby Rubacuori, means Ruby, stealer of hearts. Rubygate, as it has come to be known, has hit the press fairly large.

There is a number of elements to Rubygate. Initially it was said that Berlusca had consensual sex with the girl, but she now says not: he gave her money, yes, but ‘he acted like a father’ (this is going to be bad for the great man’s reputation: no Italian wants it said that he acted like a father to a girl). Next she describes parties at Berlusca’s villa which ended in orgies (so called bunga-bunga parties, after a joke which I cannot repeat here). At one of these she says she sat next to him and he gave her money. Further, it is alleged that she was arrested in Milan for allegedly stealing 3,000 euros but that Silvio intervened with the police, saying that she was the grand daughter of the president of Egypt (honestly, I'm not making this up), and she was released. This is the one that Bersani and the opposition will try to run with.

It is also said that there is a problem with Ruby’s entry papers (she hasn’t got any).

In ordinary times, the indivdual elements of Rubygate would be eminently forgettable. But in Italy people are feeling the pinch of the recession, and it looks (correctly) as if Berlusconi hasn’t done enough to help them. Together, they constitute a scandal. Fortunately for the PM, the opposition seem incapable of mounting a forensic analysis.

Silvio will restore some of his flagging popularity by intervening in the Naples rubbish issue, but ultimately he will only save himself by looking like a proactive promoter of Italian interests, like a man who has the interests of his people at heart. So far, he hasn’t done nearly enough.