Berlusconi refuses to step down

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Source: press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/165188.html

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has announced he will not step down and slammed the demonstrations against him over his sex scandals.

On Sunday, thousands of Italian women took to the streets across the country to call on Berlusconi to resign over his sex scandals, specifically the underage prostitution scandal.

The 74-year-old told his Canale 5 network on Monday that he has never disrespected women, Reuters reported.

“All women who have had the opportunity to get to know me, know how much I respect them. I have always behaved and I always behave with great care and great respect, both in my companies and in my government,” he said.

The prime minister has denied the allegations against him, but his manner of defending himself has offended many.

In an interview last year, Berlusconi stated, "I have never paid a woman. I have never seen the satisfaction that there could be in it without the pleasure of conquest."

The Sunday protest organizers -- actresses Francesca and Cristina Comencini -- say that Berlusconi has damaged women's dignity.

"Berlusconi has long shown a violent contempt for women with his misogynist remarks," Francesca Comencini said.

The demonstration is one of many that have taken place over the weekend and in previous months, as Italians continue their call for Berlusconi to resign.

Berlusconi said the government would not resign over the affair, potentially opening the way for new elections.

“The Milan prosecutors' office and the media in contrast has trampled on the dignity of my guests, exposing them to public scorn without any reason or regard for them and trampling on the truth," Berlusconi said.

Reports revealed that he had been using a bank account in Milan to make payments to showgirls and models that attended parties at his mansion on the outskirts of the city.

The Italian prime minister has resisted calls to quit over the latest scandal, in which he is accused of having sexual relations with an underage Moroccan girl, Karima El Mahroug, also known in the media as "Ruby the Heart-Stealer,”