The return of Ruby

Jan 14th 2011, by The Economist online | ROME

JUST when it looks as if things cannot get worse for Silvio Berlusconi, they do.

Earlier today Italy’s beleaguered prime minister learnt that prosecutors in Milan had formally made him a suspect in aninvestigation into alleged juvenile prostitution. Although the age of consent in Italy is 14, it is an offence to pay for sex with a prostitute aged under 18. According to a statement from Milan’s chief prosecutor, Mr Berlusconi is thought to have done just that. He is also suspected of abusing his position, a crime under Italian law.

The prime minister has not been charged, let alone indicted, and his lawyers have said that the accusations against him are "absurd and groundless". But whatever its outcome, this latest inquiry will be difficult for him to shrug off.

Last month, Mr Berlusconi narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in parliament. He urgently needs to woo more deputies into his camp, particularly in the lower house. He can do that only if he is seen as strong enough to serve out his mandate until 2013. But events this week have cast grave doubt on his ability to do that.

Today's news broke just a day after Italy's constitutional court overturned key elements in a law that represented Mr Berlusconi’s latest attempt to shield himself from the courts. That has persuaded his supporters that the release of the latest news was timed for maximum political impact, especially since the prosecutor’s statement said the prime minister had been formally made a suspect as long ago as December 21^st. Mr Berlusconi has repeatedly claimed he is being victimised by left-wingers in the judiciary.

How sound the case against him is will emerge with time. But what is already known would be enough to have ensured his early departure from office in many other democratic countries.

Mr Berlusconi is suspected of having sexual relations with an underage prostitute between February and May last year. That is when, by her own admission, a then 17-year-old Moroccan girl, Karima el-Mahroug (pictured), attended parties at the prime minister's villa near Milan. Ms el-Mahroug, who also goes by the name of Ruby Rubacuori ("Ruby Heartstealer"), had run away from her home in Sicily and become an exotic dancer in Milan nightclubs.

She has repeatedly denied having sex with the prime minister. But according to leaked reports of her evidence to investigators, she told them that one of the parties ended in an erotic game known to participants as "Bunga, Bunga". Ms el-Mahrough is also said to have admitted receiving several thousand euros from Mr Berlusconi.

The prime minister’s version, which has emerged in a fragmentary way, is that he took pity on the runaway Ms el-Mahroug and was merely trying to help her. His assistance went beyond the donation of cash, however. Last May, his young friend was taken into a Milan police station accused of theft. Although she had previously escaped from care, she was turned over not to the juvenile courts but to a regional lawmaker for Mr Berlusconi’s party: a young woman who was herself an ex-dancer and showgirl. (She had entered politics after a spell as the prime minister’s dental hygienist.)

Mr Berlusconi has admitted that, before Ms el-Mahroug’s release, the police received a call from his office to say—incorrectly—she was the granddaughter of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. That explains the second, and potentially more serious, offence for which the prime minister is under investigation today: abuse of authority. The charge carries a potential prison sentence of up to two years.

The juvenile magistrate on duty the night of the phone call has said that she should have decided what to do with Ms el-Mahroug, which was to return her to care. But the police and Mr Berlusconi’s interior minister have insisted that the correct procedures were followed.

The Milan prosecutors appeared initially to accept the latter argument. Not the least intriguing aspect of an already intensely spicy affair is what new evidence—if any—led them to change their minds.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/01/silvio_berlusconis_antics