貝盧斯科尼自稱意大利史上最好總理

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hit back at his critics on Thursday, saying he is far and away the best leader in Italian history and has never considered resigning over scandals concerning his private life.

In a spirited performance even by his own standards, the 72-year media tycoon also attacked Spanish daily El Pais for its critical coverage, denied paying for sex and said a prostitute who taped an encounter with him could face 18 years in prison.

"I sincerely believe I am by far the best prime minister Italy has had in its 150 year history (since unification in 1861)," Berlusconi said in a televised news conference in Sardinia with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

In answer to a reporter from El Pais, he dismissed as "calumnies" reports he had benefited from a prostitution ring and said he was the "victim" of escort Patrizia D'Addario who made tapes of what she said was a night spent with him.

Berlusconi, whose wife is seeking a divorce over his womanizing, has never denied sleeping with D'Addario but has said he did not pay her and did not know she was a prostitute.

"Never in my life, not even once, have I had to pay for a sexual encounter," Berlusconi said. "And I'll tell you why: for someone who loves to conquer, the greatest joy is the conquest, so I ask, 'if you pay, what joy can there be?'"

This philosophy helped to explain "why Italians like me and I have 68.4 percent of approval and admiration," said Berlusconi, who has been elected three times and is now the longest-serving leader in Italian post-war history.

For the first time Berlusconi threatened to take legal action against D'Addario, saying she had committed four crimes which could carry a total of 18 years imprisonment.

Berlusconi, who in Italy is normally only asked about his private life in pre-prepared interviews with reporters from his own media empire, said El Pais was "losing credibility" by attacking him and seemed to suggest it might go bankrupt.

"Losing credibility leads to losing copies, losing readers, losing advertising. In this way you head toward bankruptcy and I think El Pais knows something about that," he said.

意大利總理西爾維奧•貝盧斯科尼於上週四對他的攻擊者們作出迴應，他稱自己是意大利歷史上最好的總理，而且從未考慮過要因自己的私生活醜聞而辭職。

這位72歲的媒體大亨還批評了曾對其進行負面報道的西班牙日報《國家報》，他否認有過性交易，並稱錄下與自己過夜錄音帶的妓女將面臨18年的監禁。這一舉動即便按照他自己的標準看也夠勇敢。

貝盧斯科尼在撒丁島的一個電視記者招待會上說：“我從內心覺得，我是意大利（自1861年統一後）150年曆史上最好的總理。”當時他正在撒丁島會見西班牙首相何塞•路易斯•羅德里格斯•薩帕特羅。

在回答《國家報》記者提問時，他表示有關其與某賣淫團伙有染的報道純屬“誹謗”，並稱自己被女伴帕特里齊亞•達達里奧給“害了”。達達里奧曾錄了幾盤據她稱內容爲與貝盧斯科尼共度春宵的錄音帶。

貝盧斯科尼從未否認曾與達達里奧上牀，但稱自己並沒有花錢找女郎，也不知道她是個妓女。由於他不斷招蜂引蝶，其妻子正申請離婚。

貝盧斯科尼說：“我從不需要進行性交易，一次也沒有過。我還要告訴你爲什麼：對於愛征服的人來說，最大的樂趣在於征服的過程，所以我想問，如果你花錢，那還有什麼樂趣呢？”

貝盧斯科尼稱，這種邏輯也能解釋“爲什麼我受到意大利人民的愛戴，支持率高達68.4%”。貝盧斯科尼已三次當選總理，目前他是二戰後意大利在任時間最長的總理。

貝盧斯科尼首次威脅將起訴達達里奧，稱其犯下了四樁罪行，將面臨18年的監禁。

貝盧斯科尼稱，《國家報》對他的攻擊令這份報紙逐漸“失去可信度”，還暗示該報會破產。貝盧斯科尼在意大利接受採訪時，有關其私人生活的問題通常只會在事先準備好的採訪中被問及，而採訪的記者也來自他掌控的“媒體帝國”。

他說：“失去可信度會導致發行量、讀者和廣告的流失，那麼離破產就不遠了。我想《國家報》應該很清楚這一點。”

Vocabulary:

far and away: undoubtedly（無疑地，肯定地）

calumny: a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something（誹謗，中傷）

ring: a group of persons cooperating for unethical, illicit, or illegal purposes（團伙，幫派）

womanizing：to pursue or court women habitually（玩弄女性；沉溺於女色）