ROME (Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday private polls showed he remained as popular as ever despite a “heap of falsities” over his impending divorce.
The media mogul went on national television this week to deny his wife’s accusations he was involved with a teenage girl. He said his approval ratings were just as high as last week when he declared himself the world’s most popular leader.
“I got the weekly polls this morning and they showed the (ruling) People of Freedom party at 45 percent and the prime minister’s rating at 75 per cent,” he said.
“I expected a fall in my approval ratings, but this media campaign based on a heap of falsities that has erupted in recent days has been read with intelligence by Italians.”
Berlusconi often boasts of his popularity quoting private polls that are not released to the media. Other polls have shown less supportive figures, like one published by the left-leaning La Repubblica daily that put his support at 56 per cent last month.
