When Sex Shouldn’t Matter

ROME, Italy — “You know, America was founded by prudes,” Cooper Harris tells Scott Thomas in Eurotrip. “Prudes who left Europe because they hated all the kinky, steamy European sex that was going on.”

While I hate to contradict the film that brought America “Here’s a fun fact: you made out with your sister,” I’m afraid I have to report from Rome that some Italians are not too pleased with some of the “kinky, steamy European sex” that Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s Prime Minister, may or may not have taken part in.

I am writing, of course, about the Berlusconi sex scandal that has been all over the Italian papers since the end of April. Berlusconi is alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with an 18 year-old aspiring show-girl, Napoli’s Noemi Letizia.

The scandal began when it was reported that the prime minister attended the high school student’s 18th birthday party and gave her a $10,000 necklace. A few days later Veronica Laria, Berlusconi’s wife of 19 years, told the Italian press that she was filing for divorce because of her husband’s dalliances with young women, citing in particular his bizarre relationship with Letizia. Earlier this month, the scandal really took off: Photographs came out in the Spanish newspaper, El Pais, which depicted nude guests (including Mirek Toplanek, the former Czech prime minister) at a party that Berlusconi had hosted at Villa Certosa last summer. Then on Thursday the Italian press reported that Berlusconi allegedly paid female escorts to go to dinner parties with him.

Berlusconi has denied it all. He says that his relationship with Letizia has only ever been appropriate and his parties innocent. And no, he has never paid for companionship. He adds that he cannot even have sex, due to an operation he had on his prostate. The prime minister claims that these false attacks have been launched by his enemies; in particular, he blames the left for trying to undermine him right before the EU elections, which took place at the beginning of the month, and the upcoming G8 conference, which will be held in L’Aquila in July.

Indeed, the scandal has had political consequences. While Mr. Belusconi’s approval rating remains above 50 percent, his party, the PdL (Popolo della Liberta—People of Liberty) did not do nearly as well as predicted in the recent EU elections. Berlusconi had anticipated that the party would receive 40 percent of the vote, but in fact it only accrued 35 percent. Berlusconi himself has admitted that the scandal has damaged Italy’s reputation.

Now, let’s be clear about something, I don’t favor a lot of Berlusconi’s policy, but I have to agree with him here: What politicians do in their bedrooms is, frankly, none of the public’s business. My internship requires that I read the Italian papers daily and follow the wires from ANSA (Italy’s version of the AP). While I enjoy this part of my job, I do not want to read anymore about the Italian prime minister’s prostate. As long as he is having consensual sexual relations (nb: the age of consent in Italy is 16), I do not really care who he is or is not having them with. And I certainly don’t think sex should be political.

There is real news in Italy: Ghadaffi came to Rome to visit Berlusconi, the G8 conference is coming to L’Aquila, and just a few days ago there was another earthquake in the medieval city, unemployment in Europe is at an all-time high, and voter-turnout in Italy is low. Why waste ink on Berlusconi’s philandering? Let his wife’s divorce lawyer deal with that. There are plenty of policy issues that the left could use to attack Berlusconi, but let’s leave sex out of this. Seriously, Italy, don’t be such a prude—that’s America’s job.



Sofia E. Groopman ’12 is a Crimson news writer in Currier House.