Silvio Berlusconi is free to marry his 28-year-old fiancée after an Italian court finalised his divorce settlement, five years after his long-suffering wife announced that she could no longer tolerate his “consorting with minors”.
Francesca Pascale, 28, who is younger than some of the 77-year-old former prime minister’s children, has made no secret of the fact that she is determined to formalise their engagement and get married at the earliest opportunity.
In an interview with the Italian edition of Vanity Fair last year, she claimed that she had fallen for the media tycoon when she was a teenager, offering him her telephone number at a party rally.
“I chased him, I wooed him - I did everything. All he had to do was say ’yes’,” she said.
There is fevered speculation in Italy about when the wedding might be, and whether the happy couple might decide to start a family - notwithstanding Mr Berlusconi’s advanced age and the fact that a baby would complicate the division of the ex-premier’s huge personal fortune and extensive business empire.
He already has five grown-up children from two marriages - Miss Pascale would be his third wife if they decide to tie the knot.
The divorce between Mr Berlusconi and Veronica Lario, 57, whom he married in 1990, was handed down by a court in Monza in northern Italy.
The former actress, who first caught the politician’s eye in 1980 when she appeared topless in a stage performance of a play called The Magnificent Cuckold, announced that she was leaving him in 2009 after he attended the 18th birthday party of an aspiring lingerie model, amid questions as to the nature of their relationship.
Miss Lario said she could no longer bear to be married to a man who “consorted with minors”.
The court’s approval of the divorce does not, however, bring to an end the wrangling over how much alimony Mr Berlusconi should pay his ex-wife - the financial settlement is still to be worked out.
The court in Monza initially awarded Miss Lario three million euros (£2.5 million) a month but the amount was subsequently cut by more than half to 1.4 million euros a month after an appeal by the billionaire businessman last October.
Miss Lario in turn launched an appeal against that judgment, and a final ruling is expected in the coming months.
Although Mr Berlusconi was humiliatingly expelled from the Italian parliament late last year as a result of a conviction for tax fraud, he remains the leader of his revamped Forza Italia party.
He is still a force to be reckoned with on the Italian political scene - on Wednesday he held talks with Matteo Renzi, the 39-year-old leader of the centre-Left who is poised to become Italy’s youngest ever prime minister.
Mr Berlusconi’s party will not be part of the coalition, but the two men discussed reforms to Italy’s electoral system.
The three-time prime minister said he would be part of a “responsible” opposition.
”We too are in favour of rejuvenating the government,” Mr Berlusconi said. “Today I met a premier who’s half my age - a good sign for the renewal of the ruling class.”
In April Mr Berlusconi is due to start serving a year’s sentence for his tax fraud conviction, either performing social services or under house arrest.
He is also appealing a conviction for paying for sex with an underage prostitute at the “bunga bunga” parties held in his villa in Milan, and went on trial last week accused of paying a three million euro bribe to a senator in exchange for his defection from the Left.
据英国2月19日报道,前意大利总理贝卢斯科尼获法院批准与前妻拉里奥离婚,从而可以自由地迎娶28岁的未婚妻帕斯卡尔,两人的婚期业已成为意大利人热议的话题。
尽管28岁的帕斯卡尔比这位77岁的前总理的某些孩子还要年轻,她还是毫不隐瞒她已决意与贝卢斯科尼正式订婚,并将尽早完婚。去年,在接受意大利版《名利场》记者采访时,她曾宣称,自己十几岁就迷上了这位媒体大亨,有意在一次集会时给他留了电话号码,使劲浑身解数办法吸引他,最终成功地将他俘虏。
意大利人现在正狂热地猜测他们何时举行婚礼,以及两人是否决定生儿育女。贝卢斯科尼年事已高,前两次婚姻已经给他留下了5个成年孩子。如果他们决定结婚,帕斯卡尔将成为他的第三任妻子,如果两人再有孩子,其巨额私人财产和庞大商业帝国的分配将更加复杂化。
此外,离婚并未结束有关贝卢斯科尼应该支付前妻多少生活费的争论。法院起初判给拉里奥生活费每月300万欧元,但是去年10月,因为这位亿万富翁提出上诉,这笔钱被腰斩,减少一半,至140万欧元。随后,拉里奥也提出上诉。最终裁决将在今后几个月确定。
1980年,拉里奥在裸胸表演一部舞台剧时,吸引了贝卢斯科尼的目光。1990年两人结婚。2009年,贝卢斯科尼为18岁的内衣模特庆生,拉里奥忍无可忍,宣布要与之离婚。五年后,意大利北部城市蒙扎法院终于批准了她的离婚申请。
上一篇: 《纸牌屋》第二季热播 融入中国元素
下一篇: 斯诺登当选大学校长 荣誉职位任期三年