SILVIO BERLUSCONI has risked renewed criticism of his selection of candidates for election by unveiling a list that includes a Miss Italy contestant, a former TV weathergirl and a showgirl turned dental hygienist.
Last year the Italian prime minister dropped a group of showgirls from his list of candidates for European elections after his wife said the move was “shamelessly trashy” and demanded a divorce.
However Mr Berlusconi (73), who describes himself as a “single man” after the start of divorce hearings, has returned to the fray before important regional elections. He has put forward Nicole Minetti (25), the daughter of an English dance instructor who settled in Rimini and married an Italian businessman; Italia Caruso, a former Miss Italy finalist, and Giovanna Del Giudice, who worked at a club frequented by Mr Berlusconi.
She became a weathergirl on one of his TV channels and was among the women hurriedly dropped from his candidate list last year.
Joining them on the campaign trail for Mr Berlusconi’s Freedom People party this month will be party activist Emanuela Romano, whose father attempted to set himself on fire outside Mr Berlusconi’s Rome residence last year in protest after she was dropped.
Also on the Freedom People list in Lombardy are a surveyor employed by Mr Berlusconi and a physiotherapist who has worked at AC Milan, the football club owned by the prime minister.
Ms Minetti first came to attention dressed in a gold bikini and sitting on a swing in a TV show. She later trained to become a dental hygienist.
Aldo Brandirali, a member of Mr Berlusconi’s party, questioned her selection, saying “we need more seriousness” in politics.
“I have my CV, I am prepared and I am up to fulfilling the role,” Ms Minetti responded. – (Guardian service)