The Sunday Times has published a report suggesting that Italian photographer Antonello Zappadu is auctioning off shocking photos from a party held by Berlusconi in his private villa, with publication likely in the international press just before the start of this Wednesday’s G8 meeting.
The news has been greeted, unsurprisingly, with indignation by the government press office which has spoken of digital manipulation of photos* and a campaign against Berlusconi on the part of the Murdoch group (Berlusconi’s government raised v.a.t. on Sky Italy’s subscriptions earlier this year - a move that analysts suggest was favourable to Berlusconi’s own Media channels Mediaset).
So things are hotting up. If Berlusconi is right (which we doubt, given the amount of contradictions and shoddy cover-ups that have emerged from the various scandals surrounding him), then he should surely sue Murdoch’s papers for libel. That, though, would mean taking all of this smut into the courts to ascertain the veracity of claims - a risky move, if someone has something to hide.
*Ironic, given that there exists a widespread view that photos, issued by Berlusconi’s media handlers, of the ageing premier at the 18th birthday party of an aspiring starlet had a number of anomalies which suggested some serious photoshopping - the aim, presumably, to create a family-friendly image of his presence there.