Italy’s Berlusconi Rejects Calls for Resignation After New Gaffe

Posted October 7th, 2011 at 1:10 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi has rejected new calls for his resignation after making a vulgar remark about women.

Mr. Berlusconi told political supporters Friday that being the Italian leader is a “burden that I personally would be glad to be rid of.” But he said there was “no alternative” to his continued rule through the government's 2013 mandate.

As his own popularity has shrunk, in one poll to 24 percent, Mr. Berlusconi suggested this week that the name for his political party, Forza Italia, meaning “Go Italy,” needed to be changed with a new image. But the name he jokingly suggested (a crude term for female genitalia) drew immediate outrage and calls for his resignation.

Opposition lawmakers said it showed the contempt Mr. Berlusconi has for women. He said calls for his resignation were absurd and would only create new instability for the government.

The 75-year-old Berlusconi has a long-standing reputation for verbal gaffes. He currently is facing three trials, including ones for bribery and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl.