JOIN USAn Italian woman has demanded an apology from former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after he crudely joked with her on stage about sex, days before a national election.
Angela Bruno, a 30-year-old employee of renewable energy firm Gruppo Green Power, said in an interview on the La7 Channel that her 13-year-old daughter had cried for days after seeing a video of the encounter at a business event, and the response it provoked.
“I want an apology for all Italian women because they should not have to suffer insults like this, at work or outside work,” she said. “This is the Italy I don't want anymore and I hope no one wants.”
The 76-year-old media tycoon, who is on trial for sex with an underage prostitute, stepped down as prime minister in November 2011 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis, but is now seeking a fifth term in government in the Feberury 24-25 vote. Bruno was presenting a contract to Berlusconi at a recent ceremony when the former prime minister asked her suggestive questions in front of senior colleagues, staff and members of the public.
“Do you come?...only once?...how many times do you come?...with what sort of time intervals?,” he asked her with a smirk on his face. At the time she went along with the banter giggling nervously as the audience roared with laughter.
“It sounds altogether like a good proposal,” he continued. He then asked her to turn around, took a look at her bottom and said, “Yes, it is a convincing offer”, prompting a round of applause and more laughter from the audience.