意總理女兒公開指責老爸與女模曝緋聞

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's daughter has said she was amazed by the attention her father lavished on a teenage model, in a rare criticism of the scandal-hit leader by one of his children.

Barbara Berlusconi, 25, also told Vanity Fair that politicians ought to uphold the values they preach publicly in their private lives -- in contrast to Berlusconi's allies who say his personal life has no bearing on his public role.

Berlusconi, 72, has denied an improper relationship with Noemi Letizia after showing up at her 18th birthday party with a 6,000-euro ($8,600) necklace gift, prompting his wife Veronica to seek a divorce over his womanizing.

When asked what she thought of the attentions her father had shown toward Letizia, Barbara said: "I was shocked. It's something that has never been part of my life."

"I have never frequented elderly men. I have no experience of such psychological ties," she told the magazine.

Since the Letizia scandal, Berlusconi has also been fending off accusations of cavorting with escorts who were paid to attend his parties. He denies paying for sex but says he is "not a saint."

"Political representatives that are called to govern well, make society prosper, are also held to safeguard the values they express, possibly raise them," Barbara told the magazine.

"So I don't believe a politician can allow a distinction between his public and private life."

Barbara's comments are another dent to Berlusconi's image, with polls showing the summer of scandals has helped push down his popularity.

Barbara is one of three children Berlusconi has with Veronica. His two children from his first marriage hold prominent positions in his business empire. They rarely speak publicly but defended their father when the scandal first exploded in May.

意大利總理西爾維奧•貝盧斯科尼的女兒近日表示，父親竟然對一位十幾歲的女模特出手大方，這讓她感到吃驚。身陷醜聞的總理被他的孩子指責，這並不多見。

現年25歲的芭芭拉•貝盧斯科尼在接受《名利場》採訪時還表示，政界人士在個人生活中應秉持他們公開宣稱的價值觀，而貝盧斯科尼的支持者則宣稱其個人生活與公衆角色無關。

72歲的貝盧斯科尼否認與諾埃米•萊蒂齊亞存在不正當關係。他在參加萊蒂齊亞18歲生日派對時，贈送給她一條價值六千歐元（合8600美元）的項鍊，這也迫使總理夫人維羅尼卡因其招蜂引蝶而提出離婚。

當被問及對父親對萊蒂齊亞的“情愫”作何感想時，芭芭拉說：“我感到震驚。我的生活裏從沒出現過這種事情。”

她在接受雜誌採訪時說：“我從不和上了年紀的男人交往過密。我可沒有這種心理感受的經驗。”

自從與萊蒂齊亞的醜聞曝光後，貝盧斯科尼還被指責與花錢僱來的派對女郎尋歡作樂，對此他也一直予以反駁。他否認自己花錢買春，但坦承自己也“不是聖人”。

芭芭拉在接受雜誌採訪時說道：“政界代表人物不應該只執政有力，促進社會發展，還應該捍衛或者提升自己宣揚的價值觀。”

“因此我覺得一位政界人士不應該把公衆角色和個人生活完全分開。”

芭芭拉的言論對貝盧斯科尼的形象來說又是致命一擊，民調顯示，這個夏季的醜聞已經導致貝盧斯科尼支持率下滑。

芭芭拉是貝盧斯科尼與維羅尼卡生育的三個孩子之一。前任妻子爲他生育的兩個子女如今都在他的商界帝國中握有重權。他們很少公開發言，但在今年5月份醜聞首次曝光時，他們站到了父親一邊。

vocabulary:

haveno bearing on:與……無關，對……沒有影響

cavort: to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; make merry.（放蕩地玩樂）