Italy is going to the polls today and tomorrow for a watershed parliamentary election that could shape the future of one of Europe’s biggest economies.

Aspiring Italian starlets and Oscar-winning actor George Clooney are being called to make appearances in premier Silvio Berlusconi’s trial on charges he paid for sex with an underage prostitute, then tried to use his influence to cover it up.

THE latest scandal surrounding Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has damaged his public image but support for his party has risen, meaning he would likely win an early election, a respected pollster said yesterday.

ITALIAN prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s approval rating has slipped below 50% after a scandal about prostitutes and news that his wife was divorcing him because of his relationship with a teenage girl from Naples.