Support for Berlusconi slides to 49%

THE approval rating of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has been dogged by a messy divorce and accusations of cavorting with teenage girls and escorts, has fallen below 50% for the first time.

A poll yesterday had only 49% expressing confidence in him as prime minister, four points down from the last time the same group, IPR Marketing, took it in May. Fifty percent said they had “little or no” confidence in Berlusconi.

The government’s approval rating was unchanged: 44% said they had “a lot or sufficient” confidence and 52% said they had “little or none”.