I'm no saint, admits Berlusconi

Under-fire Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi tried to laugh off the increasingly sordid sex scandal enveloping him today, joking that he was "no saint".

It was his first public comment since a magazine released what it said were conversations between him and a prostitute.

Mr Berlusconi has been entangled in scandal for months over his alleged encounters with young women. The controversy took on new life this week when L'Espresso magazine released tapes of the purported conversations at the conservative premier's Rome residence.

"I'm no saint, by now you've figured that out," a smiling Mr Berlusconi told an audience of business executives and politicians in northern Italy at the opening of a road project.

"Let's hope that those working at Repubblica understand that, too," he added, taking a jab at the daily that has doggedly pursued the scandal story. Both La Repubblica and L'Espresso are owned by the same publishing group.

The 72-year-old leader also noted that "there are a lot of nice-looking girls around".

Mr Berlusconi has denied he ever paid anyone for sex, and has called the allegations "trash" meant to smear him. Last month he said "that's who I am" and that is how Italians want him.

He appears to be right. The scandal has done little to dent his popularity at home and has not threatened the stability of his Cabinet - a sign of his remarkable resilience and Italians' indifference to the sexual foibles of the political class.

Mr Berlusconi signalled his confidence today, saying he expected to still be in power in 2012 when the road is to be completed.

"We'll still be here," he said. "What would Italy do without us?"

Mr Berlusconi was elected in 2008 to his third term. The next election, barring an early vote, is scheduled for 2013.

On Monday and Tuesday, L'Espresso released recordings of what it said was the night Mr Berlusconi spent with the escort. They include intimate conversations between the woman, Patrizia D'Addario, and a voice identified as Mr Berlusconi's, both on November 4 and the morning after.

The tapes also feature conversations between D'Addario and a businessman accused of recruiting and paying young women to attend Mr Berlusconi's parties.

D'Addario has said she recorded her encounters with the premier and turned the recordings over to prosecutors in the southern city of Bari as part of an investigation into the businessman.

She came forward because Berlusconi had reneged on a promise to help her out with a property problem she was having, she said.

While the voice heard on the tapes sounds like the premier's, The Associated Press has not independently verified that Berlusconi is the speaker.

Mr Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini said after the first recordings were released on Monday that they were "without any merit, completely improbable and the fruit of invention".

He warned that legal action will be taken against anyone who distributes them.