摘要：意大利总理贝卢斯科尼(Silvio Berlusconi)周日否认与18岁的女模特存在“暧昧”关系，目前这位媒体大亨正在极力平息考验他公共关系手段的政治和个人风暴。

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday denied having a 'spicy' relationship with an 18-year-old aspiring model, as he stepped in to quell a political and personal storm that has tested the media mogul's public-relations savvy.

Italy has been transfixed for weeks by questions surrounding Mr. Berlusconi's ties to Noemi Letizia, at whose 18th birthday party the 72-year-old premier was photographed in April. Mr. Berlusconi's wife publicly accused him of 'consorting with minors' and demanded a divorce. Members of Italian opposition parties have called on the premier to clarify his ties with Ms. Letizia.

On Thursday, Mr. Berlusconi raised the subject before a battery of photographers and a television camera that had gathered to follow a meeting in his office. 'I've responded to the only question that everyone has a right to ask me: 'Mr. President, did you have relations, let's say spicy or more than spicy, with a minor?' The response is, 'Absolutely not,'' Mr. Berlusconi said. 'On top of that, I swore on the heads of my children.'

It's unclear whether his statement will calm the turmoil. The issue hasn't shown signs of affecting his popularity among Italian voters: With elections for the European Parliament only days away, polls indicate that Mr. Berlusconi's right-leaning People of Freedom party has a strong lead over the left-wing opposition.

The controversy began in late April, when left-wing newspaper La Repubblica reported that Mr. Berlusconi had dropped in on Ms. Letizia's birthday party.

Days later, Mr. Berlusconi's wife, Veronica Lario, said in an interview with Turin newspaper La Stampa that she was seeking a divorce. The contents of the interview were confirmed by a person close to Ms. Lario.

Shortly after, on an Italian TV show, Mr. Berlusconi said he was a longtime acquaintance of Ms. Letizia's father, Benedetto Elio Letizia. A magazine owned by Mr. Berlusconi's family then published photos of the prime minister toasting with Ms. Letizia and her mother at the event.

In an interview with CNN, which was taped Saturday and aired Monday, Mr. Berlusconi pledged to publicly clear the air.

Also Monday, Naples daily Il Mattino published an interview with Mr. Letizia, recounting how he first shook hands with Mr. Berlusconi at a public event in 1990. Mr. Letizia said his relationship with Mr. Berlusconi deepened in 2001, when the prime minister sent a handwritten letter to the family consoling them over the death of their son in a car accident. Mr. Letizia, reached by phone, confirmed
the contents of the interview but declined to elaborate.

Letizia family attorney Giulio Costanzo declined to elaborate on the matter. 'A personal matter has become a matter of the state,' he said.