Rome - Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's media-savvy prime minister, may have won over millions of voters, but not his own wife.
According to a biography on sale this week in Italy, Veronica Lario did not agree with her husband's decision to back the invasion of Iraq and acknowledges he has a conflict of interest inherent in his dual role as prime minister and media baron - two criticisms that are often raised by the country's opposition left-wing parties.
Worst still, Mrs Berlusconi has never voted for her husband's Forza Italia party.
"I have voted for the Radicals and the Socialists," Mrs Berlusconi is quoted as saying in Tendenza Veronica, a biography by Il Corriere della Sera journalist Maria Latella, who adds:
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| 'We never voted for Forza Italia' |
"Veronica and I have this in common: We never voted for Forza Italia".
Mr Berlusconi's wife - a former theatre actress whose real name is Miriam Bertolini - has given few interviews to the press and is hardly ever seen in the company of the Italian premier.
She made a rare public appearance last month, when she and her husband greeted United States President George Bush during a visit to Rome. The 200-page book also provides readers with unflattering glimpses into the couple's marital life.
"He's always got his ear pressed to the phone, even at Christmas dinners," Mrs Berlusconi complains.
She says the two spend very little time together, but flatly dismisses gossip concerning her alleged love affair with Massimo Cacciari - a rumour that was fuelled by Berlusconi himself during a recent visit to Rome by the prime minister of Denmark.
"Cacciari is an intellectual I admire, but I have never met him," she says of the leftwing philosopher and former mayor of Venice. - Sapa-DPA
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