Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's daughter has said she was amazed by the attention her father lavished¹ on a teenage model, in a rare criticism of the scandal-hit leader by one of his children.

Barbara Berlusconi, 25, also told Vanity Fair that politicians ought to uphold the values they preach publicly in their private lives -- in contrast to Berlusconi's allies who say his personal life has no bearing on his public role.

Berlusconi, 72, has denied an improper² relationship with Noemi Letizia after showing up at her 18th birthday party with a 6,000-euro ($8,600) necklace gift, prompting his wife Veronica to seek a divorce over his womanizing.

When asked what she thought of the attentions her father had shown toward Letizia, Barbara said: "I was shocked. It's something that has never been part of my life."

"I have never frequented elderly men. I have no experience of such psychological ties," she told the magazine.

Since the Letizia scandal, Berlusconi has also been fending³ off accusations⁴ of cavorting⁶ with escorts who were paid to attend his parties. He denies paying for sex but says he is "not a saint."

"Political representatives that are called to govern well, make society prosper⁷, are also held to safeguard the values they express, possibly raise them," Barbara told the magazine.

"So I don't believe a politician can allow a distinction between his public and private life."

Barbara's comments are another dent⁸ to Berlusconi's image, with polls showing the summer of scandals has helped push down his popularity.

Barbara is one of three children Berlusconi has with Veronica. His two children from his first marriage hold prominent positions in his business empire. They rarely speak publicly but defended their father when the scandal first exploded in May.

意大利总理西尔维奥•贝卢斯科尼的女儿近日表示，父亲竟然对一位十几岁的女模特出手大方，这让她感到吃惊。身陷丑闻的总理被他的孩子指责，这并不多见。

现年25岁的芭芭拉•贝卢斯科尼在接受《名利场》采访时还表示，政界人士在个人生活中应秉持他们公开宣称的价值观，而贝卢斯科尼的支持者则宣称其个人生活与公众角色无关。

72岁的贝卢斯科尼否认与诺埃米•莱蒂齐亚存在不正当关系。他在参加莱蒂齐亚18岁生日派对时，赠送给她一条价值六千欧元（合8600美元）的项链，这也迫使总理夫人维罗尼卡因其招蜂引蝶而提出离婚。

当被问及对父亲对莱蒂齐亚的“情愫”作何感想时，芭芭拉说：“我感到震惊。我的生活里从没出现过这种事情。”

她在接受杂志采访时说：“我从不和上了年纪的男人交往过密。我可没有这种心理感受的经验。”

自从与莱蒂齐亚的丑闻曝光后，贝卢斯科尼还被指责与花钱雇来的派对女郎寻欢作乐，对此他也一直予以反驳。他否认自己花钱买春，但坦承自己也“不是圣人”。

芭芭拉在接受杂志采访时说道：“政界代表人物不应该只执政有力，促进社会发展，还应该捍卫或者提升自己宣扬的价值观。”

“因此我觉得一位政界人士不应该把公众角色和个人生活完全分开。”

芭芭拉的言论对贝卢斯科尼的形象来说又是致命一击，民调显示，这个夏季的丑闻已经导致贝卢斯科尼支持率下滑。

芭芭拉是贝卢斯科尼与维罗尼卡生育的三个孩子之一。前任妻子为他生育的两个子女如今都在他的商界帝国中握有重权。他们很少公开发言，但在今年5月份丑闻首次曝光时，他们站到了父亲一边。

vocabulary:

have no bearing on: 与……无关，对……没有影响

cavort⁵: to behave in a high-spirited, festive⁹ manner; make merry.（放荡地玩乐）