Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a right-wing youth party meeting in Rome September 9, 2009.

Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi hit back at his critics on Thursday, saying he is far and away the best leader in Italian history and has never considered resigning over scandals concerning his private life.

In a spirited performance even by his own standards, the 72-year media tycoon¹ also attacked Spanish daily El Pais for its critical coverage², denied paying for sex and said a prostitute who taped an encounter with him could face 18 years in prison.

"I sincerely believe I am by far the best prime minister Italy has had in its 150 year history (since unification in 1861)," Berlusconi said in a televised news conference in Sardinia with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

In answer to a reporter from El Pais, he dismissed as "calumnies³" reports he had benefited from a prostitution ring and said he was the "victim" of escort Patrizia D'Addario who made tapes of what she said was a night spent with him.

Berlusconi, whose wife is seeking a divorce over his womanizing, has never denied sleeping with D'Addario but has said he did not pay her and did not know she was a prostitute.

"Never in my life, not even once, have I had to pay for a sexual encounter," Berlusconi said. "And I'll tell you why: for someone who loves to conquer, the greatest joy is the conquest, so I ask, 'if you pay, what joy can there be?'"

This philosophy helped to explain "why Italians like me and I have 68.4 percent of approval and admiration," said Berlusconi, who has been elected three times and is now the longest-serving leader in Italian post-war history.

For the first time Berlusconi threatened to take legal action against D'Addario, saying she had committed four crimes which could carry a total of 18 years imprisonment⁴.

Berlusconi, who in Italy is normally only asked about his private life in pre-prepared interviews with reporters from his own media empire, said El Pais was "losing credibility" by attacking him and seemed to suggest it might go bankrupt.

"Losing credibility leads to losing copies, losing readers, losing advertising⁵. In this way you head toward bankruptcy⁶ and I think El Pais knows something about that," he said.

意大利总理西尔维奥•贝卢斯科尼于上周四对他的攻击者们作出回应，他称自己是意大利历史上最好的总理，而且从未考虑过要因自己的私生活丑闻而辞职。

这位72岁的媒体大亨还批评了曾对其进行负面报道的西班牙日报《国家报》，他否认有过性交易，并称录下与自己过夜录音带的妓女将面临18年的监禁。这一举动即便按照他自己的标准看也够勇敢。

贝卢斯科尼在撒丁岛的一个电视记者招待会上说：“我从内心觉得，我是意大利（自1861年统一后）150年历史上最好的总理。”当时他正在撒丁岛会见西班牙首相何塞•路易斯•罗德里格斯•萨帕特罗。

在回答《国家报》记者提问时，他表示有关其与某卖淫团伙有染的报道纯属“诽谤”，并称自己被女伴帕特里齐亚•达达里奥给“害了”。达达里奥曾录了几盘据她称内容为与贝卢斯科尼共度春宵的录音带。

贝卢斯科尼从未否认曾与达达里奥上床，但称自己并没有花钱找女郎，也不知道她是个妓女。由于他不断招蜂引蝶，其妻子正申请离婚。

贝卢斯科尼说：“我从不需要进行性交易，一次也没有过。我还要告诉你为什么：对于爱征服的人来说，最大的乐趣在于征服的过程，所以我想问，如果你花钱，那还有什么乐趣呢？”

贝卢斯科尼称，这种逻辑也能解释“为什么我受到意大利人民的爱戴，支持率高达68.4%”。贝卢斯科尼已三次当选总理，目前他是二战后意大利在任时间最长的总理。

贝卢斯科尼首次威胁将起诉达达里奥，称其犯下了四桩罪行，将面临18年的监禁。

贝卢斯科尼称，《国家报》对他的攻击令这份报纸逐渐“失去可信度”，还暗示该报会破产。贝卢斯科尼在意大利接受采访时，有关其私人生活的问题通常只会在事先准备好的采访中被问及，而采访的记者也来自他掌控的“媒体帝国”。

他说：“失去可信度会导致发行量、读者和广告的流失，那么离破产就不远了。我想《国家报》应该很清楚这一点。”

Vocabulary:

far and away: undoubtedly（无疑地，肯定地）

calumny: a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something（诽谤，中伤）

ring: a group of persons cooperating for unethical, illicit, or illegal purposes（团伙，帮派）

womanizing：to pursue or court women habitually（玩弄女性；沉溺于女色）