Da Mail Online: “ Dancer, 17: Silvio Berlusconi gave me gems and money”
A teenage exotic dancer at the centre of the latest sleaze scandal involving Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has told how she was given 7,000 euros (£6,070) and a diamond necklace by him.
However, 17-year-old Karima Keyek insisted that they did not have sex and that he had been like a ‘father’ to her.
Mr Berlusconi’s relationship with the Moroccan is in the spotlight after it was revealed he personally called police after she was arrested for theft and asked for her to be freed, wrongly claiming she was a relative of Egypt’s president.
Exotic dancer: Karima Keyek says the Italian prime minister was like a 'father'
In an interview with La Repubblica newspaper, Miss Keyek revealed she was one of ten women invited to a party hosted by Mr Berlusconi on Valentine’s Day at his home in Arcore near Milan.
She said: ‘I left before midnight. I told him all my problems. He got very upset and he gave me 7,000 euros and a Damiani diamond necklace. After that evening, I never heard from him again.
‘When I said I was 17, he said that in the past he’d had problems with minors. He said he didn’t want it to happen again. Then we said goodbye. He was polite but firm.
‘I was upset as he was the first man in my life who had not wanted to take me to bed. He was like a father, I swear. Silvio welcomed me with open arms, he invited me into his house. He was so sweet.’
Miss Keyek added: ‘There was no sex. He sent me a couple of messages and he said that I had left an impression on him. He said that he liked me. I replied that I liked him as well and it wasn’t just because of the money.’
The scandal is the latest in a series that began 18 months ago when it was revealed Mr Berlusconi had a relationship with 19-year-old underwear model Noemi Letizia.
Then high-class escort Patrizia D’Addario claimed she was among several call girls who had been invited to parties hosted by Mr Berlusconi and she had spent the night with him.
Mr Berlusconi has managed to ride out the scandals and, although his popularity has dropped, he is still seen as the only viable political leader by most Italians.
Yesterday he was criticised by the Catholic Church’s influential weekly magazine, Famiglia Cristiana, which said he was ‘ill and suffering from an uncontrollable disease’.
Leoluca Orlando, of the Italy of Values party, called on Mr Berlusconi to resign, saying Italy ‘has become a joke thanks to its premier, who knows no shame’.
Buona governabilita’ con il berluschino ( cg )
