Berlusconi sweats on ‘bunga bunga’ film as election looms

AS HE plots a return to the front line of politics, the ghosts of the “bunga bunga” sex scandal are coming back to haunt Silvio Berlusconi.

The former Italian prime minister is nervous about a new film which is based on his torrid last years in office, when after splitting from his long-suffering wife he embarked on a new playboy phase, inviting dozens of models and starlets to risqué parties at his villas in Milan and Sardinia.

Mr Berlusconi, 81, is worried that the film will portray him in a negative light just as he tries to manoeuvre his centre-right Forza Italia party back into power in a general election due to be held early next year. He is not standing for prime minister himself but remains the leader of Forza Italia.

The centre-right, which includes Mr Berlusconi’s party, the anti-immigration Northern League, and Fratelli d’italia, is in a three-way race with the centre-left Democratic Party of Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister, and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement. Parliament last week approved a new electoral law that will benefit parties that are prepared to form coalitions, such as Forza Italia. The centre-right parties are polling at 36 per cent and tipped as kingmakers.

All three blocs have begun campaigning in earnest for next year’s election, which must be held by May.

The “bunga bunga” parties culminated in the billionaire businessman being put on trial for having sex with an alleged under age girl. He was acquitted by an appeals court.

“Berlusconi is alarmed” by the film, reported Chi, a magazine that published paparazzi photos from the set in its latest edition, including pictures of Beniada Jakic, an Albanian glamour model and apparent cast member.

“I’ve heard rumours about the film,” Mr Berlusconi said recently. “People say it could be an act of political aggression against me. I hope the rumours are wrong.”

The film – scheduled for release sometime in 2018 – is titled Loro, which means “Them” in Italian and is an allusion to Mr Berlusconi’s loyal entourage, but is also a play on L’oro, or “The gold” – a possible reference to his immense fortune and the bunga bunga girls who vied for a slice of it.