thanos
03-24-2007, 08:03 PM
ROME Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi's top aide said on Wednesday he would not resign over a damaging scandal in which he was photographed talking to a transsexual prostitute.
Silvio Sircana, promoted last month from being Prodi's personal spokesman to mouthpiece for the entire government, is the focus of a wider scandal in which paparazzi photographers are accused of blackmailing celebrities.
Wednesday's newspapers printed a blurred photograph of Sircana, who is married with two children, in his car talking to a scantily clad female-looking figure standing on a pavement.
Sircana, a deputy and long-time Prodi confidante, said he had been devastated by the photo and called his behaviour 'a moment of stupid curiosity' in a 'supposed transexual'.
But, despite criticism from the opposition, who are battling the government in a debate on family values, Sircana said he had Prodi's full support and would not resign.
'Why should I have resigned? For a non story?' he told daily La Stampa. 'You don't crucify someone for this type of foolishness. You don't pillory someone in the press for a small and stupid detour on a summer night.'
The image, taken last September and sold to a magazine which did not print it, was published after Sircana said he wanted it to be made public to clear the air.
The scandal comes as Prodi's government has backed a bill fiercely opposed by conservatives and the Catholic Church that would give legal recognition to unmarried and gay couples.
Prodi is already under fire. He had to resign briefly last month when he failed to get parliament support for his foreign policy and the scandal has added to barbs from the opposition.
'Maybe Sircana is the best spokesman for this shameful government,' said right-wing politician Alessandra Mussolini, adding that a string of recent incidents showed the government lacked moral fibre.
The scandal is also a part of a criminal probe into whether a photo agency used shots to extort money out of celebrities, although Sircana said he was never blackmailed over the picture.
Il Giornale newspaper, which is close to Berlusconi and was the first to report the picture's existence last week, said the government had tried to silence the media over the affair.
After Sircana was identified as a victim of the 'paparazzi- gate' scam, Italy's privacy regulator said reporters would face jail sentences if they published news which invades people's privacy, especially in the 'sexual matters.
Silvio Sircana, promoted last month from being Prodi's personal spokesman to mouthpiece for the entire government, is the focus of a wider scandal in which paparazzi photographers are accused of blackmailing celebrities.
Wednesday's newspapers printed a blurred photograph of Sircana, who is married with two children, in his car talking to a scantily clad female-looking figure standing on a pavement.
Sircana, a deputy and long-time Prodi confidante, said he had been devastated by the photo and called his behaviour 'a moment of stupid curiosity' in a 'supposed transexual'.
But, despite criticism from the opposition, who are battling the government in a debate on family values, Sircana said he had Prodi's full support and would not resign.
'Why should I have resigned? For a non story?' he told daily La Stampa. 'You don't crucify someone for this type of foolishness. You don't pillory someone in the press for a small and stupid detour on a summer night.'
The image, taken last September and sold to a magazine which did not print it, was published after Sircana said he wanted it to be made public to clear the air.
The scandal comes as Prodi's government has backed a bill fiercely opposed by conservatives and the Catholic Church that would give legal recognition to unmarried and gay couples.
Prodi is already under fire. He had to resign briefly last month when he failed to get parliament support for his foreign policy and the scandal has added to barbs from the opposition.
'Maybe Sircana is the best spokesman for this shameful government,' said right-wing politician Alessandra Mussolini, adding that a string of recent incidents showed the government lacked moral fibre.
The scandal is also a part of a criminal probe into whether a photo agency used shots to extort money out of celebrities, although Sircana said he was never blackmailed over the picture.
Il Giornale newspaper, which is close to Berlusconi and was the first to report the picture's existence last week, said the government had tried to silence the media over the affair.
After Sircana was identified as a victim of the 'paparazzi- gate' scam, Italy's privacy regulator said reporters would face jail sentences if they published news which invades people's privacy, especially in the 'sexual matters.