Abusing the power of the office of the presidency to bust a teenage girl out of prison and bring her to the "bunga-bunga" parties at your estate is generally frowned upon, even in Italian politics. But hey, it could be worse, right? Right?

[Berlusconi] refused to apologize for his fondness for young women and denied doing anything improper, after the case of the girl known as Ruby filled Italian newspapers last week and opposition lawmakers called for him to resign.

'As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be gay,' he told a meeting at a motorcycle industry show in Milan.

I'm guessing a fair number of Italians actually wouldn't mind trading up for a Johanna Sigurdardottir or a Guido Westerwelle right now, but who knows?