Berlusconi Asks Wife For An Apology After She Files For Divorce

The Italian prime minister, 72, told the Corriere della Sera that he did not think their marriage could survive.

Veronica Lario spoke out after her husband attended the 18th birthday party of a friend's daughter.

She has also clashed with her husband over his choice of inexperienced but attractive female election candidates.

"Veronica must apologise publicly - and I don't know if that will be enough," Mr Berlusconi said in an interview with the Italian daily newspaper.

"It is the third time she has done this to me in the middle of an election campaign. It's too much," the billionaire prime minister said.

He insisted he had done nothing wrong and said his wife had been unwittingly misled by the media.

"Veronica has believed many inaccurate things written in the press, unfortunately," he said.

La Stampa newspaper quoted Mr Berlusconi as saying he had handed the matter over to his lawyers and that his wife's comments might even warrant legal action.

Vittorio Sgarbi, a left-winger, says the true leader of the opposition in Italy today is Mr Berlusconi's wife.

The current dispute is not the first time Mr Berlusconi and Ms Lario have aired their differences in public.

In 2007, Mr Berlusconi issued a written statement apologising to his wife for flirting with other women after she demanded a public apology.

Ms Lario is Mr Berlusconi's second wife. The couple have three children, all in their 20s.