10m signatures sought against Italy PM

Italy’s opposition has promised to collect 10 million signatures against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as calls grow for him to step down.

The leader of the Democratic Party Pierluigi Bersani says the prime minister has disgraced his country and must step down, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

Bersani added that his party will conduct a massive nationwide petition to oust Berlusconi.

The party organizers will start gathering signatures next month at ten-thousand stations across Italy. Bersani expects to collect as many as 10 million signatures.

Pressure is mounting on the Italian premier over his alleged sex scandals, including relationship with an under-age girl.

The 74-year-old Berlusconi is under investigation following allegations that he engaged in sexual relations with Moroccan Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug in early 2010. She was under-age at the time.

The head of the residents’ association at a luxurious Milan apartment complex last week evicted a dozen or so “models” allegedly housed there by Berlusconi.

Earlier on Thursday, tens of women from the government’s Democratic Party demonstrated against Berlusconi by standing outside the Presidential Palace for the second time in four days.

Meanwhile, the prime minister has refused to show up in a Milan court to shed some light on the accusations. Berlusconi narrowly survived a recent no-confidence motion in parliament by only three votes.

Since Ruby’s case has surfaced, a string of similar affairs with young women have surrounded Berlusconi though he has repeatedly dismissed them as false accusations.

If convicted, Berlusconi could face jail time as having sex with a minor is a crime punishable by incarceration in Italy.

The premier is estranged from the Italian legal system over various graft and bribery charges apart from the sex scandal case.