The Berlusconi women
THE UNDERAGE DANCER
Prosecutors say they have evidence Berlusconi paid Karima El Mahroug, a nightclub dancer whose stage name is Ruby, for sex when she was 17 years old, an offence in Italy. She denies having sex with him. He’s also accused of intervening to have her released when she was arrested on an unrelated theft charge, which he doesn’t deny. Photograph: Reuters
THE JUDGES
On Tuesday, Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial on charges that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old and tried to cover it up. The trial in April will be presided over by a panel of three judges chosen at random. All – Giulia Turri, Orsola De Cristoforo, Cermen D’Elia – are women. Photograph: AP
THE PROTESTERS
More than a million people took to the streets of 230 cities in Italy last weekend, along with thousands more in 30 capitals around the world, incensed by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s sex scandal. Photograph: Pier Paolo Cito/AP
THE DAUGHTER
There has been speculation Marina Berlusconi, Silvio’s 44-year-old daughter from his first marriage to Carla Dall’Oglio, may follow in her father’s footsteps, taking over his populist centre-right party. Photograph: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty
THE PARLIAMENTARIANS
Last Christmas Berlusconi presented each of the 37 female parliamentarians from his People of Freedom party with a tricoloured ring approximating the Italian tricolor – and reportedly worth €1,400 each. This was at a point where his lower-house parliamentary majority had shrunk from 60 to just three, and he needed to keep everyone happy. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images
THE WIFE
After 19 years of marriage (and 30 living together), Berlusconi’s wife Veronica Lario announced in 2009 that she was divorcing him, saying she did not want to live with a man who “frequents minors” and adding that he was “not well”. Photograph: Alessandro Bianchi/ Reuters
