She described his behaviour as “shameless rubbish” and compared Mr Berlusconi with Napoleon and a Roman emperor and said his tendency to favour attractive young women – his equal opportunities minister is a former topless model and television showgirl – was “all about power”…

She criticised Mr Berlusconi for recently dropping in on the 18th birthday party of a young blonde model – the daughter of a family friend – at a disco near Naples.

“What do I think of it?” she wrote. “It really surprised me, given that he never went to the 18th birthday parties of his own children.”