Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (R) talks with members of the parliamentduring a debate in the upper house of Parliament in Rome Sept 14, 2011.
ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi faced growing pressure onSunday to resign after embarrassing new revelations of parties and youngwomen prompted questions about his ability to govern a country rocked byfinancial crisis.
Italian newspapers in recent days have replaced frontpage headlines on soaring bond yields and sliding shareswith wiretapped chats between Berlusconi and GiampaoloTarantini, a businessman suspected of providingprostitutes for the premier.
In one excerpt published by the Corriere della Sera daily, Berlusconi boasts of champagne-filledpartying till 6:30 am at a Milan nightclub and pocketing eight phone numbers of women. He alsobrags of fending off a line of 11 girls outside his door and "doing only eight girls, because Icouldn't do more".
"If you have a girl - two girls, three girls - to bring," Berlusconi is quoted as asking the southernbusinessman ahead of their next encounter, "please don't get tall ones ... because we are nottall."
In another excerpt reported by major dailies, Berlusconi says "Gianpi" and his female friendscould come along on the premier's flight to Milan. Yet another has him joking to a young womanthat he is premier in his "spare time".
Opposition parties stepped up calls for Berlusconi to resign after the latest disclosures, saying acountry immersed in a debt crisis that threatens the entire euro zone could not afford a premierwho governs in his spare time.
"Is there a single reason comprehensible to the world on why Berlusconi should not resign?"Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the centre-left Democratic Party said.
Berlusconi loyalists, however, rallied to defend the premier and said he would not bow todemands to step aside.
"Berlusconi does not have any desire to resign," said Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi'sPeople of Freedom party.
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