Italys man in Panama linked to new Berlusconi scandal

The scandal reverberating around an alleged blackmail plot against Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has  The prime suspect is  reportedly hiding in Panama has erupted further.

Berlusconi is said to have  referred to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as an "unbedabble lard-arse" in a telephone conversation with a newspaper editor.

The alleged insult, reported in the Independent, was secretly recorded during an investigation into the alleged blackmail plot against Berlusconi. The editor, Valter Lavitola, believed seeking refuge in Panama,  is alleged to have been involved in procuring prostitutes for Berlusconi's 'bunga bunga' parties.

Previous revelations from the wiretap transcripts have been used to suggest Berlusconi has not been devoting his full attention to sorting out Italy's sovereign debt crisis. But the latest allegation, if true, would mean that Italy's premier has been caught out insulting the leader of the country which ultimately has the power to bail out his government says The First Post

The insult against Merkel has not gone unreported in Germany. The country's popular tabloid Bild ran a headline asking: 'Did Berlusconi crack bad jokes about Merkel?' but it refrained from reprinting the alleged slander.