Only looks matter?

Female TV announcers, a former contestant on Italy's "Big Brother" reality show and even a past Miss Italy contender – no, these are not candidates for a beauty pageant. Rather, they are reportedly suggestions by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's ruling center-right Popolo della Liberta (PDL) party for the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.

The 72-year-old Berlusconi is well-known for his weakness for beautiful women and it seems that their political experience plays no role in his choices. But this time, his wife has had enough.

In an open letter published Wednesday - which is almost pushing the swine flu from Italian newspapers' front pages - Veronica Lario said her husband's fondness for pretty women was a source of "suffering" for her. Italian newspapers' descriptions of PDL's choices of potential female candidates show they are based more on their physical appearance than their political abilities. As party leader, Berlusconi has a powerful voice in who ultimately makes it on to the list.

"Someone wrote that all this is all for the entertainment of the emperor," said Lario, a 52-year-old former stage actress and Berlusconi's second wife. "I agree, what is in the papers is shamelessly trashy, all in the name of power."

Attending the wrong parties

Lario said pretty women in politics were "neither a plus nor a minus."

"But behind the facade of curvaceous feminine beauty, what is even more serious is (Berlusconi's) impudence and lack of reserve that offend the credibility of all women," she said.

Lario also wrote about Berlusconi's appearance last weekend at the 18th birthday party of Noemi Letizia, an aspiring model and television showgirl.

"What do I think of it?" Lario wrote. "It really surprised me, given that he never went to the 18th birthday parties of his own children, even though he was invited."

No wonder Lario is rarely seen in public with Berlusconi, with whom she has had three children.

Appearances matter

A PDL spokesman said the reports of the female candidates were unfounded and that the official list would be presented shortly. As for Berlusconi, he reverted to one of his favorite tactics to explain the whole thing – just blame his critics.

"Even my wife believed the papers, it's a shame," the ostentatious self-made billionaire told reporters during a visit to Warsaw. "It is clearly a maneuver by the left-wing press."

But it's clear that, for the man who has openly admitted to having plastic surgery and hair transplants, what counts are appearances.

"We want to rejuvenate our political class with cultivated, educated people who are committed to being present for every vote, who don't smell bad and are not poorly dressed, unlike certain people from other parties," Berlusconi said.