Berlusconi invokes God's revenge over fraud conviction

Italy's Silvio Berlusconi said his conviction for tax fraud "cried out for vengeance before God" and his trial for having sex with an underage prostitute was "a giant operation for defamation".

The three-time prime minister and playboy billionaire also said he had been "tricked" into hosting parties with hordes of young women at his luxury villas at a time when he felt "lonely" after separating from his second wife.

But he assured viewers on a chat show on Canale 5, part of his Mediaset media empire, that he was now happy with a girlfriend 48 years his junior.

Berlusconi has said he will launch his sixth campaign in two decades for elections in February unless Mario Monti, the man who succeeded him as prime minister, decides to run.

Observers say his re-election bid could be tricky from a legal standpoint.

Berlusconi's one-year prison sentence and five-year ban from holding public office stemming from a conviction in October for tax fraud linked to Mediaset have only been frozen pending an appeal that is expected to begin in January.

A verdict is also looming in his trial for paying for sex while he was prime minister with a then 17-year-old exotic dancer, Moroccan-born Karima El-Mahroug, known by her professional nickname as "Ruby the Heart Stealer".

The 76-year-old is also charged with abuse of power for having allegedly putting pressure on police to release her from custody when she was detained for theft.

Berlusconi has denied all charges and says he only contacted the police because he thought she was then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's niece.

"The Ruby trial has been an incredible machination," he said.

"It was an excuse to put in place a giant operation for defamation against me and against the Italian government, including on an international level," he added.

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