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Italian PM gets facelift

Jan 18, 2004

before Silvio Berlusconi

now
An Italian plastic surgeon, Angelo Villa, has confirmed reports that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has had a facelift, saying that he carried out the hour-long operation and was proud of the result.

"A politician's face is a valuable asset, and when someone decides to undergo an operation that is so important for his image, he must choose the best person to do it," Villa told the daily La Repubblica, adding: "I am one of the best."

Villa, a friend of Berlusconi's daughter Marina, said he was proud of what he had achieved.

"Whatever you are supposed to put right, you must not change the expression of the face, and that takes a lot of experience," he said.

The operation on the 67-year-old prime minister "lasted nearly one hour, was done under local anaesthetic, and succeeded in removing the bags under his eyes," Villa said.

He declined to say whether it was performed at his surgery in Milan, northern Italy, or in another country, as reported by the daily Libero yesterday.

Whatever the doctor's claims, Berlusconi had still not been seen in public since the operation, a fact which several newspapers seized on in today's editorials.

"The great secret remains," said the daily Corriere della Sera. "Berlusconi has shown himself only to his allies and his ministers."

Berlusconi chaired a cabinet meeting yesterday, his first official engagement since Christmas, but while he was quoted as asking one of his colleagues "don't you find me handsome?", he remained invisible to press photographers.

La Repubblica also quoted him as saying that he was very hungry after losing 10kg on a diet, and warning one minister "don't come too close or I might bite you."

The paper said Berlusconi had gone on "a draconian diet" and submitted to abdominal liposuction so as to lose weight in preparation for elections to the European Parliament, which are due to be held in Italy on June 13.

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Major facelift for Berlusconi is revealed

ROME:

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has not been seen in public for one month, has undergone more substantial cosmetic surgery than was originally reported, a magazine said yesterday.

One of Berlusconi's doctors was quoted as saying last week that the prime minister had had "a little bit" of plastic surgery around his eyes during the Christmas holidays.

But weekly L'Espresso magazine said in an article released ahead of tomorrow's publication that a pair of US surgeons had taken the scalpel to Berlusconi's face, neck and eyebrows.

"The prime minister made a radical choice and asked for a facelift and a nice touch up to wrinkles on his neck," the left-leaning magazine said.

It added that the operation, led by a top Californian surgeon, took place in a private Swiss clinic just before New Year's Eve.

The prime minister's office declined to comment on the report, but said Berlusconi was scheduled to appear at a rally on Saturday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the creation of his political party Forza Italia (Go Italy).

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