Berlusconi sex trial resumes after vote defeat

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's trial for sex with an underage prostitute resumed on Tuesday, as the embattled premier quipped it was too early for his funeral after defeat in local elections.

Berlusconi did not attend the hearing, but his lawyers presented a series of complaints including challenging the court's right to hear the case.

The 74-year-old is accused of paying for sex last year with Moroccan-born Karima El Mahroug, better known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer", when she was 17.

He is also accused of abuse of power for having allegedly pressured police to have her released from custody when she was arrested for theft.

Berlusconi's lawyer Niccolo Ghedini said he should be tried in a special court for ministers if he is judged to have been acting in an official capacity.

The playboy premier, who faces a maximum of 12 years in prison, has denied all the charges and accuses prosecutors of a left-wing plot against him.

This is only the second hearing of a trial that opened in April and comes at a sensitive time for the billionaire tycoon after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in local elections including the loss of Milan city hall.

Left-wing lawyer Giuliano Pisapia triumphed in Milan -- Berlusconi's beloved home town and the hub of his business empire, with a resounding 55 percent of the vote against incumbent mayor Letizia Moratti's 44.8 percent.

Berlusconi, who was on a visit to Romania, played down the losses but said his People of Freedom party needed a shake-up to be closer to the electorate and called a meeting of the party's leadership for later on Tuesday.

"We have to change things within the party," Berlusconi told reporters.

"We lost. It's clear. But now we have to remain calm and move forwards. The majority is determined and united," he said.

"Every time I suffer a setback, I triple my forces," he added.

He also quipped: "I had a meeting because I wanted to set the date for my funeral but I'm too busy in the next few days so let's put it off!"

Berlusconi had declared ahead of the local elections that they should be seen as a test of his popularity, even though it has been falling sharply due to the numerous legal and sex scandals and continued weakness in the economy.

"I think the will for change is a signal for the entire country... Berlusconi has become obsessed in recent years with his own affairs," the victor in Milan, the left-wing lawyer Pisapia, said earlier.

Italian newspapers called the defeat a "humiliation", a "collapse" and a "tornado" and cast doubt on the legally-embattled Berlusconi's future.

"The Cavaliere's lost magic" was the headline for an editorial in La Stampa daily which said the vote "signals a strong wind of change" in Italy.

Even Vittorio Feltri, a pro-Berlusconi columnist for the newspaper Libero, called for "an antidote to the decline" and said the prime minister had to "return to dealing with the problems of Italians" not just his legal troubles.

Corriere della Sera said Berlusconi and his ally Umberto Bossi, leader of the populist Northern League party, had been "humiliated".

Business daily Il Sole 24 Ore said the losses in Milan and Naples were "a double tornado." "The transformation is profound and radical," it said.

La Repubblica said: "The communes of Italy are sending a clear message to Silvio Berlusconi: the spell is broken, the country wants to turn the page."

Analysts said the defeat will put pressure on the coalition between Berlusconi and the Northern League party, which has shown signs of growing disenchantment with the prime minister's leadership in recent weeks.

"It's a personal defeat for Berlusconi.... We can say that Berlusconi's time is up," said Marc Lazar, a French professor specialising in Italian politics.

Lazar warned that Berlusconi's partnership with the Northern League would be "more uncertain" but said that the vote would not bring down the government and that neither the ruling coalition nor the opposition were ready for elections.

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