Silvio Berlusconi and the well prepared and serious politician

Sunday, October 14, 2012. Lombardy Regional Council's member and Berlusconi's favourite politician strips off for fashion and than declares “to be a politician there's no need to be prepared”.

Well done, Ms Councillor

Berlusconi met Nicole Minetti when she treated him – as a dental hygienist – for a broken teeth, after he was hit by a small statuethrown by a protester in December 2009. Silvio made friends with Nicole – some says to such an extent that she dresses as a nun at Silvio's parties –, and in 2010 she turned up as a candidate for the Lombardy Council, lead by Berlusconi's stalwart Roberto Formigoni, and got the post (won the election).

When criticised for supporting a sexy youngster to be a councillor, Silvio Berlusconi answered – by interrupting a live show Italian TV La7 with a telephone call – that Nicole Minetti was a “well prepared and serious” person, that she should not be considered just a bimbo.

Well, the councillor Minetti doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that anybody might think she's not “prepared” for the politician's job, in fact she declared on a Berlusconi-owned Canale5 TV show that “to be a politician you do not need to be prepared” at all.

Some of the questions put to Nicole Minetti by former CNN journalist (now an anchorman at Mediaset's Canale 5) Alessio Vinci were raised by the fact that the councillor – a couple of weeks before the interview – took part to a fashion show in Milan, were she showed herself scantily clad (of course, it was a beachwear show by Parah!).

When asked whether politics and fashion could be reconciled, she answered that in fact “politics must support fashion”.

Oddly enough, many asked for Nicole Minetti to resign, but she has several times declared that Angelino Alfano, her boss, never phoned her on the subject (even though some of the PdL – People of Freedom Party – women already solicited Alfano to do so, even by tweeting ti him).

One thing is for sure: five (update: 14 out of 85) members of Lombardy Council have already been arrested, on bribing, embezzlement and/or mafia links charges, fashion might be a more secure job sector nowadays in Italy.

What do Italian think of the whole story? Well, some of them just reckon that Nicole should strip off more...

The councillor Nicole Minetti at work