The BBC and others reported that L'Espresso media group, publisher of Italy's second largest-selling newspaper La Repubblica, is suing Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The group is suing for defamation following Berlusconi's description of the paper as 'subversive.'

L'Espresso's complaints have been lodged with a Milan court, according to a statement. The group said that the prime minister had attacked the paper in a speech last month to Italian entrepreneurs, discouraging them from buying advertising space in the "subversive" newspaper. L'Espresso also accused Berlusconi of abuse of office and flouting market rules.

This move is a further step in the conflict between left-leaning daily La Repubblica and Berlusconi, which started in early May when the paper demanded answers to ten questions from the prime minister regarding the nature of his relationship with 18-year-old Noemi Letizia. Berlusconi has not answered, and endeavoured to present the paper's attacks as a left-wing plot.

As the scandal surrounding the prime minister and his relations with younger women continues, La Repubblica and the magazine L'Espresso, published by the same parent company, have continued their crusade. This week, the two publications released transcripts and audio from what they said was a night that Berlusconi spent with an escort, Patrizia D'Addario. Berlusconi's lawyer warned that the media group could in turn be sued for releasing the clips, which the prime minister's team maintain are fake.

The coverage seems to have been doing the newspaper some good. According to the L'Espresso group, June was a record month for Repubblica.it, with a total of 1,422,963 unique users.

Clearly, acting as a government watchdog is one of a newspaper's most crucial functions, and even if it is being particularly antagonistic, press freedom can suffer if those in power retaliate and try to damage a paper's reputation. La Repubblica's enthusiasm to attack the prime minister could well stem from political motivation, but even so should the government try to weaken opposing voices in the media?

Source: BBC, AFP