Berlusconi defends his private life

ROME, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Italy's 74-year-old Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Tuesday it is "better to be a fan of pretty women than be gay."

The Italian leader made the remark in response to charges he abused his office by securing the release of a teenage Moroccan belly dancer accused of theft, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Karima El Mahroug, 17, also known as Ruby, had appeared at one of Berlusconi's private parties.

House Speaker Gianfranco Fini has said Berlusconi should resign if it is proven he phoned police and told them the girl was the granddaughter of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Berlusconi described his intervention on behalf of the girl as an act of "solidarity" and one that he "would have been ashamed not to do."

"I have a grueling work schedule and If I happen to look pretty girls in the face now and then, well then, it's better to be a fan of pretty women than to be gay," he said.

The remark drew criticism from Italy's leading gay association.