Shame on you, Tod's boss tells Italian politicians

ROME, Oct 1, 2011 (AFP) - The boss of luxury shoemaker Tod's, Diego Della Valle, took out a whole page in leading dailies on Saturday to launch a withering attack on Italy's politicians, who he said were a sorry sight and should be ashamed.

Diego Della Valle - Photo: APCOM

"The majority of Italians can no longer tolerate the indecent spectacle of the most of you, and that goes for all the political parties," Della Valle, the former employers federation chief, declared in a diatribe under the headline "Politicians, that's enough!"

"Your way of acting only in personal or partisan interests while neglecting those of the country is leading us to disaster and damaging Italy's reputation," he deplored.

"To those politicians who distinguish themselves with a total lack of competence and of love for the future of this country, many of us want to say 'Shame on you!'"

According to the boss of Tod's who also owns the Hogan shoe brand and Fay clothing label, "the political class has lost sight of reality" while the economic crisis required seriousness and competence "which the current politicians lack, except for very rare exceptions."

His outburst came as the "Rubygate" trial of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges of having sex with nightclub dancer while she was still a minor was due to resume in Milan on Monday.

An inquiry is also under way into his dealings with an entrepreneur from the southern city of Bari who is suspected of providing the premier with prostitutes in return for lucrative business contracts.

To add to his woes, a Milan prosecutor has also requested that Berlusconi stand trial for being an accomplice to revealing court secrets in a case dating back to 2005.