London: Scandal-hit Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has hit back at protestors calls for him to resign and insisted he has ''respect for women.''
In what was one of the largest mass demonstrations ever seen in Italy vast crowds marched through more than 200 cities and towns calling on the 74 year old media tycoon to resign.
The crowds were protesting at Berlusconi's lack of dignity towards women after prosecutors charged him with having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power.
However, Berlusconi insisted he would not step down and that the women had been used by left wing magistrates and politicians who were out to topple him.
“It seemed to me to be an excuse to support a judicial theory which has no reflection on reality, it was a rally against me personally by the left who will use any method to beat me,” the Daily Mail quoted him as saying in an interview on one of his numerous TV stations.
“This judicial theory is shameful - all the women who have had the opportunity to meet me, be it at work or within my government, know how much respect and attention, I have for them.
“I have always respected women because I am convinced that they have an extra gear compared to men: they are better at school, university, they are more intelligent, behaved and responsible."
“I have always made sure that every woman feels, how can I say, special.
The Milan prosecutor and the media on the other hand have overturned the dignity of my guests, exposing them to lurid publicity without reason and without truth: that is shameful, truly shameful," he added.