Nearly two weeks after his second wife, Veronica Lario, demanded a divorce over his relationships with starlets and with Noemi Letizia, to whom he gave a €6,000 (£5,400) pendant for her 18th birthday, the Italian Prime Minister's ratings have slipped by three points to 53 per cent. The poll also showed that the proportion of people expressing "little or no" confidence in Mr Berlusconi had risen by four points to 46 per cent.

The poll, by IPR and carried on La Repubblica's website, is the first full survey since the row with Ms Lario broke. It also showed overall support for Mr Berlusconi's centre-right Government slipping two points to 44 per cent, with the opposition Democratic Party rising two points to 33 per cent.