Berlusconi says riding high despite divorce

ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday private polls showed he remained as popular as ever despite a "heap of falsities" over his impending divorce.

The media mogul went on national television this week to deny his wife's accusations he was involved with a teenage girl. He said his approval ratings were just as high as last week when he declared himself the world's most popular leader.

"I got the weekly polls this morning and they showed the (ruling) People of Freedom party at 45 percent and the prime minister's rating at 75 percent," he said.

"I expected a fall in my approval ratings, but this media campaign based on a heap of falsities that has erupted in recent days has been read with intelligence by Italians."

Berlusconi often boasts of his popularity quoting private polls that are not released to the media. Other polls have shown less supportive figures, like one published by the left-leaning La Repubblica daily that put his support at 56 percent last month.

Speaking at a news conference to discuss his conservative administration's first year in power, Berlusconi rattled off a list of successes that he said included playing a key role in ending fighting in Gaza to resolving a crisis in Georgia.

The premier, who has led Italy twice before, also promised that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would visit Italy soon and scoffed at the economic crisis as largely "psychological." Earlier, he had said the worst of the crisis was over.

"We have an opposition that cries 'crisis' almost with satisfaction," the 72-year-old billionaire said. "We instead have a government that spreads confidence, not panic."

Berlusconi's popularity has remained high despite the worst recession in Italy since World War Two, diplomatic gaffes such as commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama's "suntan" and his marital woes.

Veronica Lario, Berlusconi's wife of 19 years, was quoted in Italian media last weekend as saying she wanted a divorce because she could not "stay with a man who frequents minors."

The first polls after his wife sought a divorce suggested the furor was having little impact on voter sentiment for European elections in June. One published by a magazine owned by Berlusconi's family showed 84 percent had not changed their opinion of the premier.

But two other polls -- by the Il Sole 24 daily and Coesis -- have shown more sympathy for his wife than the prime minister.

(Writing by Deepa Babington; Editing by Robert Woodward)