Love him or hate him, one cannot deny the supreme skill with which Silvio Berlusconi has managed to cling to office in Rome.

Gaffe after gaffe, allegations upon allegations, the man still managed to win back-to-back votes of confidence, despite having split from a long-term parliamentary ally.

But this time it seems that Berlusconi has gone too far.

He is due to appear in court on 6 April, to be charged with paying for sex with Ruby Rubachuori, a beautiful call-girl of Moroccan descent, who was 17 at the time.

But this is not the major worry. Berlusconi is also to be charged with using his influence as Prime Minister to get Ruby, known formally as Ms Mahroug, out of trouble for shoplifting. He is alleged to have told police that she was a relative of (ousted) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to get her off the hook. He had allegedly said at the time that her detention would have caused a diplomatic incindent.

Make no mistake: the Italian judicial system is on a mission. Italian law states that there must be a pre-trial hearing, unless substantial evidence to warrant a conviction is put forward by the prosecution. The court ruled that this was indeed the case and that trial can commence, to be presided over by a panel of three women judges. Oh my… what a predicament.

Although he enjoys political support, Italy is divided. Some see Berlusconi as a good leader with a weakness for sins of the flesh. Others see him as a downright corrupt embarrassment. Berlusconi even managed to get laws passed through the Italian system to prevent his being tried on corruption charges. His ingenuity knows no bounds. This is not about Ruby. Both say they never had sex at any of his ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties, but he admits giving her 7,000 euros (or so) to help her out in a difficult family time. Ruby also said she passed herself off as 24 at the time. We have no qualms. She looks 24, and a bombshell at that. If she did consent to sex with Berlusconi against payment, Italians also accept that she knew full well what she was doing and who she was doing it with.

But what Italians cannot accept is that Berlusconi tried to exert influence as Prime Minister to, excuse the pun, get a hooker off the hook and then have the audacity to try and cover it up.

What an embarrassment for Italy. A Prime Minister going to trial on sex charges and using influence to cover up a ‘jailbreak’. Perhaps Silvio will not manage to wriggle out of this one. Whatever the case may be, we are surely in store for some quality entertainment as the drama unfolds.