ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Saturday he was the victim of a campaign of "subversion" over his relationship with an 18-year-old model and his use of state planes.
The 72-year-old media tycoon, whose centre-right party comfortably won last weekend's local and European elections, told a meeting of business leaders that the campaign was aimed at replacing him with someone who had not been chosen by voters.
"To topple a prime minister democratically elected with the vote of the Italians and replace him with someone un-elected: if that is not subversion, what is?" said Berlusconi, in the resort of Santa Margherita Ligure. He did not provide further details.
The campaign for the local and European elections, in which Berlusconi's People of Liberty fell short of the 45 percent he forecast, was dominated by Berlusconi's lifestyle after his wife demanded a divorce and accused him of "frequenting minors."
Berlusconi, who was forced to deny having sex with 18-year-old Noemi Letizia, found himself on the defensive over photos showing topless women sunbathing at his luxury villa in Sardinia and allegations he used state planes to fly in guests.
Previously, Berlusconi blamed a row with Rupert Murdoch over pay TV tax for prompting negative coverage from News Corp of the Letizia case. Murdoch has denied this.
In a wide-ranging speech, Berlusconi vowed to complete construction of houses for thousands left homeless by April's earthquake in central Italy by the end of November.
He also promised to build new towns for young Italians -- many of whom are forced to live with their parents due to the high cost of housing -- to stimulate Italy's economy which is suffering its worst downturn since World War II.
In the wake of a visit this week by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Berlusconi said Italian companies would now receive priority -- without public tenders -- for a 150 billion euro (128 billion pounds) infrastructure program launched in Libya.
He urged Italian business leaders to be optimistic in the face of the slowdown, but Emma Marcegaglia, head of the Confindustria business chamber, said optimism was not enough.
"Italy risks losing part of its production capacity: there's a risk companies will die," Marcegaglia said. "We need 100 days of concrete, strong action. The government needs to change pace."
(Editing by Robert Woodward)
