Italy's 16 million dollar man

Silvio Berlusconi's political fortunes may be depressed at the moment but the Italian Prime Minister can take solace in being the country's best paid member of Parliament - by a margin of millions.

Figures released on Tuesday showed Mr Berlusconi, a media magnate who also owns a soccer team AC Milan, earned €12.8 million in 2003.

An Italian law requiring members of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of parliament) to declare their income showed the second in line was biscuit tycoon Eugenio Viale, a deputy from Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia (Go Italy) party whose 2003 income was a mere €2.2 million.

The third-richest deputy was ironically a member of Italy's hard-core communist party. Giuliano Pisapia, a well-known lawyer, earned €1.4 million.

Mr Berlusconi was given a beating by voters at regional elections last week and members of his centre-right coalition have called for major changes in strategy, with some even calling for snap elections.

Mr Berlusconi's family holding Fininvest, which has a turnover of almost five billion euros, is the controlling shareholder of Mediaset, Italy's main non-state broadcaster.