Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi with his then wife, Veronica Lario, at the Villa Madama residence in Rome in 2004.

Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi with his then wife, Veronica Lario, at the Villa Madama residence in Rome in 2004. Photo: AP

THREE years after Silvio Berlusconi's wife walked out on him over his alleged frolicking with teenage girls, the former Italian prime minister has reportedly been ordered to pay her €3 million ($A3.8 million) a month in a divorce settlement.

Mr Berlusconi had offered just €300,000 a month to former actress Veronica Lario, 56, whom he married in 1990 after divorcing his first wife.

Ms Lario had demanded €43 million a year and was awarded €36 million, but the judge's ruling is heavily in her favour.

Ms Lario denounced her husband in 2009, saying, ''I cannot stay with a man who frequents minors,'' after he was pictured attending the birthday party of the aspiring TV showgirl Noemi Letizia, then 18. Ms Lario, who has had three children with Mr Berlusconi, also described his attempt to send female TV starlets to the European Parliament as ''shameless rubbish'' and entertainment fit for ''an emperor''.

She accused him of being a sex addict who ''is sick and needs help''. In 2007, she wrote a letter saying her ''dignity as a woman'' had been hurt after Mr Berlusconi publicly joked to Mara Carfagna, a showgirl who later became an MP, that he would run off with her if he were not married. Ms Lario received a public apology, but when re-elected Mr Berlusconi appointed Ms Carfagna the minister for equal opportunities.

The size of the divorce settlement provoked a strong reaction in a country where austerity reforms and a continuing recession have made it harder to make ends meet. ''It is an amount that for us common mortals seems like a joke,'' said society journalist Laura Laurenzi. ''On the other hand, it is right that the alimony is proportional to the patrimony of the husband. Everything has a price.''

As he hits the campaign trail, Mr Berlusconi has announced he is in a steady relationship with Francesca Pascale, a former TV showgirl and member of his political party who is aged 27 - almost 50 years his junior and younger than his oldest daughter. ■Italy's caretaker Prime Minister, Mario Monti, says he will lead a centrist coalition at February's elections, driving a wedge between centre-left and centre-right parties.

''I agree to assume the role of head of the coalition, and I will commit myself to guaranteeing the success of this operation,'' Mr Monti said after meeting representatives of centrist groups and civic organisations for four hours on Friday.

Mr Monti, 69, announced a week ago he would step down after 13 months at the head of an unelected team of technocrats that was appointed to steer Italy out of financial crisis.

Technically, as an Italian senator for life, the former European commissioner cannot run for office, but he is in a position to be renamed prime minister if a party or coalition he supports wins the vote on February 24-25.

Mr Monti is seen by some as the most plausible candidate to prevent Mr Berlusconi returning to power and undoing hard-won reforms.

Mr Berlusconi is running for the prime ministership for the sixth time in 18 years, but is now isolated on the right of the political spectrum.

GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH,

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE