Berlusconi 'clown' says U.S. ambassador in leaked cables Premier dismissed previous WikiLeaks revelations as 'gossip'

(ANSA) - Rome, February 18 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi is ''something of a clown'' and a symbol of Italian governments' ''incapacity'' to solve the country's problems, former United States ambassador to Italy Ronald Spogli reportedly wrote in leaked secret dispatches.Berlusconi has ''offended practically each group of the Italian public'' with his ''frequent gaffes'' and ''poor choice of words'', according to Spogli in cables uncovered by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks and published in Italian weekly L'Espresso Friday.Berlusconi has ''damaged the image of the country in Europe and given a comic tone to Italy's reputation in many sectors of the United States government'', Spogli, the ambassador in Rome between 2005 and 2009, reportedly wrote.''He has become a symbol of Italian governments' incapacity and ineffectiveness in addressing the country's chronic problems,'' he said, adding that Berlusconi was perceived as ''putting his personal interests before those of the state''. The revelations are another knock for Berlusconi, who is under intense pressure after being indicted this week for allegedly using an underage prostitute at parties at his home, with a trial set to start in April.Left-leaning L'Espresso said Friday's was the first installment of a series of extracts taken from 4,000 files sent from American diplomatic offices in Italy between 2002 and 2010.The 74-year-old premier, who denies paying for sex with a Moroccan belly dancer called Ruby when she was 17, dismissed as ''gossip'' previous US dispatches leaked by Wikileaks that said he was weakened by his partying lifestyle and was the ''mouthpiece'' of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.''What emerges from these new WikiLeaks revelations on Italy unfortunately is nothing more than a sad confirmation of what we have always said,'' commented Federica Mogherini, an MP with the centre-left Democratic Party, the biggest opposition group. Berlusconi has also had some good news this week though, as a handful of lawmakers from House Speaker Gianfranco Fini's breakaway Future and Freedom for Italy (FLI) party rejoined the government ranks.Berlusconi is seeking to lure disillusioned lawmakers from opposition parties to strengthen his majority, which is thin in the Lower House, and boost the government's chances of running until the end of its term in 2013.