Berlusconi blasts "feminist, communist" judges over $260K-a-day divorce settlement

ROME Italian ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi has blamed "feminist, communist" judges for a euro200,000 ($260,000) a day divorce settlement following the breakup of his second marriage.

Berlusconi told the private La7 network Tuesday that he was appealing the settlement with ex-wife Veronica Lario.

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Italian media initially reported the settlement amounted to euro100,000 a day. But Berlusconi said the figure, with arrears, was double that. He said: "These are three women judges, feminists and communists, OK? These are the Milan judges who have persecuted me since 1994."

Lario filed for divorce in 2009, citing Berlusconi's fondness for younger women. The billionaire media mogul is currently on trial, accused of paying for sex with an underage Moroccan teen and using his office to cover it up. He and the girl deny the charges.