Silvio Berlusconi's young girlfriend Francesca Pascale disappears Francesca Pascale, 27, appeared regularly at the former prime minister's side at the start of his electoral campaign. She was photographed watching a football match with the 76-year-old, attended his family Christmas lunch, and became friendly with his daughter, Marina. He told his Canale 5 TV network that he and Miss Pascale were engaged. "Finally I feel less lonely," he said. His decision to publicly speak of his feelings was seen as a bid to overcome his reputation for hosting wild bunga bunga parties and frequenting escorts in the run-up to Italy's February elections. He is currently on trial for paying a teenage prostitute for sex, a claim he has denied, and has been ordered to pay his ex-wife three million euros a month in a divorce settlement after she left him over his friendships with younger women. Miss Pascale was reportedly encouraged to dress more soberly and took speech classes to ready herself for the role of first lady, but her image was damaged when old footage reappeared of her dancing in a bikini on a local TV show in Naples, where she worked as a showgirl, sucking provocatively on an ice lolly. With two weeks to go before the Feb 24-25 elections, Mr Berlusconi has edged up the polls to within about five points of the leading Democratic Party. His rise came after a marathon campaign of TV appearances and his promise to pay back, in cash, an unpopular housing tax levied by outgoing prime minister Mario Monti. He also appeared to promise last week to create four million new jobs, before withdrawing the claim the same day. Mr Monti has called Mr Berlusconi Italy's "Pied Piper," leading Italians to their doom.