Berlusconi advances in EU poll despite scandal

ROME (Reuters) - Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi appeared headed for a modest victory in European elections on Sunday, defying Italy's deep recession and scandals about his love life to tighten his grip on power, exit polls showed.

One poll released by Sky Italia gave 39.0 percent of the vote to Berlusconi's conservative People of Freedom party, which would be a slight improvement on his 2008 general election triumph but far less than the 43 to 45 percent he had hoped for.

Italy's shattered centre-left Democratic Party lost ground, with 27.5 percent of the vote, according to the Sky Italia poll.

Analysts say the billionaire businessman-turned-politician turned the European vote into a referendum on his year-old rule, characterised by law-and-order initiatives and energetic relief efforts after April's devastating earthquake in central Italy.

But the election campaign turned personal after his wife announced her plans for divorce and accused him of having an improper relationship with an aspiring teenage model.

Berlusconi, who was forced to publicly deny having sex with 18-year-old Noemi Letizia, also found himself on the defensive over photos that showed topless women sunbathing at his luxury villa, which were published in newspapers in the past week.

The popular politician has announced plans to take legal action over the publication of those photos by a paparazzi photographer, which he said showed nothing improper and were a violation of the privacy of his guests.

He also denied claims that he misused state aircraft to transport guests to his villa, on the island of Sardinia.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart, editing by Mark Trevelyan)