Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, seen here giving a speech during a June 25 meeting in L'Aquila, central Italy, has called the allegations against him 'trash.' (Sandro Perozzi/Associated Press)

Italy's opposition charged Tuesday that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex scandal has damaged the image of the Italian government and called for officials to show "decorum" in their private lives.

In a motion before the Italian Senate, the opposition called on politicians to be cautious in their acquaintances — the latest fallout from the scandal surrounding Berlusconi's alleged encounters with young women, including a prostitute.

On Monday, an Italian news weekly released tape recordings of what it said was the night Berlusconi spent with the escort. Berlusconi's lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini, said the tapes were "without any merit, completely improbable and the fruit of invention."

The publication releasing the tapes, L'Espresso, is a left-leaning paper. It has not been independently verified that Berlusconi is the speaker on the tapes.

The motion presented Tuesday by the centre-left Democratic Party says the scandal "has objectively weakened the image and authority of the Italian government."

However, the motion also notes the praise Berlusconi received for successfully organizing a Group of Eight summit earlier this month. It calls on government members to capitalize on that success by maintaining the decorum demanded by their roles.

It urges members of the government — a conservative cabinet whose members often defend family values — to be consistent in their private life and in their public speech.

A parliament first

Any discussion or vote on the motion is likely to be postponed by the conservatives controlling the Senate, who are hoping that the scandal will fade after the summer break. However, the motion marks the first time the issue has directly reached the floor of parliament.

The escort at the centre of the scandal, Patrizia D'Addario, has said she taped her encounters with Berlusconi, as well as the parties he threw for young women at his residences.

The 72-year-old Berlusconi has denied he ever paid anyone for sex, and has called the allegations "trash" meant to smear him.

Polls show the months-long scandal has hardly dented Berlusconi's popularity — a sign of his remarkable political resilience and Italians' indifference to the sexual foibles of the political class.

Berlusconi's second wife, Veronica Lario, made the first public accusations about her husband's conduct and said she was divorcing him.