Showgirl-turned-dental hygienist Nicole Minetti has been recruited to run for Parliament after she treated Berlusconi for broken teeth

Poll ticket for Silvio's dentist

Showgirl-turned-dental hygienist Nicole Minetti has been recruited to run for Parliament after she treated Berlusconi for broken teeth

Reason to smile: Nicole Minetti fixed Berlusconi's teeth after he
was attacked in December

But the 73-year-old premier was apparently unable to resist the charms of Nicole Minetti, a showgirl-turned- dental hygienist who he met when his teeth were being repaired after he was attacked by a man with a history of mental illness in Milan in December.

Despite the furore and the wrath of his wife caused by his attempts last year to promote a string of glamorous women as candidates for the European elections, Minetti is reportedly now on a short list to run as a candidate for Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party in Lombardy, northern Italy.

A former dancer who has appeared on various TV variety shows, she graduated as a dental hygienist last November and within weeks was tending to the prime minister when he was treated in Milan's San Raffaele Hospital for two broken teeth and a smashed nose following the assault on December 13.

Hers will not be the only pretty face in the ranks of Berlusconi's party as it seeks to consolidate its hold on power in the elections in 13 of Italy's 20 regions at the end of March.

'Jolie of Puglia'
Graziana Capone, a law graduate and model who has been dubbed "the Angelina Jolie of Puglia," the southern region from which she hails, was recently hired to help mouldu00a0 Berlusconi's image on television. She had also been touted as a possible candidate in the elections.

A smilingu00a0 Berlusconi was photographed this week as he presented four women who hope to be elected as regional governors, two of whom have cover girl looks: Monica Faenzi and Anna Maria Bernini.

His penchant for favouring beauty over brains earned him exasperated criticism from the main opposition party.
"Berlusconi chooses candidates more for their good looks than for their experience," said Anna Finocchiaro, the Senate leader of the Democratic Party. "He's filled parliament with beautiful girls, albeit competent, but they don't count for anything within the party."

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