Sunday's demonstrations were the biggest anti-Berlusconi rallies since the most recent sex scandal broke in January, when Milan prosecutors said they were investigating whether the prime minister abused his power by helping an underaged woman, whom he had allegedly paid for sex, get out of jail on a theft charge.

Berlusconi's party argued that he believed that Ruby was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's niece and the phone call to the police station on her behalf was done to avoid a possible diplomatic crisis with Egypt.