Britain's Economistmagazine has challenged Italian Prime Minister Mr Silvio Berlusconi to answer a range of questions about his business dealings over the past 30 years.
Upping the ante in its long-running editorial campaign against the Italian leader, the Economistsent Mr Berlusconi a large dossier detailing numerous graft charges against him and accused him of abusing his political powers to thwart justice.
Mr Berlusconi's spokesman told reporters the prime minister did not have time to read the Economist, adding only: "His lawyers will read it".
Mr Berlusconi is already suing the renowned magazine for an article entitled "Why Silvio Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy", which was published just ahead of his landslide victory in a 2001 general election.
The billionaire-businessman-cum-politician denies all accusations of wrongdoing and says he is the victim of politically motivated magistrates.
The latest Economistattack, which came just a month after Italy took over the rotating presidency of the European Union, was published in full on the magazine's website yesterday. An edited version will hit news-stands today.
"The Economistis . . . concerned about Mr Berlusconi both as an outrage against the Italian people and their judicial system, and as Europe's most extreme case of the abuse by a capitalist of the democracy within which he lives and operates," the magazine wrote in an editorial.
The Economistsaid its dossier on Mr Berlusconi was backed up by more than 8,000 pages of documentation.
The magazine did not appear to have unearthed fresh evidence against Mr Berlusconi. Instead it pointed to what it said were discrepancies between the prime minister's previous statements about his business affairs and facts contained in the documents.
The Italian government last month approved a law that gave Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution and halted a trial where he was accused of bribing judges.
The centre-right administration almost collapsed this week when the justice minister tried to use the controversial new law to block an investigation into Mr Berlusconi. Threatened by a coalition revolt, the minister was forced to reverse his order.