Italian leftist politician quits over tryst with transsexual

Oct 27, 2009, 17:20 GMT

Rome - Italian centre-left politician Piero Marrazzo resigned Tuesday as governor of the Lazio region, a decision that follows revelations of an attempt to blackmail him over his encounter with a transsexual.

'My condition of extreme suffering renders me not useful to the citizens of Lazio,' Marrazzo said in a statement posted on the region's website.

Earlier in the day Marrazzo left his home in Rome to travel to a monastery or similar religious institution where he intends to recover from the recent days' stress, Italian news reports said.

Marrazzo last Saturday announced he had suspended himself as governor of the Lazio region - which includes the Italian capital - a day after the arrest of four policemen who allegedly attempted to blackmail him.

The four allegedly threatened to sell to media outlets a video apparently showing Marrazzo in the company of a transsexual prostitute in a Rome apartment.

The policemen are accused of extortion and violation of privacy.

The scandal hit Italy's main centre-left opposition Democratic Party, of which Marrazzo is a member, on the eve of a primary vote to choose its new leader.

The party has been in disarray since losing the April 2008 elections to conservatives led by Berlusconi, who currently have a comfortable majority in the national parliament.

Recent opinion polls however, indicate a dip in Berlusconi's popularity, following allegations that women were paid to attend parties at his house and claims by prostitute that she had spent a night with him.