Putin considers him “among his five best friends.” That’s why Berlusconi received a box of vodka along with a “very sweet” letter from Moscow on his 86th birthday on September 29. Berlusconi returned the favor with a case of wine and a “very sweet” thank you letter.
The embarrassment is palpable in political Italy, not least because Putin’s vodka gift violates EU sanctions. In light of the coalition negotiations, Berlusconi’s men and women are trying to smooth things over somehow. The front page of the right-wing newspaper Libero, which is actually good-natured towards Berlusconi, read on Wednesday: “Silvio, stop!”
Instead, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the right-wing Fratelli d’Italia and possibly the new head of government in Italy early next week, coldly warned: “We support Ukraine. Either it pleases everyone, or nothing will come from the government.”
Although Berlusconi claims after each published sound cut that he has been completely taken out of context, people in Brussels are wondering what to expect from the new centre-right government if it swears on the head of state Sergio Mattarella despite everything.