- The death could bring new directions in Italian politics
- His business empire faces an uncertain future
- Political friends and enemies mourn Berlusconi
- Putin calls former Italian PM ‘a true friend’
MILAN, June 12 (Portal) – Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire media mogul and former Italian prime minister who transformed the country’s politics with his divisive policies and often alarmed his allies with his brazen statements, died on Monday at the age of 86.
Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving prime minister, who counted Russian President Vladimir Putin among his friends and is best known for his “bunga-bunga” sex parties, had leukemia and recently contracted a lung infection.
He died in Milan’s San Raffaele Hospital, where he was admitted on Friday. Four of his five children and his brother Paolo were lying by his bedside, ANSA reported shortly before announcing his death.
A state funeral will take place in Milan on Wednesday.
Backed by vast wealth and a media, real estate and soccer empire, Berlusconi entered politics in 1994, turned traditional parties on their head and became prime minister. Another businessman, Donald Trump, would emulate this approach in the United States two decades later.
Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party is now a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, and while he himself had no role in government, his death could prompt new realignments in Italian politics.
His business empire also faces an uncertain future. He never publicly announced who would take full control of his company MFE (MFEB.MI) after his death, although his eldest daughter Marina is expected to feature prominently.
Putin’s “true friend”
Berlusconi’s death was mourned by political allies and rivals at home and leaders abroad, including Putin, who said he was “a true friend”. I have always sincerely admired his wisdom and his ability to make balanced and farsighted decisions even in the most difficult of situations.”
This relationship was one of many in Berlusconi’s colorful public and private life that caused headaches for his allies and trouble for his enemies.
Berlusconi declined to blame Putin for invading Ukraine in 2022, saying Moscow only wants to put “decent people” at the helm. Visiting Kiev earlier this year, Meloni insisted that Rome supported Ukraine, regardless of individual remarks.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi answers a journalist’s questions during a news conference December 30, 2004 in Rome, Italy. Portal/Tony Gentile/File Photo
On Monday she said: “We fought with him, won, lost many battles and for him too we will bring home the goals that we had set together. Farewell, Silvio.”
Enrico Letta, a former centre-left prime minister, wrote on Twitter: “Berlusconi wrote the history of our country. His death marks one of those moments when everyone, whether they support his decisions or not, feels concerned.”
Another former prime minister, Mario Draghi, a bipartisan figure and former European Central Bank chief, said Berlusconi “changed politics and was loved by millions of Italians for his humanity and charisma.”
MFE’s A- and B-share shares rose as much as 10% after news of Berlusconi’s death. Traders on the Milan Stock Exchange said this could pave the way for the company to be sold or merged with a competitor.
SCANDALS AND CONTROVERSIES
After building a real estate, soccer and television empire in the 1970s and 1980s, Berlusconi threw himself into politics, becoming prime minister four times – 1994–95, 2001–5, 2005–6 and 2008–11, despite several right-wing scandals.
When he last resigned in 2011, Italy was on the verge of a Greek-style debt crisis and his own reputation was tarnished by allegations that he had ‘bunga bunga’ sex parties with underage women, which he denied.
He was acquitted of all charges related to the parties on appeal, but in 2013 he was convicted of tax fraud, which resulted in a five-year ban from holding public office.
Despite his ailing health and relentless court battles, Berlusconi refused to relinquish control of Forza Italia and returned to frontline politics, winning a seat in the European Parliament in 2019 and the Italian Senate last year.
The perpetually tanned Berlusconi, vigorously promoted by his own media outlets, brought his great salesman and communicator skills to the staid world of politics and offered a bright, optimistic outlook that resonated with voters.
His sense of humor often got him into trouble, most recently in December when he told his Monza football team’s players he would bring them “a bus full of whores” if they beat a top Serie A rival. They kept winning.
Berlusconi is survived by his 33-year-old partner Marta Fascina, whom he called his wife even though he had not married her, two ex-spouses, five children, more than a dozen grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Reporting by Emilio Parodi, Giulio Piovaccari and Elvira Pollina; writing by Alvise Armellini; Edited by Edmund Blair
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