The media magnate who ruled Italy for nine years, Silvio Berlusconi, has died at the age of 86 from leukemia, his entourage reported. Nicknamed the “immortal” for his longevity in politics, the senator and businessman, who had a profound impact on his country’s political landscape, had been re-admitted on Friday to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital, where he had stayed for several occasions
Text: Patricia Blettery
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s three-time prime minister, has died at the age of 86 from leukemia, his spokesman said.
His life as a media mogul, AC Milan president and politician set the pace for many years of Italian life. Yet Silvio Berlusconi, embroiled in sex scandals and endless legal proceedings, ruled Italian politics for nearly 30 years, constantly postponing the end of his public life.
The last episode has just come to an end for Il Cavaliere. An Italian life as a succession of twists that kept the Italians in suspense until the end.
The eldest son of a middle-class Milanese family, he hosted cruise ships before embarking on a successful career in real estate, finance and the media, serving as AC Milan president for 31 years. His entry into politics was sensational in 1994, when he won parliamentary elections with his brand new Forza Italia party.
Four times Head of Government, deputy for 18 years, twice elected to the European Parliament and once again a senator, at 85 he returned to his old ways in September 2022, always under the Forza Italia label. But his attendance at the Upper House was almost non-existent. Silvio Berlusconi, whose party is part of the coalition supporting Giorgia Meloni’s government, had recently been in and out of the hospital.
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Berlusconi: A life of revelry and bunga bunga
Until the end, his actions were the subject of scrutiny, both in the political arena and in relation to the judicial processes opened against him for corruption, tax fraud and prostitution of minors.
The father of five children from two marriages and a multiple grandfather, the antics of this billionaire extraordinaire dominated headlines for many years for his “bling bling” lifestyle, which included private jets, lavish villas, expensive divorces and very young women invited to “bunga bunga” parties in the 2000s.
These parties ended up in court with the so-called Ruby Gate affair, which bears the name of a young Moroccan woman. Silvio Berlusconi was accused of inciting the prostitution of minors and abuse of power for paying money to the participants in his parties in exchange for their silence. Between 2011 and 2015, no less than ten million euros were paid, seven of them just for Ruby, who was a minor at the time.
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The dark side
Silvio Berlusconi never stopped downplaying his ties to the P2 Lodge, a Masonic lodge that in the 1970s infiltrated all the country’s institutions and was involved in the bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, linked to the Vatican.
In 2014, when he was prosecuted for tax fraud in connection with the purchase and resale of rights to American series for Mediaset, he was sentenced to 10 months of community work in a center for the elderly. A bitter punishment for a man who continued to search for eternal youth.
His latest feat dates back to October 2022. In two audio recordings made public, as Ukraine has been facing an invasion by Russia since February, Silvio Berlusconi declared that he had resumed contacts with Russian President Vladimir Putin. An old friend. The two men met on numerous occasions when the “Cavaliere” was President of the Council (indeed, trade between the two countries increased tenfold between 1994 and 2004). The former Prime Minister also explained that Vladimir Putin had been “pushed” into invading Ukraine. Some harsh statements at a time when his political party, Forza Italia, must participate in the future government of Giorgia Meloni. A few months earlier, however, he had affirmed his support for NATO, the EU and the United States.
However, despite numerous affairs and press articles poking fun at the political leader’s private life, his popularity for a long time defied all the predictions of political commentators, who regularly saw his political retirement looming. For many Italians, however, he was still a successful model with his Fininvest holding company, which controlled, among others, the Mediaset group and the Mondadori publishing house. For his detractors, however, he was a symbol of dubious business.
In 2022, he came to imagine becoming President of the Republic and succeeding Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace. This time, however, his long criminal record got the better of his ambitions and he had to throw in the towel, as his allies were reluctant to support him to the end.
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