Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy, dies aged 86

Silvio Berlusconi, an eccentric Italian media mogul and politician, has died aged 86. Throughout his life, he held the position of Prime Minister of Italy on three separate occasions. Surprisingly, even when his political career seemed to be over, Berlusconi always found a way to get back on his feet.

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He died in hospital in Milan after being treated for a lung infection and leukemia - Photo Reproduction / Wikimedia Commons

Silvio Berlusconi, former Prime Minister of Italy and former owner of AC Milan, passed away at the age of 86 on the morning of Monday (12). Berlusconi was hospitalized in San Raffaele in Milan, where he had been hospitalized for six weeks, receiving treatment for a lung infection related to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia before being readmitted. He had been re-admitted for routine check-ups three days ago, however, his health deteriorated rapidly once again. He was accompanied by his wife, Marta Fascina, and their children.

Who was Silvio Berlusconi

Born in Milan on September 29, 1936, Berlusconi began his professional career in the civil construction sector before becoming one of the richest men in Italy. He holds a law degree from the Università Statale in Milan and at that time played a key role in the development of the residential complex in the late 1960s. his media company, Mediaset, in the 1980s. Through Mediaset, which became the largest commercial broadcaster in Italy, he created a vast empire that encompassed television, newspapers and magazines, in addition to owning the AC Milan football club, between 1986 and 2017.

Fortune

In the 1970s, before entering politics in the 1990s, the tycoon accumulated his fortune through Fininvest, a media holding company. During the 1970s and 1980s, he circumvented the monopoly of RAI, the Italian state television broadcaster, by establishing a network in which local stations broadcast indifferent programming. In 2006, RAI and Mediaset dominated approximately 90% of the national media market.

Policy

His political career began in the 1990s, when founded the Forza Italia party. He served as Prime Minister of Italy three times, between 1994 and 1995, 2001 and 2006 and from 2008 to 2011. His political life, however, was marred by a series of scandals of corruption and abuse of power.

Berlusconi was also known for his controversial statements and sexist attitudes. In the year 2013, he was convicted of tax evasion, which led him to serve time under house arrest. The resistance to his candidacy was suspended in time for the 2018 general elections, when the Forza Italia party formed a coalition with the League and the Brothers of Italy. However, this coalition failed to reach the 40% needed to take over the government.

Known as The Knight (the knight), Berlusconi was often referred to as the "king-maker" in Italian politics. In 2016, he had surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve. Two years later, he won a seat in the European Parliament. In September 2020, he was hospitalized due to Covid, facing prolonged complications related to the virus, an experience he described as "the worst of my life". Berlusconi emerged again on the political scene in the general election of October 2022, when his party returned to power in a coalition led by the Brothers of Italy, with Giorgia Meloni. In addition, Berlusconi was elected senator.

Currently, the Forza Italia party, to which Berlusconi now belongs, gives its support to the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni. During his youth, Meloni even classified the dictator and fascist leader Benito Mussolini as "a competent politician". Furthermore, her friendship with Vladimir Putin caused discomfort in Europe when, during an invasion of Ukraine, she claimed to have received gifts and a "rather nice letter" from the Russian president.

Scandals

Berlusconi, famous for his involvements in sex scandals, such as the infamous "bunga-bunga" parties, and for uttering controversial and prejudiced phrases, such as the joke about youth and his discriminatory comment about being gay, he recovered court cases throughout his career . However, it was only in one case related to tax fraud involving his media empire that he was definitively convicted.

One of the most notorious scandals involving Berlusconi occurred in 2010, when he was accused of having had sexual relations with Karima El Mahroug, a 17-year-old Moroccan dancer, also known as "Ruby, the thief of hearts". However, in his biography, he vehemently denies that such an incident ever occurred, stating, "I have always maintained that I never had any involvement with Ruby".

Ruby categorically denied being a whore and withdrew all emotions leveled against Berlusconi. At the time, she declared that Berlusconi gave her €60,000 as a gesture of "generosity". However, Berlusconi himself contested this version, stating that the amount was 45 thousand euros, intended for the purchase of a depilation device. Furthermore, he stated that the money was given with the intention of making Ruby a partner in a business with a friend.

In the year 2013, Berlusconi was found guilty of abuse of power and using his influence to try to free Ruby. In addition, he was convicted of engaging in paid sexual activity with a minor, followed by a seven-year prison sentence and future imprisonment in public prisons.

However, he was eventually acquitted of the crimes the following year after appealing the decision. Already in 2011, led by local newspapers, a series of parties of an erotic nature in which Berlusconi participated were revealed. One of the allegations raised by the newspapers claimed that he had been sexually involved with 33 women in a two-month period. These events became known as "bunga-bunga".