Silvio Berlusconi (/ˌbɛərlʊˈskoʊni/BAIR-luu-SKOH-nee;Italian:[ˈsilvjoberluˈskoːni]ⓘ; 29 September 1936 – 12 June 2023) was an Italianmedia tycoon and politician who served as theprime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011.[2] He was a member of theChamber of Deputies from 1994 to 2013; a member of theSenate of the Republic from 2022 until his death in 2023, and previously from March to November 2013; and amember of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 1999 to 2001.[3] At the time of his death in 2023, he had a net worth of US$6.8 billion according toForbes, making him the 352nd-richest man in the world and the third-wealthiest person in Italy.[4][5][6]
Berlusconi was prime minister for nine years in total, making him the longest serving post-war prime minister of Italy, and the third-longest-serving sinceItalian unification, afterBenito Mussolini andGiovanni Giolitti. He was the leader of the centre-right partyForza Italia from 1994 to 2009, and its successor partyThe People of Freedom from 2009 to 2013. He led therevived Forza Italia from 2013 to 2023.[9] Berlusconi was the seniorG8 leader from 2009 until 2011, and he held the record for hosting G8summits (having hosted three summits in Italy). After serving nearly 19 years as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, the country'slower house, he became a member of the Senate following the2013 Italian general election.
On 1 August 2013, Berlusconi was convicted oftax fraud by theSupreme Court of Cassation. His four-year prison sentence was confirmed, and he was banned from holding public office for two years. Aged 76, he was exempted from direct imprisonment, and instead served his sentence by doing unpaidcommunity service.[10] Three years of his sentence were automaticallypardoned under Italian law; because he had been sentenced to gross imprisonment for more than two years, he was banned from holding legislative office for six years and expelled from the Senate.[11][12] Berlusconi pledged to stay leader of Forza Italia throughout his custodial sentence and public office ban.[10][13] After his ban ended, Berlusconi ran for and was elected as an MEP at the2019 European Parliament election.[3] He returned to the Senate after winning a seat in the2022 Italian general election,[14] then died the following year from complications ofchronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and was givena state funeral.[15]
Berlusconi was known for hispopulist political style and brash personality. In his long tenure, he was often accused of being an authoritarian leader and astrongman.[16][17][18] At the height of his power, Berlusconi was the richest person in Italy, owned three of the main TV channels of the country, and indirectly controlled the national broadcasting companyRAI through his own government. He was the owner of Italy's biggest publishing company, several newspapers and magazines, and one of the largestfootball clubs in Europe.[19] At the time of his death,The Guardian wrote that Berlusconi "gathered himself more power than was ever wielded by one individual in a Western democracy".[20] Berlusconi remained a controversial figure who divided public opinion and political analysts. Supporters emphasised his leadership skills and charismatic power, his fiscal policy based on tax reduction, and his ability to maintain strong and closeforeign relations with both the United States and Russia.[21][22][23] In general, critics address his performance as a politician and the ethics of his government practices in relation to his business holdings. Issues with the former include accusations of having mismanaged thestate budget and of increasing theItalian government debt. The second criticism concerns his vigorous pursuit of his personal interests while in office, including benefitting from his own companies' growth due to policies promoted by his governments, having vastconflicts of interest due to ownership of a media empire, and being blackmailed as a leader because of his turbulent private life.[24][25][26]
Early life and family
Berlusconi was born in 1936 inMilan, where he was raised in a middle-class family.[27] His father, Luigi Berlusconi, was a bank employee, and his mother, Rosa Bossi, a housewife.[28] He was the first of three children; he had a sister, Maria Francesca Antonietta, and a brother,Paolo.[29]
After completing his secondary school education at aSalesian college, Berlusconi studied law at theUniversity of Milan, graduating with honours in 1961, with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising. He was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in theItalian army which was compulsory at the time.[31] During his university studies, he playedupright bass in a group formed with the nowMediaset Chairman and amateur pianistFedele Confalonieri and occasionally performed as a cruise shipcrooner.[30] In later life, he wroteAC Milan'santhem with the Italian music producer and pop singerTony Renis and Forza Italia's anthem with the opera directorRenato Serio.[32][33] With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella, he wrote twoNeapolitan song albums:Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 andL'ultimo amore in 2006.[34]
In 1965, Berlusconi married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, and they had two children:Maria Elvira, better known as Marina (born 1966), andPier Silvio (born 1969).[35] By 1980, Berlusconi had established a relationship with the actressVeronica Lario (born Miriam Bartolini), with whom he subsequently had three children:Barbara (born 1984), Eleonora (born 1986), and Luigi (born 1988). He was divorced from Dall'Oglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. By this time, Berlusconi was a well-known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of hisbest men wasBettino Craxi, a former prime minister and leader of theItalian Socialist Party.[36] In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce.[37] On 28 December 2012, Berlusconi was ordered to pay Lario $48 million a year in a divorce settlement, but could keep the $100 million house they lived in with their three children.[38]
Berlusconi's business career began in construction in the 1970s, when he builtMilano Due, a development of 4,000 residential apartments east ofMilan. The residential centre was built by Edilnord,[39] a Berlusconi-owned company associated with theFininvest group.[40] Works began on the project in 1970 and was completed in 1979.[41]
The profits from this venture provided the seed money for his advertising agency.[42]
TeleMilano
Berlusconi first entered the media world in the 1970s, buying fromGiacomo Properzj andAlceo Moretti a small cable television company, TeleMilano, to service units built on his Segrate properties. It began transmitting in September of the following year. TeleMilano was one of the first Italian private television channels and later evolved intoCanale 5, the first national private TV station.[40]
After buying two further channels, Berlusconi relocated the station to central Milan in 1977 and began broadcasting over the airwaves.[43]
Berlusconi in his privatejet aircraft in the 1980s
In 1975, Berlusconi founded his first media group, Fininvest. In 1978 he joined thePropaganda Duemasonic lodge.[44] In the five years leading up to 1983, he earned some 113 billionItalian lire (€58.3 million). The funding sources are still unknown because of a complex system ofholding companies, despite investigations conducted by variousprosecutors.[45]
Fininvest soon expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. At the time, laws permitted only the national broadcasterRAI to operate throughout the country, and this was seen as an effort to circumvent thestate monopoly.[40] Prior to 1974, Italian television was entirely under state ownership. Despite the landmark 1976 ruling by theConstitutional Court of Italy (decision no. 202/1976), which allowed private entities to operatelocal television stations, the state maintained prohibitions onlive broadcasting and private news channels. Berlusconi was the first to successfully bypass these restrictions by distributing simultaneously pre-recorded broadcasts across multiple local stations, effectively creating the impression of a national live television network.[46]
In 1980, Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network,Canale 5, followed shortly thereafter byItalia 1, which was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, andRete 4, which was bought fromMondadori in 1984.[47] He then launched three international sister networks:La Cinq (1986, France),Tele 5 (1988, West Germany), andTelecinco (1989, Spain). La Cinq and Tele 5 ceased operations in 1992 and were later replaced byLa Cinquième andDSF, respectively.[48][49]
Berlusconi created the first and only Italian commercial TV empire. He was assisted by his connections toBettino Craxi, secretary-general of theItalian Socialist Party and also the prime minister of Italy at that time, whose government passed, on 20 October 1984, an emergency decreelegalising the nationwide transmissions made by Berlusconi's television stations.[47] This was in response to judgements on 16 October 1984, inTurin,Pescara, andRome, enforcing a law that previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, which had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting.[47]
After political turmoil in 1985, the decree was approved definitively; for some years, Berlusconi's three channels remained in legal limbo and were not allowed to broadcast news and political commentary. They were elevated to the status of full national TV channels in 1990 by the Mammì law, named afterOscar Mammì.[50] In 1987, it bought out home video distributor Domovideo, in a seesaw contest withVincenzo Romagnoli.[51]
In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media groupKirch Group (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999, Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called theEpsilon MediaGroup.[52]
On 9 July 2011, a Milan court ordered Fininvest to pay 560 million euros in damages toCompagnie Industriali Riunite in a long-running legal dispute.[53]
On 5 August 2016, Fininvest announced the signing of a preliminary agreement to sell all of their shares ofAC Milan to Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co.Ltd. The deal was scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2016.[54] On 13 April 2017, Berlusconi sold Milan to Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux for a total of €830 million after a 31-year reign.[55][56]
Berlusconi rapidly rose to the forefront of Italian politics in January 1994, forming a new party calledForza Italia.[57][58] He was elected to theChamber of Deputies for the first time and appointed as prime minister following the1994 Italian general election, when Forza Italia gained a majority in the Chamber of Deputies less than three months after having been launched.[59] His cabinet collapsed after nine months due to internal disagreements among the coalition parties, and he was succeeded as prime minister byLamberto Dini.[60] In the1996 Italian general election, Berlusconi was defeated by the centre-left candidateRomano Prodi.[61] In the2001 Italian general election, he was again the centre-right candidate for prime minister and won against the centre-left candidateFrancesco Rutelli.[62] Berlusconi then formed his second and third cabinets, until 2006. Berlusconi was the leader of the centre-right coalition in the2006 Italian general election, which he lost by a very narrow margin, his opponent again being Prodi.[63] He was re-elected in the2008 Italian general election following the collapse of theSecond Prodi government and sworn in for the third time as prime minister on 8 May 2008.[64]
Berlusconi was criticised for his electoral coalitions withright-wing populist parties (Lega Nord and theNational Alliance) and for apologetic remarks about Mussolini; he also officially apologised for Italy's actions inLibya during colonial rule.[71] While in power, Berlusconi maintained ownership ofMediaset, the largest media company in Italy, and was criticised for his dominance of the Italian media.[72][73] His leadership was also undermined bysex scandals.[74]
Beginnings
Berlusconi entered politics in 1994, reportedly admitting toIndro Montanelli andEnzo Biagi that he was forced to do so to avoid imprisonment.[75] He served asprime minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. His career was racked withcontroversies andtrials;[64] among these was his failure to honour his promise to sell his personal assets inMediaset, the largest television broadcaster in Italy, to dispel any perceivedconflicts of interest.[76]
In the early 1990s, the five governing parties known as thePentapartito, includingChristian Democracy (Italian:Democrazia Cristiana), theItalian Socialist Party, theItalian Social-Democratic Party, theItalian Republican Party and theItalian Liberal Party, lost much of their electoral strength almost overnight due to a large number of judicial investigations concerning the financial corruption of many of their foremost members in theMani Pulite affair. This led to a general expectation that upcoming elections would be won by theDemocratic Party of the Left, the heirs to the formerItalian Communist Party, and theirAlliance of Progressives coalition unless an alternative arose. On 26 January 1994, Berlusconi announced his decision to enter politics, in his own words to "enter the field", presenting his own political party,Forza Italia, on a platform focused on defeatingcommunists. His political aim was to convince the voters of thePentapartito, who were shocked and confused byMani Pulite scandals, thatForza Italia offered both a fresh uniqueness and the continuation of the pro-Western free-market policies followed by Italy since the end ofWorld War II. Shortly after he decided to enter the political arena, investigators into the Mani Pulite affair were said to be close to issuing warrants for the arrest of Berlusconi and senior executives of his business group. During his political career, Berlusconi repeatedly stated that the Mani Pulite investigations were led by communistprosecutors who wanted to establish aSoviet-style government in Italy.[77][78]
To win the March 1994 general election, Berlusconi formed two separate electoral alliances:Pole of Freedoms (Polo delle Libertà) withLega Nord (Northern League) in northern Italian districts, and another, thePole of Good Government (Polo del Buon Governo), with theNational Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale), heir to theItalian Social Movement, in central and southern regions.[79] In a pragmatic move, he did not ally with the latter in the North because Lega Nord disliked them. Consequently,Forza Italia was allied with two parties that were not allied with each other.[80]
Berlusconi launched a massive campaign of electoral advertisements on his three TV networks and prepared his top advertising salesmen with seminars and screen tests, of whom 50 were subsequently elected despite an absence of legislative experience.[75] He subsequently won the elections, with Forza Italia garnering 21% of the popular vote, more than any other single party.[81] One of the most significant promises that he made to secure victory was that his government would create "one million more jobs". He was appointed prime minister in 1994, but his term in office was short because of the inherent contradictions in his coalition: the League, a regional party with a strong electoral base in northern Italy, was at that time fluctuating betweenfederalist andseparatist positions and the National Alliance was anationalist party that had yet to renounceneo-fascism at the time.[82]
In December 1994, following the leaking to the press of news of a fresh investigation by Milan magistrates,Umberto Bossi, leader of theLega Nord, left the coalition claiming that theelectoral pact had not been respected. This in turn forced Berlusconi to resign from office.[83] Lega Nord also resented the fact that many of its MPs had switched to Forza Italia, allegedly lured by promises of more prestigious portfolios. In 1998, various articles attacking Berlusconi were published by Lega Nord's official newspaperLa Padania, with titles such as "La Fininvest è nata da Cosa Nostra" ('Fininvest [Berlusconi's principal company] was founded by the Mafia').[84]
Berlusconi remained as caretaker prime minister for a little over a month until his replacement by a technocratic government headed byLamberto Dini. Dini had been a key minister in the Berlusconi cabinet, and Berlusconi said the only way he would support a technocratic government would be if Dini headed it.[60] In the end, Dini was supported by most of the opposition parties, but not by Forza Italia and Lega Nord.[85] In 1996, Berlusconi and his coalition lost the elections and were replaced by a centre-left government led byRomano Prodi.[61][86]
On the television interview programmePorta a Porta, during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign theContratto con gli Italiani (Contract with the Italians), an idea copied by his advisor Luigi Crespi fromNewt Gingrich'sContract with America introduced six weeks before the1994 US elections.[88] This was considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 bid for prime ministership. Berlusconi committed in this contract to improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life, and promised to not stand for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex Italian national tax system by introducing just two income tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000euros, and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros a year would not be taxed). Secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate. Thirdly, he committed to financing and developing a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros. Fifthly, he would reduce crime by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities.[89]
Opposition parties claim Berlusconi was not able to achieve the goals he promised in hisContratto con gli Italiani. Some of his partners in government, especially theNational Alliance and theUnion of Christian and Centre Democrats, admitted the Government fell short of the promises made in the agreement, attributing the failure to an unforeseeable downturn in global economic conditions. Berlusconi himself consistently asserted that he achieved all the goals of the agreement, and said his Government providedun miracolo continuo (a continuous miracle) that made all 'earlier governments pale' (by comparison). He attributed the widespread failure to recognise these achievements to a campaign of mystification and vilification in the print media, asserting that 85% of newspapers were opposed to him.[90] Luca Ricolfi, an independent analyst, held that Berlusconi had managed to deliver only one promise out of five, the one concerning minimum pension rates. According to Ricolfi, the other four promises were not honoured, in particular the undertakings on tax simplification and crime reduction.[91]
Subsequent elections
TheHouse of Freedoms did not do as well in the 2003 local elections as it did in the 2001 national elections. In common with many other European governing groups, in the2004 elections to the European Parliament, gained 43.37% support.[clarification needed] Forza Italia's support was also reduced from 29.5% to 21.0% (in the 1999 European elections Forza Italia had 25.2%).[92] As an outcome of these results, the other coalition parties, whose electoral results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for greater influence on the government's political line.[93]
In the regional elections on 3–4 April 2005, centre-left candidates for regional presidencies won in 11 out of 13 regions where control of local governments and presidencies were at stake.[94][95] Berlusconi's coalition held only two of the regions (Lombardy andVeneto) up for re-election. Three parties,Union of Christian and Centre Democrats,National Alliance andNew Italian Socialist Party, threatened to withdraw from the Berlusconi government. Berlusconi after some hesitation, then presented to thepresident of Italy a request for the dissolution of his government on 20 April. On 23 April, he formed a new government with the same allies, reshuffling ministers and amending the government programme.[96] A key point demanded by the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and to a lesser extent by the National Alliance for their continued support was that the strong focus on tax reduction be reduced.[97]
Attempt to reform the Italian constitution
A key point in the Berlusconi government's programme was a planned reform of theItalian constitution, which Berlusconi considered to be inspired by theSoviet Union,[98] an issue on which the coalition parties themselves initially had significantly different opinions.Lega Nord insisted on a federalist reform (devolution of more power to the regions) as a condition for remaining in the coalition.[99] TheNational Alliance party pushed for a strong premiership (more powers to the prime minister).[100]
Difficulties in negotiating an agreement caused some internal unrest in the Berlusconi government in 2003, but they were mostly overcome and the law including devolution of powers to the regions, Federal Senate, and strong premiership, was passed by the Senate in April 2004; it was slightly modified by the Chamber of Deputies in October 2004, and again in October 2005, and finally approved by the Senate on 16 November 2005, with a narrow majority. Approval in a referendum is necessary to amend the Italian constitution without a qualified two-thirds parliamentary majority. The referendum was held on 25–26 June 2006 and resulted in the rejection of the constitutional reform, with 61.3% of voters castingballots against it.[101][102]
Berlusconi addressing a joint session of theUS Congress in 2006
Operating under a new electoral law written unilaterally by the governing parties with strong criticism from theparliamentary opposition, the April 2006 general election was held. The results of this election handedRomano Prodi's centre-left coalition, known asThe Union (Berlusconi's opposition), a very thin majority: 49.8% against 49.7% for the centre-right coalitionHouse of Freedoms in theLower House, and a two-senator lead in the Senate (158 senators for The Union and 156 for the House of Freedoms).[103] TheCourt of Cassation subsequently validated the voting procedures and determined that the election process was constitutional.[104][105]
According to the new electoral rules, The Union, nicknamed "The Soviet Union" by Berlusconi,[106] with a margin of only 25,224 votes (out of over 38 million voters) won 348 seats (compared to 281 for the House of Freedoms) in the lower house given to whichever coalition of parties was awarded more votes as a result of themajority bonus system.[107]
This electoral law, approved shortly before the election by Berlusconi's coalition in an attempt to improve their chances of winning the election, led to the coalition's defeat and gave Prodi the chance to form a new cabinet. Prodi'scoalition government consisted of a large number of smaller parties. If only one of these nine parties that formed The Union withdrew its support to Prodi, his government would have collapsed. This situation was also the result of the new electoral system.[108]
Centrist parties such as theUnion of Christian and Centre Democrats immediately conceded The Union's victory, while other parties, such as Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the Northern League, refused to accept its validity, right up until 2 May 2006, when Berlusconi submitted his resignation to then President of the RepublicCarlo Azeglio Ciampi.[109]
Berlusconi addressing a crowd during aPdL meeting in 2008
In the run-up to the 2006 general election, there had been talk among some of the coalition members of theHouse of Freedoms about a possible merger into a "united party of moderates and reformers".Forza Italia, theNational Alliance ofGianfranco Fini, and theUnion of Christian and Centre Democrats ofPier Ferdinando Casini all seemed interested in the project. Soon after the election, Casini started to distance his party from its historical allies. On 2 December 2006, during a major demonstration of the centre-right in Rome against theProdi II Cabinet, Berlusconi proposed the foundation of a Freedom Party, arguing that the people and voters of the different political movements aligned to the demonstration were all part of a people of freedom.[110][111]
On 18 November 2007, after claiming the collection of more than 7 million signatures (including that ofUmberto Bossi) demanding that then President of the RepublicGiorgio Napolitano call a fresh election,[112] Berlusconi announced from therunning board of a car in a crowdedPiazza San Babila in Milan that Forza Italia would soon merge or transform intoThe People of Freedom, also known as the PdL (Il Popolo della Libertà).[113][114] Berlusconi also stated that this new political movement could include the participation of other parties.[115] Both supporters and critics of the new party called Berlusconi's announcement "the running board revolution" (Italian:la rivoluzione del predellino).[116][117][118]
After the sudden fall of the Prodi II Cabinet on 24 January, the break-up ofThe Union, and the subsequent political crisis, which paved the way for a fresh general election in April 2008, Berlusconi,Gianfranco Fini and other party leaders finally agreed on 8 February 2008 to form the PdL joint list, allied withLega Nord of Bossi and theMovement for Autonomy ofRaffaele Lombardo.[119]
In the snap elections held on 13–14 April 2008, this coalition won againstWalter Veltroni's centre-left coalition in both houses of theItalian Parliament.[120] In the 315-member Senate of the Republic, Berlusconi's coalition won 174 seats to Veltroni's 134. In thelower house, Berlusconi's conservative bloc led by a margin of 9% of the vote: 46.5% (344 seats) to 37.5% (246 seats).[121] Berlusconi capitalised on discontent over the nation's stagnating economy and the unpopularity of Prodi's government. His declared top priorities were to remove piles of rubbish from the streets ofNaples and to improve the state of the Italian economy, which had under-performed the rest of theeurozone for years. He also said he was open to working with the opposition, and pledged to fighttax avoidance andtax evasion, reform the judicial system and reduce public debt.[120] He intended to reduce the number of cabinet ministers to 12.[120] Berlusconi and his ministers (Berlusconi IV Cabinet) were sworn in on 8 May 2008.[122]
Anti-Berlusconi demonstration, held during his visit toAmsterdam in 2009
On 21 November 2008, the National Council of Forza Italia dissolved Forza Italia and established the PdL, whose inauguration took place on 27 March 2009, the 15th anniversary of Berlusconi's first electoral victory.[123]
While Forza Italia had never held a formal party congress to formulate its rules, procedures, and democratic balloting for candidates and issues, (since 1994 three party conventions of Forza Italia have been held, all of them resolving to support Berlusconi and reelecting him by acclamation) on 27 March 2009, at the foundation congress of the PdL political movement the statute of the new party was subject to a vote of approval. On 5,820 voting delegates, 5,811 voted in favour, 4 against and 5 abstained.[124] During that political congress Berlusconi was elected as chairman of the PdL by a show of hands. According to the official minutes of the congress the result favoured Berlusconi, with 100per cent of the delegates voting for him.[125][126][127]
Between 2009 and 2010,Gianfranco Fini, former leader of thenational conservative National Alliance (AN) andPresident of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, became a vocal critic of the leadership of Berlusconi. Fini departed from party's majority line on several issues but, most of all, he was a proponent of a more structured party organisation. His criticism was aimed at the leadership style of Berlusconi, who tends to rely on his personal charisma to lead the party from the centre and supports a less structured form of party, a movement-party that organises itself only at election times.[128]
On 15 April 2010, an association namedGeneration Italy was launched to better represent Fini's views within the party and push for a different form of party organisation.[129] On 22 April 2010 the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in a year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live on television. At the end of the day, a resolution proposed by Berlusconi's loyalists was put before the assembly and approved by a landslide margin.[130] On 29 July 2010, the party executive released a document in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of the Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down, and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of three MPs who had harshly criticised Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences.[131] As response, Fini and his followers formed their own groups in both chambers under the name ofFuture and Freedom (FLI).[132][133][134][135] It was soon clear that FLI would leave the PdL and become an independent party. On 7 November, during a convention inBastia Umbra, Fini asked Berlusconi to step down from his post of prime minister and proposed a new government including theUnion of the Centre (UdC).[136] A few days later, the four FLI members of the government resigned.[137] On 14 December, FLI voted against Berlusconi in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies, a vote nonetheless won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311.[138][139]
In May 2011, PdL suffered a big blow in local elections. Particularly painful was the loss ofMilan, Berlusconi's hometown and party stronghold.[140] In response to this and to conflicts within party ranks,Angelino Alfano, the Justice minister, was chosen as national secretary in charge of reorganising and renewing the party.[141] The appointment of 40-year-old Alfano, a formerChristian Democrat and later leader of Forza Italia inSicily, was unanimously decided by the party executive. On 1 July, the National Council modified the party's constitution and Alfano was elected secretary almost unanimously. In his acceptance speech, Alfano proposed the introduction of primaries.[142]
Resignation
On 10 October 2011, theChamber of Deputies rejected the law on the budget of the state proposed by the government.[143] As a result of this event, Berlusconi moved for a confidence vote in the Chamber on 14 October, he won the vote with just 316 votes to 310, minimum required to retain a majority.[144] An increasing number of Deputies continued tocross the floor and join the opposition and on 8 November the Chamber approved the law on the budget of the State previously rejected but with only 308 votes, while opposition parties did not participate in the vote to highlight that Berlusconi lost his majority.[145] After the vote, Berlusconi announced his resignation after Parliament passed economic reforms.[146] Among other things, his perceived failure to tackle Italy's debt crisis with an estimated debt sum of €1.9 trillion ($2.6 trillion) had urged Berlusconi to leave office. The popularity of this decision was reflected in the fact that while he was resigning crowds sang theHallelujah Chorus ofGeorge Frideric Handel's "Messiah", complete with some vocal accompaniment; there was also dancing in the streets outside theQuirinal Palace, the official residence of thePresident of Italy, where Berlusconi went to tender his resignation.[147]
Crowd in front ofQuirinal Palace during Berlusconi's resignation as prime minister
Austerity measures were passed, raising €59.8 billion from spending cuts and tax raises, including freezing public-sector salaries until 2014 and gradually increasing the retirement age for women in the private sector from 60 in 2014 to 65 in 2026.[148] The resignation also came at a difficult time for Berlusconi, as he was involved in numeroustrials for corruption, fraud and sex offences. He was often found guilty in lower courts, but used loopholes in Italy's legal system to evade incarceration.[148]
Berlusconi had also failed to meet some of his pre-election promises and had failed to prevent economic decline and introduce serious reforms.[148] Many believed that the problems and doubts over Berlusconi's leadership and his coalition were one of the factors that contributed to market anxieties over an imminent Italian financial disaster, which could have a potentially catastrophic effect on the 17-nationeurozone and the world economy.[149] Many critics of Berlusconi accused him of using his power primarily to protect his own business ventures.[148]Umberto Bossi, leader ofLega Nord, a partner in Berlusconi's right-wing coalition, was quoted as informing reporters outside parliament, "We asked the prime minister to step aside."[150]
On 12 November 2011, after a final meeting with his cabinet, Berlusconi met PresidentGiorgio Napolitano at thePalazzo del Quirinale to tend his resignation.[151] As he arrived at the presidential residence, a hostile crowd gathered with banners insulting Berlusconi and throwing coins at the car. After his resignation, the booing and jeering continued as he left in his convoy, with the public shouting words such as "buffoon", "dictator" and "mafioso".[152] Following Berlusconi'sresignation,Mario Monti formed a new government that would remain in office until the next scheduled elections in 2013.[153][154]
In the following years Berlusconi often expressed his point of view regarding his resignation in 2011. He accusedAngela Merkel,Nicolas Sarkozy,Christine Lagarde andGiorgio Napolitano, along with other global economic and financial powers, of having plotted against him and forcing him to resign, because he had refused to accept a loan from theInternational Monetary Fund, which according to him, would have sold the country to the IMF.[155][156]
In December 2012, Berlusconi announced on television that he would run again to become prime minister of Italy.[157] Berlusconi said his party's platform would include opposition toMario Monti's economic performance, which he said put Italy into a "recessive spiral without end".[158]
On 7 January 2013, Berlusconi announced he had made a coalition agreement (centre-right coalition) withLega Nord (LN); as part of it, PdL would supportRoberto Maroni's bid for the presidency ofLombardy, and he would run as "leader of the coalition", but suggested he could accept a role asMinister of Economy under a cabinet headed by anotherPeople of Freedom (PdL) member, such asAngelino Alfano. Later that day, LN leader Maroni confirmed his party would not support Berlusconi being appointed as prime minister in the case of an electoral win.[159] Berlusconi's coalition gained 29.1% of votes and 125 seats in theChamber of Deputies, 30.7% of votes and 117 seats in theSenate.[160]
In April 2013, Berlusconi's PdL announced his support of the Letta government, together with theDemocratic Party and the centristCivic Choice, of former prime ministerMario Monti.[70]
Refoundation of Forza Italia and public office ban
Berlusconi at the 2019 EPP Summit
In June 2013, Berlusconi announced the refoundation of his first partyForza Italia (FI).[161][162] On 18 September the new party was launched and officially founded on 16 November.[163] After the foundation of Forza Italia, Berlusconi announced that his new party would oppose thegrand coalition government ofEnrico Letta; the new political position taken by Berlusconi caused dissent in the movement, and the governmental wing of Forza Italia led byAngelino Alfano split from FI and founded aChristian democratic party calledNew Centre-Right, which supported theLetta Cabinet.[164]
On 1 August 2013, Berlusconi was convicted oftax fraud by thecourt of final instance, theSupreme Court of Cassation, which confirmed his four-year prison sentence,[10] of which three years are automaticallypardoned, along with a public office ban for two years. As his age exceeded 70 years, he was exempted from direct imprisonment; he served his sentence by doing unpaid social community work. Because he was sentenced to a gross imprisonment of more than two years, a new Italian anti-corruption law (named afterPaola Severino) resulted in the Senate expelling and barring him from serving in any legislative office for six years.[11][12] Berlusconi pledged to stay leader of Forza Italia throughout his custodial sentence and public office ban.[10][13] He was not able to freely campaign for his party.[165]
In March 2017, Berlusconi expressed his intention to run once again as centre-right candidate for the premiership, even if he was banned frompublic office until 2019;[166][167] the2018 Italian general election was his seventh one as the centre-right frontunner. The general election resulted inLega per Salvini Premier winning more seats than FI, and no electoral coalition winning an outright majority.[168]
Political comeback and election to European Parliament and Senate
In January 2019, Berlusconi expressed his intention to run for candidacy in the2019 European Parliament election in Italy.[169] In the election, Forza Italia received only 8.8% of votes, the worst result in its history. Berlusconi was elected to the Parliament, becoming the oldest member of the assembly.[170] He was a potential nominee in the2022 Italian presidential election, which was ultimately won bySergio Mattarella.[171][172] From 2019 to 2022, Berlusconi had the lowest attendance rate among MEPs with 59%, largely because of months of dealing with symptoms after catchingCOVID-19 in September 2020.[173]
Berlusconi ran in the2022 Italian election as the leader of Forza Italia, being elected to the Senate for the single-member constituency ofMonza, returning to the Italian parliament after ten years.[174]
Berlusconi and his cabinets had a strong tendency to support American foreign policies,[175] despite the policy divide between the US and many founding members of theEuropean Union, such as Germany, France, and Belgium during theGeorge W. Bush administration.[176] Under Berlusconi's lead, the Italian Government also shifted its traditional position on foreign policy from being the most pro-Arab Western government,[177] towards a greater friendship with Israel and Turkey than in the past.[178][179] This resulted in a rebalancing of relations between all theMediterranean countries, to reachequal closeness with them. Berlusconi was one of the strongest supporters ofTurkey's application to accede to the European Union.[180] To support Turkey's application Berlusconi invited Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan to take part in a meeting of the European leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, gathered inL'Aquila for the 2009G8 summit.[181][182] Berlusconi described Saudi Arabia as an important force for stability in the region.[183]
Italy, with Berlusconi in office, became a solid ally of the United States due to his support for thewar in Afghanistan and theIraq War. On 30 January 2003, Berlusconi signed "The letter of the eight" supporting the USpreparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq.[184] Italy had some 3,200 troops deployed in Southern Iraq, the third largest contingent there after the American and British forces.[185] WhenRomano Prodi became Prime Minister, Italian troops were gradually withdrawn.
In 2023, he warned of the danger posed to Europe and the Western world by China, saying that, "China is the systemic competitor of the West in the 21st century. China is our real danger for the future."[186][187]
Berlusconi, Russian presidentVladimir Putin and EU foreign policy chiefJavier Solana at the EU-Russia summit in Rome, 2003Berlusconi with Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev in Italy, 2010
In November 2007, Italy's state-owned energy companyEni signed an agreement with Russian state-ownedGazprom to build theSouth Stream pipeline.[188] Investigating Italian parliament members discovered thatCentral Energy Italian Gas Holding (CEIGH), a part of theCentrex Group, was to play a major role in the lucrative agreement.Bruno Mentasti-Granelli, a close friend of Berlusconi, owned 33 per cent of CEIGH. The Italian parliament blocked the contract and accused Berlusconi of having a personal interest in the Eni-Gazprom agreement.[188][189]
Berlusconi was among the most vocal supporters of closer ties between Russia and theEuropean Union. In an article published in Italian media on 26 May 2002, he said that the next step in Russia's growing integration with the West should beEU membership.[190] Berlusconi had a warm relationship withVladimir Putin.[191] The two leaders often described their relationship as a close friendship, continuing to organise bilateral meetings even after Berlusconi'sresignation in November 2011.[192]
Berlusconi condemned theRussian invasion of Ukraine, saying he was deeply disappointed by the behaviour of Russian president Putin.[195] On the eve of the2022 Italian general election, he said that "the troops were supposed to enter, reach Kyiv in a week, replace the Zelensky government with decent people and a week later come back".[196] In September 2022, Berlusconi made another statement at a Forza Italia convention in Venetia defending Putin: the statement was described by Italian media as confused and containing several factual errors, such as stating that Putin had been pressured to invade Ukraine "by his colleagues in theCommunist Party".[197] In October 2022, leaked audio recordings revealed Berlusconi expressing dismay at Italy'smilitary support for Ukraine, and blamingVolodymyr Zelenskyy for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[198][199]
Relations with Israel
Under Berlusconi, Italy was an ally of Israel.[200] Berlusconi was noted for his close and friendly relationship with Israeli prime minister Netanyahu.[201] Netanyahu described Berlusconi as "one of the greatest friends".[202] Berlusconi believed that Israel should be made an EU member.[202] Berlusconi strongly defended Israel in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict, continuing his support for Israel after leaving office.[203] He defended Israel's actions during theGaza–Israel conflict and called for "effective"sanctions against Iran.[204][205] However, he said that the construction ofIsraeli settlements in theoccupied West Bank was a "mistake" and "could be an obstacle to peace".[206]
While Berlusconi was in office, Israel and Italy negotiated a $1 billion deal whereby Israel buildsreconnaissance satellites for Italy, while Israel purchases theM-346 training plane for its air-force.[207]
Relations with Belarus
Berlusconi visitedAlexander Lukashenko in Belarus in 2009. Berlusconi became the first Western leader to visit Lukashenko since Lukashenko came to power in 1994. At a press conference, Berlusconi paid compliments to Lukashenko and said, "Good luck to you and your people, whom I know love you."[208][209]
Cooperation with the Western Balkans
Map of international trips made by Berlusconi as Prime Minister
On 5 April 2009, at the EU-US summit inPrague Berlusconi proposed an eight-point road map to accelerate the Euro-Atlantic integration of thewestern Balkans. During that summit the Italian Foreign MinisterFranco Frattini urged his European colleagues to send "visible and concrete" signs to the countries concerned (Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania).[210]
Berlusconi with United States presidentGeorge W. Bush in Texas, 2005
Berlusconismo ('Berlusconism') is a term used in Italian media and political analysts to describe the political positions of Berlusconi. The term arose in the 1980s, with a strongly positive meaning, as a synonym for entrepreneurial optimism.[220] According to the definition given by the online vocabulary of theItalian Encyclopedia Institute,Berlusconismo has a wide range of meanings, all having their origins in the figure of Berlusconi, and the political movement inspired by him: the "thought movement",[221] but also to "social phenomenon",[221] and the phenomenon "of custom",[221] which is bound to his entrepreneurial and political figure. The term is also used to refer to a certainlaissez-faire vision supported by him, not in the economy and markets but in relation to politics.[221] According to Berlusconi's political and entrepreneurial opponents,Berlusconismo is only a form ofdemagogy that is comparable toItalian fascism, in part because Berlusconi defended aspects of the regime ofBenito Mussolini,[222] although he criticised theManifesto of Race, theFascist Racial Laws, and the alliance withNazi Germany.[223][224][225] In 2013, he returned to calling Mussolini a good leader whose biggest mistake was signing up tothe Holocaust in Italy and the extermination of the Jews.[226] Contrastingly, his supporters compareBerlusconismo to FrenchGaullism and ArgentinianPeronism.[227]
Political positions
Berlusconi with United States vice-presidentJoe Biden and Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev meeting in Italy, 2011
Berlusconi defined himself as moderate,[228]liberal, and a supporter offree trade;[229] he was often also described as apopulist or aconservative.[230][231] After his resignation in 2011, Berlusconi became increasinglyEurosceptic,[232] and he was often critical of the German chancellorAngela Merkel.[233][234] One of Berlusconi's main leadership tactics was to use the party as an apparatus to reach power; it was defined as a light party because of a lack of a complex structure.[229] This was decidedly comparable to the political tactics used byCharles De Gaulle in France. Another feature of great importance was the emphasis on a "liberal revolution", summarised by the "Contract with the Italians" of 2001.[229]
Berlusconi was criticised for having legitimised and institutionalisedradical-right parties, such asBrothers of Italy (FdI) andLega Nord/Lega, and thepost-fascists in Italy.[240][241] He acknowledged this but said that, by legitimising them within thecentre-right coalition, they would have become anextremist right that would not have won.[242] For critics, including the historian David Broder,[243] it was not FdI'sGiorgia Meloni and Lega'sMatteo Salvini, but Berlusconi himself who legitimised them and campaigned for them.[244] Berlusconi's first cabinet in 1994 was the country's first right-wing coalition sinceWorld War II,[245] and includedneo-fascists for the first time in Europe since 1945;[246][247] the post-fascists merged with his party in 2009.[248] In his last years, Berlusconi's party and leadership were eclipsed by Salvini's Lega and Meloni's FdI.[249]
Comparisons to other leaders
Berlusconi standing between German chancellorAngela Merkel and United States presidentBarack Obama at the36th G8 summit in Muskoka, Canada, 2010Berlusconi among the crowd during his trip inCrimea, 2015
A number of writers and political commentators considered Berlusconi's political success a precedent for the2016 United States presidential election of real estate tycoonDonald Trump as the 45th president of the United States,[250][251][252] with most citing Berlusconi's panned prime ministerial tenure and therefore making the comparison in dismay.Roger Cohen ofThe New York Times wrote: "Widely ridiculed, endlessly written about, long unscathed by his evidentmisogyny and diverse legal travails, Berlusconi proved a Teflon politician ... Nobody who knows Berlusconi and has watched the rise and rise of Donald Trump can fail to be struck by the parallels."[253] InThe Daily Beast, Barbie Latza Nadeau wrote: "If Americans are wondering just what a Trump presidency would look like, they only need to look at the traumatized remains of Italy after Berlusconi had his way."[254] During the 2016 United States election,Politico described Berlusconi as the closest parallel to Trump in a historical world leader.[255] In a piece written forSlate and published in April 2017, Lorenzo Newman noted the similarities in the career trajectories between the two.[256]
In 2015,Andrej Babiš, the thenFinance Minister of the Czech Republic, was compared to Berlusconi due to his media ownership, business activities, political influence, and legal problems with a prison sentence hanging over him.Foreign Policy drew parallels between the two, labelling Babiš with the nickname "Babisconi".[257] British historianPerry Anderson wrote that, despite Berlusconi's reputation as anenfant terrible of the European right, his actual policy record places him "to the left ofBill Clinton, who built much of his career in America on policies—deliveringexecutions in Arkansas, scything welfare in Washington—that would beunthinkable for any Prime Minister in Italy".[258]
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2025)
Berlusconi was tried in Italian courts in several cases. The outcome for six of those cases were politically altered to end with "no conviction", because of laws passed by Berlusconi'sparliamentary majority shortening the time limit for prosecution of various offences and making false accounting illegal only if there is a specific damaged party reporting the fact to the authorities.[259][260][261][262][263][264][265] Berlusconi claimed that "this is a manifest judicial persecution, against which I am proud to resist, and the fact that my resistance and sacrifice will give the Italians a more fair and efficient judicial system makes me even more proud",[266] and added that "789 prosecutors and magistrates took an interest in the politician Berlusconi from 1994 to 2006 with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian people" citing statistics that he said have constituted a "calvary including 577 visits by police, 2,500 court hearings and 174 million euros in lawyers' bills paid by me".[267][268] Berlusconi had always been able to afford top lawyers and publicists, for exampleNicolas Sarkozy was one of his French top defenders.[269][270][271] Some of his formerprosecutors later joined theparliamentary opposition. Some of his attorneys are also members of parliament.
Overview of legal issues for Silvio Berlusconi
Status of trial
Allegation
Convictions
Mediaset trial 2: on a personaltax evasion of €7.3 million committed in 1994–98 through illicit trade of movie rights between secret fictive companies.[272] (First-instance: 4 years jail and 3 years public office ban;[273]Appeal Court: 4 years jail and 5 years public office ban;[274]Supreme Court: 4 years jail[275] and 2 years public office ban[276][277])
Acquittals
Acquittal, due to a changed law
All Iberian 2: false accounting. (acquittal, due to the new law on false accounting passed in April 2002 by theBerlusconi II Cabinet which had the effect of decriminalizing the offence of false accounting.[278])
SME-Ariosto 2: false accounting.[279] (acquittal, due to the new law on false accounting passed in April 2002 by theBerlusconi II Cabinet which had the effect of decriminalizing the offence.[278])[279]
Other acquittals
SME-Ariosto 1: bribes to the judges Renato Squillante(600 millionlira) and Filippo Verde(750 million lira), swaying them to rule in favor of Berlusconi in a court case deciding to whomIRI should sell theSME company.[280] (First-instance: guilty of bribing Squillante but acquitted due to statute of limitations;[281]Appeal Court: Acquitted for complicity in the crime;[282]Supreme Court: Acquitted for complicity in the crime.[280])
Bribery of theGuardia di Finanza (Arces process): Payment of 380 million lira in bribes to three officers of the Guardia di Finanza engaged in tax audits, convincing them to "turn the blind eye" againsttax frauds committed by 4Fininvest owned companies:Videotime(1989),Arnoldo Mondadori Editore(1991),Mediolanum(1992) andTELE+(1994).[283] (First-instance: 2 years 9 months jail;[284]Appeal Court: statute of limitations for the first 3 cases, acquittal for the fourth (not proven);[285]Supreme Court: full acquittal for all 4 cases;[283] In 2010, the Supreme Court noted through its ruling in theBribery of lawyerDavid Mills to commit perjury case, that his false testimony had resulted in an incorrect acquittal for the charges against Silvio Berlusconi in theArces process.[286] But when considering the statute of limitations now apply for all four charges in the case, the judicial system did not find it appropriate to reopen the case)
Medusa Film company purchase: false accounting equal to 10bn lira (€5.2 million), which were secretly transferred to Berlusconi's private bank accounts in 1988.[287] (First-instance: 1 year and 4 months imprisonment;[288]Appeal Court: Full acquittal;[288]Supreme Court: Full acquittal,[289] as he was too rich to be aware of such small amounts[290])
Macherio estate land acquisitions 2: embezzlement, tax evasion, false accounting for the companyIdra.[291] (Appeal Court: full acquittal for all three charges)[292]
Mediatrade investigation (Milan): tax evasion and embezzlement from TV-rights traded by the companyMediatrade in 1999–02; a subcase of Mediaset Trial 1+2.[293] (Preliminary hearing: full acquittal;[294][295]Supreme Court: full acquittal[296])
Mediatrade investigation (Rome): €10 million tax evasion from TV-rights traded by the companyMediatrade in 2003–4; a subcase of Mediaset Trial 1+2.[297] (Preliminary hearing: Statute of limitations for 2003 offences and full acquittal for 2004 offences;[298]Supreme Court: appeal was rejected as inadmissible[299])
RAI-Fininvest advertising cartel: Berlusconi was through his status as upcomingPrime Minister accused ofextortion towardsRAI in September 1993, in the attempt of convincing them to sign acartel agreement on the advertising shares between RAI and the Fininvest TV networks, to get softer competition and higher prices.[302] (Preliminary hearing: The judge ruled the case to be archived due to insufficient amounts of evidence)[302]
Drug trafficking:
Tax bribery on Pay-TV:
Mafia bombings of 1992–1993: Investigations dropped due to lack of evidence. Close associateMarcello Dell'Utri was convicted of collusion with the Mafia, but this was later overturned.[303]
Connection to the Mafia: Defendant together withMarcello Dell'Utri for money laundering.
Saccà case: Bribery and attempted bribery.
State flights: Abuse in the use of flight status.
Defamation by use of TV-medium: Defamation aggravated by the use of the television medium.
Trani investigation: Abuse of office for the President of the pressures on theAGCOM.
All Iberian 1: 23 billionlira (€11.9 million) bribe toBettino Craxi via anoffshore bank account code-named All Iberian. (First-instance: 2 years 4-month jail;Appeal Court: acquitted since the statute of limitations expired before the appeal)
Bribery of lawyerDavid Mills: to make a false testimony in the two processesAll Iberian andBribery of the Guardia di Finanza.[305] (Statute of limitation acquittal)[306][307]
Abuse of office in theBancopoli/Unipol affair: concerning the illegal publication of wiretapped conversations in a family newspaper in 2005.[308] (First-instance: 1-year jail + €80,000 compensatory damage payment toPiero Fassino;[309][310][311]Appeal Court: Acquittal due to statute of limitations, but upheld the compensatory payment.[312][313])
Time limits extinct crimes, due to a changed law
Lentini affair: false accounting. (guilty, but acquitted due to a reduced statute of limitations in a new false accounting law passed by the Berlusconi government)
Fininvest financial statements in 1988–1992: false accounting and embezzlement. (guilty, but acquitted due to a reduced statute of limitations in a new false accounting law passed by the Berlusconi government)
Fininvest consolidated financial statements: false accounting. (guilty, but acquitted due to a reduced statute of limitations in a new false accounting law passed by the Berlusconi government)
Mediaset trial 1: onfalse accounting andembezzlement committed in 1988–94 for the company Fininvest SpA.[272] (indicted in 2005, but in 2007, the charges were declined ahead of the first-instance court trial, due to statute of limitations)[272]
Amnesty extinct crimes
Propaganda Due (P2)Masonic Lodge trial: committedperjury when he testified in a later libel court trial filed against three journalists in 1989, that he had only joined the P2 lodge shortly before it was revealed as illegal without even paying entry fee; which was contradicted by evidence that he had been a paying member for 3 years.[314] (Appeal Court: guilty, but offense was pardoned by an amnesty law passed in 1989)[314]
Macherio estate land acquisitions 1: false accounting for the companyBuonaparte.[291] (guilty, but amnesty applied following the 1992 fiscal remission law)[292]
Ongoing trials
Bribery of senators supporting the Prodi government:Sergio De Gregorio and other senators bribed in 2006, to topple theProdi government. (First-instance: court trial began on 11 February 2014)[315][316]
Defamation againstAntonio Di Pietro: who was accused during a 2008 election campaign of having obtained his educational degree thanks to the secret services. (In June 2013 theConstitutional Court ruled that the Italian constitution did not grant parliamentarians absolute immunity for spoken words during election campaigns. This ruling allow for Berlusconi's previously halted court case now to be re-opened by the Constitutional Court to judge the merits of the case.[317][318] The case will however be suspended until the affiliated case against theItalian Chamber of Deputies, where two courts asked for annulment of its 22 September 2010 decree granting Berlusconi absolute parliamentary immunity, has been judged.[319][320][321] On 18 July 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled the decree indeed was unconstitutional and annulled it; meaning that the civil court proceedings against Berlusconi now can continue.[322][323])
Notes:
^Thestatute of limitations vary from case to case, as it is calculated according to the maximum penalty for the criminal code referred to by the indictment. If proceedings gets delayed due to circumstances not being caused by the court system, the limitation period can be extended up till maximum 25%. In addition, the limitation period can also be extended if the judge conclude presence of "specificaggravating circumstances" due to repeated relapse of committing specific crimes. In rare cases, the limitation period can also be reduced due toextenuating circumstances. "If the application of the statute of limitations due to terminate shall be a result of the granting of extenuating circumstances, the judgment is characterized by a prior acknowledgment of guilt of the accused and is a source of injury to him."[304]
Berlusconi was involved in many controversies andover 20 court cases during his political career, including being sentenced to four years' imprisonment and a five-year ban from public office by the Court of Appeals for €7M tax evasion (and €280Mslush fund) on 8 May 2013, confirmed by theCourt of Cassation on 1 August 2013.[10][324] Due toa general pardon, his imprisonment was reduced to one year,[10] which due to his age could be served either as a house arrest or as community service.[325]
On 24 June 2013, Berlusconi was found guilty of paying an underage prostitute for sex, and of abusing his powers in an ensuing cover up. He was sentenced to seven years in jail, and banned from public office for life. He was acquitted from the sex charges by the Italy appeals court on Friday, 18 July 2014.[326][327]
Economic conflicts of interest
According to journalistsMarco Travaglio andEnzo Biagi, Berlusconi entered politics to save his companies from bankruptcy and himself fromconvictions.[328] Berlusconi's supporters hailed him as the "novus homo",[329] an outsider who was going to bring a new efficiency to the publicbureaucracy and reform the state from top to bottom.[330]
Berlusconi was investigated for forty different inquests in less than two years.[331]
Berlusconi's governments passed laws that shortenedstatutory terms for tax fraud. Romano Prodi, who defeated Berlusconi in 2006, claimed that these weread personam laws, meant to solve Berlusconi's problems and defend his interests.[332][333][334][335]
Berlusconi's extensive control over the media was widely criticised by some analysts,[336] some press freedom organisations, and extensively by several Italian newspapers, national and private TV channels, by opposition leaders and in general members of opposition parties, who allege that Italy's media haslimited freedom of expression. However such coverage of the complaint in practice put under discussion the point of the complaint itself. TheFreedom of the Press 2004 Global Survey, an annual study issued by the American organisationFreedom House, downgraded Italy's ranking from 'Free' to 'Partly Free'[337] due to Berlusconi's influence over RAI, a ranking which, in "Western Europe" was shared only with Turkey (as of 2005[update]).Reporters Without Borders states that in 2004, "The conflict of interests involving Prime Minister Berlusconi and his vast media empire was still not resolved and continued to threaten news diversity."[338] In April 2004, theInternational Federation of Journalists joined the criticism, objecting to the passage of a law vetoed byCarlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2003, which critics believe was designed to protect Berlusconi's reported 90% control of the Italian national media.[339]
Berlusconi's influence over RAI became evident when inSofia, Bulgaria he expressed his views on journalistsEnzo Biagi andMichele Santoro,[340] and comedianDaniele Luttazzi. Berlusconi said that they "use television as a criminal means of communication". They lost their jobs as a result.[341] This statement was called by critics "Editto Bulgaro".[342]
The TV broadcasting of a satirical programme calledRAIot was censored in November 2003 after the comedianSabina Guzzanti made outspoken criticism of the Berlusconi media empire.[343] Mediaset, one of Berlusconi's companies, sued RAI over Guzzanti's program, demanding 20 million euros for "damages";[344] in November 2003 the show was cancelled by the president of RAI, Lucia Annunziata.[345] The details of the event were made into aMichael Moore-style documentary calledViva Zapatero!, which was produced by Guzzanti.[346]
Berlusconi owned viaMediaset 3 of 7 national TV channels: (Canale 5,Italia 1, andRete 4). Mediaset stated that it uses the same criteria as the public (state-owned) televisionRAI in assigning a proper visibility to all the most important political parties and movements (the so-called 'Par Condicio')—which has been since often disproved.[347][348]Enrico Mentana, the news anchor long seen as a guarantor of Canale 5's independence, walked out in April 2008, saying that he no longer felt "at home in a group that seems like an electoral campaign committee".[349]
On 24 June 2009, Berlusconi during theConfindustria young members congress inSanta Margherita Ligure, Italy invited the advertisers to interrupt or boycott the advertising contracts with the magazines and newspapers published byGruppo Editoriale L'Espresso,[350] in particularla Repubblica and the newsmagazineL'espresso, calling the publishing group "shameless",[350] claiming that it was fuelling the economic crisis by discussing it extensively and accusing it of making a "subversive attack" against him.[351] The publishing group announced it would begin legal proceedings against Berlusconi, given the "criminal and civil relevance" of his remarks.[351]
In October 2009,Reporters Without Borders secretary-generalJean-François Julliard [fr] declared that Berlusconi "is on the verge of being added to our list of Predators of Press Freedom", which would be a first for a European leader. He also added that Italy will probably be ranked last in the European Union in the upcoming edition of the RWBpress freedom index.[352]
Criticism byThe Economist
One of Berlusconi's strongest critics in the media outside Italy was the British weeklyThe Economist (nicknamed"The Ecommunist" by Berlusconi, despite the magazine's association withmarket liberalism),[353] which in its issue of 26 April 2001 carried a title on its front cover, 'Why Silvio Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy'.[354] The war of words between Berlusconi andThe Economist gained notoriety, with Berlusconi taking the publication to court in Rome andThe Economist publishing letters against him.[355] The magazine claimed that the documentation contained in its article proved that Berlusconi was 'unfit' for office[356] because of his numerous conflicts of interest. ViaFininvest, Berlusconi claimed the article contained "a series of old accusations" that was an "insult to truth and intelligence".[357]
According toThe Economist's findings, Berlusconi, while prime minister, retained in effective control of 90% of all national television broadcasting. This figure included stations he owned directly as well as those over which he had indirect control by dint of his position as prime minister and his ability to influence the choice of the management bodies of these stations.The Economist also claimed that Berlusconi was corrupt and self-serving. A key journalist forThe Economist, David Lane, set out many of these charges in his bookBerlusconi's Shadow.[358]
Lane points out that Berlusconi had not defended himself in court against the main charges, but had relied upon political and legal manipulations, most notably by changing the statute of limitation to prevent charges being completed in the first place. To publicly prove the truth of the documented accusations contained in their articles, the magazine publicly challenged Berlusconi to sueThe Economist for libel. Berlusconi did so,[359] losing versusThe Economist, and being charged for all the trial costs on 5 September 2008, when the Court in Milan issued a judgment rejecting all Berlusconi's claims and sentenced him to compensate forThe Economist's legal expenses.[360][361]
In June 2011,The Economist published a strong article referring to Berlusconi as "The man who screwed an entire country".[362]
On some occasions, laws passed by the Berlusconi administration have effectively delayed ongoing trials involving him. For example, the law reducing punishment for all cases of false accounting and the law onlegitimate suspicion, which allowed defendants to request their cases to be moved to another court if they believe that the local judges are biased against them. Because of these legislative actions, political opponents accuse Berlusconi of passing these laws for the purpose of protecting himself from legal charges.La Repubblica, for example, sustained that Berlusconi passed 17 different laws which have advantaged himself.[363] Berlusconi and his allies, on the other hand, maintained that such laws were consistent with everyone's right to a rapid and just trial, and with the principle of "presumption of innocence" (garantismo); furthermore, they claimed that Berlusconi was being subjected to a political "witch hunt",orchestrated by certain (allegedly left-wing) judges.[364][365]
Berlusconi and his government quarrelled with the Italian judiciary often. His administration attempted to pass a judicial reform intended to limit the flexibility of judges and magistrates in their decision-making. Critics said it would instead limit the magistracy's independence byde facto subjecting the judiciary to the executive's control. The reform was met by almost unanimous dissent from the Italian judges, but was passed by the Italian parliament in December 2004. It was vetoed by the Italian President,Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.[366][367]
During the night hours between 5 and 6 March 2010, the Berlusconi-led Italian government passed a decree "interpreting" the electoral law to let the PDL candidate run for governor in Lazio after she had failed to properly register for the elections. The Italian Constitution states that electoral procedures can only be changed in Parliament, and must not be changed by governmental decree. Italy's president, whose endorsement of the decree was required by law, said that the measure taken by the government may not violate the Constitution.[368][369]
Accusations of links to the Mafia
Berlusconi, to solve his problems, has to solve ours.
Berlusconi was never tried on charges relating to theSicilian Mafia, although several Mafia turncoats have stated that Berlusconi had connections with the Sicilian criminal association. The claims arise mostly from the hiring ofVittorio Mangano, who was accused of being amafioso, as a gardener and stable-man at Berlusconi's Villa San Martino inArcore, a small town near Milan. It was Berlusconi's friendMarcello Dell'Utri who introduced Mangano to Berlusconi in 1973.[371][372] Berlusconi denied any ties to the Mafia. Marcello Dell'Utri even stated that the Mafia did not exist at all.[373]
In 2004, Dell'Utri, co-founder ofForza Italia, was sentenced to nine years by aPalermo court on charge of "external association to the Mafia",[372][374] a sentence describing Dell'Utri as a mediator between the economic interests of Berlusconi and members of the criminal organisation. Berlusconi refused to comment on the sentence. In 2010, Palermo's appeals court cut the sentence to seven years, but fully confirmed Dell'Utri's role as a link between Berlusconi and the Mafia until 1992.[375]
In 1996, a Mafia informer,Salvatore Cancemi, declared that Berlusconi and Dell'Utri were in direct contact withSalvatore Riina, head of theSicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 1990s. Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafiosoVittorio Mangano, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (between 100,000 and 200,000 of today's euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular reforming the harsh41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in return for political favours.[376] After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi's allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi's alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996.[371]
According to yet another Mafia turncoat,Antonino Giuffrè—arrested on 16 April 2002—the Mafia turned to Berlusconi'sForza Italia party to look after the Mafia's interests, after the decline in the early 1990s of the rulingChristian Democratic party, whose leaders in Sicily looked after the Mafia's interests in Rome.[377][378] Dell'Utri was the go-between on a range of legislative efforts to ease pressure on mafiosi in exchange for electoral support, according to Giuffrè. "Dell'Utri was very close to Cosa Nostra and a very good contact point for Berlusconi", he said.[379] Giuffrè also said that Berlusconi himself used to be in touch withStefano Bontade, a top Mafia boss, in the mid-1970s.[380] Berlusconi's lawyer dismissed Giuffrè's testimony as "false" and an attempt to discredit Berlusconi and his party. Giuffrè said that other Mafia representatives who were in contact with Berlusconi included the Palermo Mafia bosses Filippo Graviano andGiuseppe Graviano.[381] Dell'Utri's lawyer, Enrico Trantino, dismissed Giuffrè's allegations as an "anthology of hearsay".[380]
In October 2009,Gaspare Spatuzza, a Mafioso turncoat, confirmed Giuffrè's statements. Spatuzza testified that his boss Giuseppe Graviano had told him in 1994, that Berlusconi was bargaining with the Mafia, concerning a political-electoral agreement between Cosa Nostra and Berlusconi's Forza Italia. Dell'Utri was the intermediary, according to Spatuzza. Dell'Utri has dismissed Spatuzza's allegations as "nonsense". Berlusconi's lawyer and MP for the PdL,Niccolò Ghedini said that "the statements given by Spatuzza about prime minister Berlusconi are baseless and can be in no way verified".[382]
After the11 September 2001 attacks in New York City, Berlusconi said: "We must be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a system that has guaranteed well-being, respect for human rights and—in contrast with Islamic countries—respect for religious and political rights, a system that has as its value understanding of diversity and tolerance."[383][384] This declaration caused an uproar, not only in the Arab and Muslim world, but also all around Europe, including Italy.[385] Subsequently, Berlusconi told the press: "We are aware of the crucial role of moderate Arab countries... I am sorry that words that have been misunderstood have offended the sensitivity of my Arab and Muslim friends."[386]
Right-to-die case
After the family ofEluana Englaro (who had been comatose for 17 years) succeeded in having herright to die recognised by the judges and getting doctors to start the process of allowing her to die in the way established by the court, Berlusconi issued a decree to stop the doctor from letting her die. Stating that, "This is murder. I would be failing to rescue her. I'm not aPontius Pilate." Berlusconi went on to defend his decision by claiming that she was "in the condition to have babies", arguing that comatose women were still subject tomenstruation.[387]
During his long career asPrime Minister, Berlusconi had to deal withmassive immigration from the coast of North Africa. To limitillegal immigration, theBerlusconi's government promulgated theBossi-Fini law in 2002.[388] The law provides the expulsion, issued by the Prefect of the Province where an illegal foreign immigrant is found, and is immediately performed with the assistance at the border of thepolice.[389][390] The standard allows the repatriation to the country of origin on the high seas, on the basis of bilateral agreements between Italy and neighbouring countries. If the illegal immigrant ships dock on Italian soil, the identification of those entitled topolitical asylum and the supply of medical treatment and care is undertaken by the marine police force. The law had been criticised by the centre-left opposition[389][390] and theEuropean Parliament.[391]
Berlusconi developed a reputation for making insensitive remarks.[392] On 2 July 2003, Berlusconi suggested that GermanSocial democraticMEPMartin Schulz, who had criticised his domestic policies, should play aNaziconcentration campguard in a film.[393] Berlusconi insisted that he was joking, but accused Schulz and others of being "bad-willing tourists of democracy". This incident caused a brief cooling of Italy's relationship with Germany.[394]
Addressing traders at theNew York Stock Exchange in September 2003, Berlusconi listed a series of reasons to invest in Italy, the first of which was that "we have the most beautiful secretaries in the world". This remark resulted in remonstration among female members of parliament, who took part in a one-day cross-party protest.[395]
In 2003, during an interview with Nicholas Farrell, then editor ofThe Spectator, Berlusconi claimed that Mussolini "had been a benign dictator who did not murder opponents but sent them 'on holiday'".[222] In 2013, he returned to calling Mussolini a good leader whose biggest mistake was signing up to exterminate the Jews.[226]
Berlusconi had made disparaging remarks aboutFinnish cuisine during negotiations to decide on the location of theEuropean Food Safety Authority in 2001. He caused further offence in 2005 when he claimed that during the negotiations he had had to "dust off his playboy charms" to persuade the Finnish president,Tarja Halonen, to concede that the EFSA should be based inParma instead of Finland, and compared Finnish smokedreindeer unfavourably toculatello.[396] One of Berlusconi's ministers later 'explained' the comment by saying that "anyone who had seen a picture of Halonen must have been aware that he had been joking". Halonen took the incident in good humour, retorting that Berlusconi had "overestimated his persuasion skills".[397]
In March 2006, Berlusconi alleged that Chinese communists underMao Zedong had "boiled [children] to fertilise the fields".[398] His opponentRomano Prodi criticised Berlusconi for offending the Chinese people and called his comments 'unthinkable'.[399]
Berlusconi salutes the crowd on theEPP summit in 2009.
In the run-up to the2008 Italian general election, Berlusconi was accused ofsexism for saying that female politicians from the right were "more beautiful" and that "the left has no taste, even when it comes to women".[400] In 2008 Berlusconi criticised the composition of the Council of Ministers of theSpanish Government as being too 'pink' by virtue of the fact that it had (once the President of the Council,José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is counted) an equal number of men and women. He also stated that he doubted that such a composition would be possible in Italy given the "prevalence of men" in Italian politics.[401]
Also in 2008, Berlusconi caused controversy at a joint press conference with Russian presidentVladimir Putin. When a journalist from the Russian paperNezavisimaya Gazeta asked a question about Putin's personal relationships, Berlusconi made a gesture towards the journalist imitating a gunman shooting.[402]
On 6 November 2008, two days afterBarack Obama was elected the first black US president, Berlusconi referred to Obama as "young, handsome and even tanned":[403][404][405] On 26 March 2009 he said, "I'm paler [than Mr Obama], because it's been so long since I went sunbathing. He's more handsome, younger and taller."[406]
On 24 January 2009, Berlusconi announced his aim to increase the number of military patrolling the Italian cities from 3,000 to 30,000 to crack down on what he called an "evil army" of criminals. Responding to a female journalist who asked him if this tenfold increase in patrolling soldiers would be enough to secure Italian women from being raped, he said, "We could not field a big enough force to avoid this risk [of rape]. We would need as many soldiers as beautiful women and I don't think that would be possible, because our women are so beautiful." Opposition leaders called the remarks insensitive and in bad taste. Berlusconi retorted that he had merely wanted to compliment Italian women. Other critics accused him of creating apolice state.[407]
Two days after the2009 L'Aquila earthquake, Berlusconi suggested that people left homeless should view their experience as a camping weekend.[408]
In October 2010, Berlusconi was chastised by the Vatican newspaperL'Osservatore Romano after he was filmed telling "offensive and deplorable jokes", including one whose punchline was similar to one of the gravestblasphemies in the Italian language. It was also revealed he had made another antisemitic joke a few days previously. Berlusconi responded to the allegations by saying the jokes were "neither an offence nor a sin, but merely a laugh".[409]
Berlusconi jokes with Russian presidentDmitry Medvedev in 2010.
On 1 November 2010, after once again being accused of involvement in juvenile prostitution, he suggested that an audience at the Milan trade fair should stop reading newspapers: "Don't read newspapers any more because they deceive you. ... I am a man who works hard all day long and if sometimes I look at some good-looking girl, it's better to be fond of pretty girls than to be gay."[410] The remarks were immediately condemned byArcigay, Italy's maingay rights organisation.[411]
On 13 July 2011, according to a leaked telephone surveillance transcript, Berlusconi told his presumedblackmailer Valter Lavitola: "The only thing they can say about me is that I screw around ... Now they're spying on me, controlling my phone calls. I don't give a fuck. In a few months ... I'll be leaving this shit country that makes me sick."[412]
On 27 January 2013, on the occasion of theHolocaust Remembrance Day, Berlusconi said the Italianfascist dictatorBenito Mussolini, except forpassing anti-Jewish laws in 1938, only had done "good things" for Italy; and also said Mussolini from a strategic point of view did the right thing in siding withAdolf Hitler duringWorld War II, because Hitler at the point of time when the alliance was made had appeared to be winning the war.[413]
Berlusconi's career as an entrepreneur was also often questioned by his detractors. The allegations made against him generally included suspicions about the extremely rapid increase of his activity in the construction industry in the years 1961–63, hinting at the possibility that in those years he received money from unknown and possibly illegal sources. These accusations were regarded by Berlusconi and his supporters as emptyslander, trying to undermine Berlusconi's reputation as aself-made man.
Also frequently cited by opponents are events dating to the 1980s, including supposed "exchanges of favours" between Berlusconi andBettino Craxi, the former Socialist prime minister and leader of theItalian Socialist Party convicted in 1994, for various corruption charges. The Milan magistrates who indicted and successfully convicted Craxi in their "Clean Hands" investigation laid bare an entrenched system in which businessmen paid hundreds of millions of dollars to political parties or individual politicians in exchange for sweetheart deals with Italian state companies and the government itself.[414] Berlusconi acknowledged a personal friendship with Craxi.[415]
Freedom Army
On 28 May 2013, Berlusconi and his entourage launched an online initiative which consisted of the recruitment of volunteers, who are available to defend Berlusconi from the convictions ofMilan's prosecutors, who were dealing with his trials,[416] and whom Berlusconi often accused of beingcommunists andanti-democratic.[417]
Simone Furlan, the creator of the Freedom Army, said in an interview: "There comes a time in life, when you realize that fighting for an ideal is no longer a choice but an obligation. We civil society we were helpless spectators of the 'War of the Twenty Years' which saw Berlusconi fight and defend against slanderous accusations of all kinds, the result of a judicial persecution without precedent in history."[418] This initiative, launched asFreedom Army, has been immediately nicknamed "Silvio's Army" by the media, and was condemned by theDemocratic Party, theFive Star Movement andLeft Ecology Freedom.[419]
Wiretaps and accusations of corruption
In December 2007, the audio recording of a phone call between Berlusconi, then leader of the opposition, and Agostino Saccà (general director ofRAI) was published by the magazineL'Espresso and caused a scandal in the media.[420] The wiretap was part of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor Office ofNaples, where Berlusconi was investigated for corruption.[421]
In the phone call, Saccà expresses words of impassioned political support to Berlusconi and criticises the behaviour of Berlusconi's allies. Berlusconi urges Saccà to broadcast a telefilm series which was strongly advocated by his allyUmberto Bossi. Saccà laments that many people have spread rumours about this agreement causing problems for him. Then Berlusconi asks Saccà to find a job in RAI for a young woman explicitly telling him that this woman would serve as an asset in a secret exchange with a senator of the majority who would help him to cause Prodi, with his administration, to fall.[422][clarification needed] After the publication of these wiretaps, Berlusconi was accused by other politicians and by some journalists of political corruption through the exploitation of prostitution. In his own defence, Berlusconi said: "In the entertainment world everybody knows that, in certain situations in RAI TV you work only if you prostitute yourself or if you are leftist. I have intervened on behalf of some personalities who are not leftists and have been completely set apart by RAI TV."[423] In theState Department's 2011 Trafficking in Persons report authorised by US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, Berlusconi was explicitly named as a person involved in the "commercial sexual exploitation of a Moroccan child".[424][425]
At the end of April 2009, Berlusconi's wifeVeronica Lario, who would divorce him several years later, wrote an open letter expressing her anger at Berlusconi's choice of young, attractive female candidates—some with little or no political experience—to represent the party in the2009 European Parliament elections. Berlusconi demanded a public apology, claiming that for the third time, his wife had "done this to me in the middle of an election campaign", and stated that there was little prospect of his marriage continuing.[426] On 3 May, Lario announced she was filing for divorce.[427][428] She claimed that Berlusconi had not attended his own sons' 18th birthday parties, and that she "cannot remain with a man who consorts with minors" and "is not well".[429][430]
Noemi Letizia, the girl in question, gave interviews to the Italian press, revealing that she calls Berlusconipapi ('daddy'), that they often spent time together in the past, and that Berlusconi would take care of her career as showgirl or politician, whichever she opted to pursue.[431] Berlusconi claimed that he knew Letizia only through her father and that he never met her alone without her parents.[432]
On 14 May,la Repubblica published an article alleging many inconsistencies in Berlusconi's story and asked him to answer ten questions to clarify the situation.[432][433]
Ten days later, Letizia's ex-boyfriend, Luigi Flaminio, claimed that Berlusconi had contacted Letizia personally in October 2008 and said she had spent a week without her parents at Berlusconi's Sardinian villa around New Year's Eve 2009,[434] a fact confirmed later by her mother.[435] On 28 May 2009, Berlusconi said that he had never had "spicy" relations with Letizia, and said that if any such thing had occurred, he would have resigned immediately.[436]
On 17 June 2009, Patrizia D'Addario, a 42-year-old escort and retired actress[437] fromBari, Italy, claimed that she had been recruited twice to spend the evening with Berlusconi.[438] Berlusconi denied any knowledge of D'Addario being a paid escort: "I have never paid a woman... I have never understood what satisfaction there is if the pleasure of conquest is absent."[439] He also accused an unspecified person of manoeuvring and bribing D'Addario.[440]
On 26 June 2009, the "ten questions" to Berlusconi were reformulated byla Repubblica, and subsequently republished multiple times.[441] On 28 August 2009, Berlusconi suedGruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, the owner company of the newspaper, and classified the ten questions as "defamatory" and "rhetorical".[442]
Berlusconi's lifestyle raised eyebrows in Catholic circles, with vigorous criticism being expressed in particular byAvvenire, owned by theEpiscopal Conference of Italy. This was followed by the publication in the newspaperil Giornale (owned by the Berlusconi family) of details with regard to legal proceedings against the editor ofAvvenire, Dino Boffo, which seemed to implicate him for a harassment case against the wife of his ex-partner.[443] Dino Boffo has always declared the details of the proceedings to be false, although he has not denied the basic premise.[444]
After a period of tense exchanges and polemics, Boffo resigned from his editorial position on 3 September 2009,[445][446] and the assistant editorMarco Tarquinio became editorad interim.[447]
During a contested[448][449] episode ofAnnoZero on 1 October 2009, the journalist and presenterMichele Santoro interviewed Patrizia D'Addario.[450] She stated she was contacted by Giampaolo Tarantini—a businessman from Bari—who already knew her and requested her presence at Palazzo Grazioli with "the President".[451] D'Addario also stated that Berlusconi knew that she was a paid escort.[452]
Shots of Porto Rotondo
The attention of the newspapers was later attracted by photos that the photographerAntonello Zappadu had taken on several occasions; some document a vacation in May 2008 in Berlusconi's summer residence inPorto Rotondo [it], where Czech prime ministerMirek Topolánek appears naked,[453] and during the party young girls in bikinis or topless.[454] On 5 June 2009,El País published 5 of the 700 photos of the party.[455] On recommendations from Berlusconi, the Rome Prosecutor's Office seized the photographic material for violation of privacy.[456]
In November 2010, 17-year-old Moroccanbelly dancer and alleged prostitute Karima El Mahroug, better known as Ruby Rubacuori, claimed to have been given $10,000 by Berlusconi at parties at his private villas. The girl told prosecutors in Milan that these events were like orgies where Berlusconi and 20 young women performed an African-style ritual known as the "bunga bunga" in the nude.[457][458]
It was also found out that, on 27 May 2010, El Mahroug had been arrested for theft by the Milan police but (being still a minor) she was directed to a shelter for juvenile offenders. After a couple of hours, while she was being questioned, Berlusconi, who was at the time in Paris, called the head of the police in Milan and pressured for her release, claiming the girl was related toHosni Mubarak, thenPresident of Egypt, and that to avoid a diplomatic crisis, she was to be brought to the custody of Nicole Minetti. Following repeated telephone calls by Berlusconi to the police authorities, El Mahroug was eventually released and entrusted to Minetti's care.[459]
MP Gaetano Pecorella proposed to lower theage of majority in Italy to solve the case.[461] Minetti was known for previous associations with Berlusconi, having danced forColorado Cafe, a show on one ofBerlusconi's TV channels, and onScorie, an Italian version ofCandid Camera. In November 2009 she became a dental hygienist, and shortly afterward treated Berlusconi for two broken teeth and facial injuries after he wasattacked with a marble statue at a political rally.[462][463] In February 2010, she was selected as one of the candidates representing Berlusconi'sThe People of Freedom party, despite her lack of any political experience, and was seated on theRegional Council of Lombardy the following month.[464][465]
The Guardian reported that according to a series of media reports in October 2010, Berlusconi had met El Mahroug, then 17, through Nicole Minetti. Mahroug insisted that she had not slept with the then 74-year-old prime minister. She told Italian newspapers that she merely attended dinner at his mansion near Milan. El Mahroug said she sat next to Berlusconi, who later took her upstairs and gave her an envelope containing €7,000. She said he also gave her jewellery.[464]
Berlusconi came under fire for reportedly spending $1.8 million in state funds fromRai Cinema to further the career of a largely unknown Bulgarian actress, Michelle Bonev. The fact that this coincided with severe cuts being made to the country's arts budget provoked a strong reaction from the public.[466]
In January 2011, Berlusconi was placed under criminal investigation relating to El Mahroug for allegedly having sex with an underage prostitute and for abuse of office relating to her release from detention.[467] On 15 February 2011, a judge indicted Berlusconi to stand trial on charges carrying up to 15 years in prison.[468][469] The fast-track trial opened on 6 April and was adjourned until 31 May. El Mahroug's lawyer said that Mahroug would not be attaching herself to the case as a civil complainant and denies that she ever made herself available for money. Another alleged victim, Giorgia Iafrate, also decided not to be a party to the case.[470] In January 2013, judges rejected an application from Berlusconi's lawyers to have the trial adjourned so that it would not interfere with Italy's2013 general election in which Berlusconi participated.[471]
On 24 June 2013, Berlusconi was found guilty of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of abusing his office.[472] He was sentenced to seven years in prison, one more year than had been requested by the prosecution, and banned from public office for life.[472] Berlusconi appealed the sentence[473][472] and his conviction was quashed a year later, on 18 July 2014.[474]
In 2020,Wondery released a podcast about Berlusconi's rise and fall entitledBunga Bunga and hosted by comedienneWhitney Cummings.[475][476]
In April 2016, the Panama Papers scandal broke out; it was aleaked set of 11.5 millionconfidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service providerMossack Fonseca, including the identities of shareholders and directors of the companies. The documents show how wealthy individuals, including public officials, hid their assets from public scrutiny. Berlusconi was cited in the list, along with his long-time partner atAC Milan,Adriano Galliani.[477]
Health
On 13 December 2009, Berlusconi was hit in the face with a statuette ofMilan Cathedral after a rally in Milan'sPiazza del Duomo. The assailant was subsequently detained and identified as Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old surveyor with a history of mental illness but no criminal record.[478][479][480] Berlusconi suffered facial injuries, a broken nose and two broken teeth. He was subsequently hospitalised,[481] and was discharged on 17 December.[482]
On 7 June 2016, after the campaign for the2016 Italian local elections, Berlusconi was hospitalised at theSan Raffaele Hospital in Milan because of heart problems.[483] After two days, on 9 June, his personal doctor Alberto Zangrillo announced that the stroke could have killed him, and that he had to have heart surgery to replace a defectiveaortic valve.[484]
On 2 September 2020, amid theworldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Berlusconi tested positive forCOVID-19. He had had contact with businessmanFlavio Briatore, who had been hospitalised after contracting the virus,[485] and with his daughterBarbara and his son Luigi, who had also tested positive.[486] The following day, Berlusconi announced he was well and continuing to work; on the next day, 3 September, he was admitted to theSan Raffaele Hospital in Milan with bilateral pneumonia.[487][486][488] Alberto Zangrillo, head of intensive care at San Raffaele Hospital, said on 11 September 2020 that Berlusconi was admitted with a very high viral load, but that he was improving and his response to the disease had been "optimal".[489][490] On 14 September, he was discharged. Berlusconi described COVID-19 as "the most dangerous and frightening experience" of his life.[491][492] In May 2021, he was hospitalised due toCOVID-19 long-term consequences.[493]
In January 2022 Berlusconi was hospitalised for eight days to treat a severe urinary infection with strong antibiotic therapy. Due to hospitalisation, he was unable to participate in the presidential elections.[494]
On 27 March 2023, Berlusconi was admitted to San Raffaele Hospital for three days after suffering pains.[495] In April 2023, Berlusconi was hospitalised again at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan,[496] and was treated inintensive care after suffering breathing problems,[497][498] due to severe pneumonia caused bychronic myelomonocytic leukemia.[499] On 6 April, it was reported that Berlusconi had startedchemotherapy.[500] On 16 April, Berlusconi was transferred to a regular ward.[501] In May 2023, a video of Berlusconi was played at the Forza Italia party reassuring his supporters at the party's convention in Milan. In the video, Berlusconi stated that he was ready to return to work after being hospitalised for a month, and that he had never stopped working even while in hospital.[502] He was discharged from the hospital on 19 May, proclaiming "the nightmare" was over.[503]
A few hours after his death, Berlusconi's body was brought to Villa San Martino, Berlusconi's mansion inArcore, where helay in state in the villa's private chapel. Due to security reasons, only relatives and close friends could access thechapelle ardente.[507][508] The following day, aPrivate Mass in memory of the deceased was celebrated in the chapel by Father Giandomenico Colombo, a priest in charge of Arcore, at the presence of relatives and close friends.[509][510]
Berlusconi'sstate funeral was officiated in theAmbrosian Rite on 14 June in theMilan Cathedral byMario Delpini, the Archbishop of Milan.[511] Mons. Delpini delivered a homily on the meaning of life, mentioning some elements of Berlusconi's life (business, public life, politics), concluding that, "That's what we can say about Silvio Berlusconi: he was a man and nowhe will meet God."[512] The homily caused controversy and different interpretations: it was described as "icy" byIl Fatto Quotidiano,[513] while instead theCorriere della Sera described it as "a perfect portrait, devoid of any hypocrisy", noting that it was deeply appreciated by Berlusconi's family,[514] whileIl Foglio called it "a great homily".[515]Il Messaggero remarked that the homily was inspired by the theology of FatherLuigi Giussani, founder ofCommunion and Liberation.[516]
The funeral was attended by 2,300 people in the Cathedral and 15,000 people in the square outside of it.[517] Supporters of Berlusconi chantedC'è solo un presidente! ('There is only one president!') and applauded while the coffin was entering and then leaving the Cathedral.[518]Anti-communist chants were also reported.[519]
Following the religious function, Berlusconi's body was transferred back to Villa San Martino; then, he was transferred to the Tempio Crematorio Valenziano Panta Rei inAlessandria, where his body wascremated. His ashes were buried in the Chapel ofSaint Martin in the mansion, next to the tomb of his parents Luigi and Rosa, and his sister Maria Antonietta.[520]
Personal fortune
Villa San Martino,Arcore, nearMilan, the personal residence of Berlusconi
In 2012,Forbes magazine reported that Berlusconi was Italy's sixth-richest man, with a net worth of $5.9 billion. He held significant assets in television, newspapers, publishing, cinema, finance, banking, insurance, and sports.[521] However, in the summer of 2023, the Italian media estimated Berlusconi's legacy at only 4 billion euros.[522]
Berlusconi's main company,Mediaset, operates three national television channels, which in total cover half of the national television sector; andPublitalia [it], the leading Italian advertising and publicity agency. Berlusconi also owned a controlling stake inArnoldo Mondadori Editore, the largest Italian publishing house. His brother,Paolo Berlusconi, owns and operatesil Giornale, a centre-right newspaper that provides a pro-Berlusconi slant on Italian politics.Il Foglio, one of the most influential Italian right-wing newspapers, is partially owned by his former wife,Veronica Lario. After Lario sold some of her ownership in 2010, Paolo Berlusconi acquired a majority interest in the newspaper. Silvio Berlusconi founded and was the majorshareholder ofFininvest, which is among the largest private companies in Italy.[523] WithEnnio Doris he foundedMediolanum, one of the country's biggest banking and insurance groups. He had interests in cinema and home video distribution (Medusa Film and Penta Film). He also owned the football clubAC Milan from 1986 to 2017,[55] and ownedAC Monza since 2018.[524]
According to his will, Berlusconi bequeathed controlling shares ofFininvest to his two sons and three daughters, a sum of 100 million euros from his personal wealth to his domestic partner,Marta Fascina, another 100 million euros to his brotherPaolo Berlusconi and 30 million euros to his longstanding associate,Marcello Dell'Utri.[525]
Berlusconi: Condemned to Win, directed by Sam Blair, 2025 – Three-part documentary for ESPN's30 for 30 film series, examining how Berlusconi used his ownership of AC Milan as a launching pad for his political career.[558]
^"Silvio Berlusconi".Biography. A&E Television Networks. 2 April 2014. Archived fromthe original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved5 January 2019. Updated 26 February 2018.
^abcdefParks, Tim (24 August 2013)."Holding Italy Hostage".The New York Review of Books.Archived from the original on 25 October 2013. Retrieved6 September 2013.
^Rossi, Filippo (20 July 2011)."Sì, Berlusconi è un dittatore".Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian).Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved21 August 2022.
^ab"Silvio Berlusconi in pictures".The Daily Telegraph. 9 November 2011.Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved18 April 2018.A young Silvio Berlusconi is pictured singing on a cruise ship in the 1960s. Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936, and studied law in Milan, graduating in 1961. He occasionally performed as a cruise ship crooner, and later recorded two albums.
^Guarino, Mario.L'orgia del potere. Il Mulino.[The author] claimed that Berlusconi avoided military service because he was the first-born child in his family. However, this did not constitute reasonable grounds for exemption
^Friedman, Alan (2015). "The Deal Maker".Berlusconi: The Epic Story of the Billionaire Who Took Over Italy.Hachette Books.ISBN978-0-316-30196-1.Back in 1974, a key indicator of what could happen in the state-run television industry in Italy came in the form of an Italian Constitutional Court ruling [...]
^"Berlusconi Buys Italian Distributor".Variety. 29 April 1987. pp. 39–40.
^Altmeppen, Klaus-Dieter; Karmasin, Matthias (2003).Medien und Ökonomie (in German). VS Verlag. p. 153.Leo Kirch und Silvio Berlusconi setzten 1999 eine schon bewährte Zusammenarbeit fort, also sie mit der Gründung des Gemeinschaftsunternehmens Epsilon Group auf die Entwicklung eines europaweiten Rundfunkverbundes zielten
^Griffin, Roger (1996). "The 'Post-Fascism' of the Alleanza Nazionale: A Case Study in Ideological Morphology".Journal of Political Ideologies.1 (2):123–145.doi:10.1080/13569319608420733.ISSN1356-9317.AN's ideological tap-root is still thrust deep into historical Fascism ... retaining many Fascist core values.
^Hooper, John; Squires, Nick (10 November 2011)."The party's over".The Age. Melbourne. Archived fromthe original on 23 October 2013..The Age. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
^Tucker, Spencer C. (2010).The Encyclopedia of Middle East Wars: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts [5 volumes]: The United States in the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq Conflicts. ABC-CLIO. p. 609.ISBN9781851099481.
Berlusconi bankruptcy risks and legal investigation before entering politics:Mani pulite. La vera storia. Da Mario Chiesa a Silvio Berlusconi (Gianni Barbacetto, Peter Gomez andMarco Travaglio, 2002, Editori Riuniti,ISBN978-88-359-5241-1)(in Italian)
L'amico degli amici. (Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez, 2005, RCS MediaGroup,ISBN978-88-17-00707-8)(in Italian)
Gustau Navarro i BarbaBagasses, lladres i ministres al país de Berlusconi Edicions dels A.L.I.LL, Mataró, 2009.ISBN978-84-613-6192-2(in Catalan)
_cropped.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_08.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
