“Father of all populists”
Italy’s ex-prime minister Berlusconi is dead
06/12/2023, 10:40 am
The rise of Berlusconi in Italy begins with the building of a television empire. The right-wing populist was elected prime minister four times. The billionaire has now passed away at the age of 86.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died at the age of 86. This was confirmed by a spokesman for the politician and media entrepreneur. In the past few decades, the billionaire had determined his country’s politics like no other, but at the same time he was extremely polarizing. Between 1994 and 2011, Berlusconi was Prime Minister of Italy four times. He was also the owner of the football club AC Milan for many years. His party is currently in government.
The right-wing populist was taken to the San Raffaele clinic in Milan on Friday afternoon to undergo health checks related to his chronic leukemia. Berlusconi was only recently treated in the hospital in the northern Italian metropolis. He came to the clinic in early April for pneumonia and was also being treated for chronic leukemia. He was in intensive care for about two weeks. After a total of 45 days, he was able to leave the hospital.
“Jesus Christ of Politics”
Berlusconi was born on September 29, 1936. For the former Prime Minister Mario Monti, Berlusconi was the “father of all populists”; he once called himself “Jesus Christ of politics”. Again and again there were allegations of conflicts of interest between his office and the media empire Mediaset, which he controls. He also had to face numerous lawsuits.
He was expelled from parliament in 2013 in connection with a tax evasion fine and was banned from holding public office in the following years. He complained against it before the European Court of Human Rights. Most recently he was a member of the Senate, the smaller of the two chambers of parliament in Rome.
In March 2015, he was finally acquitted in the “Bunga-Bunga” trial for sex with underage prostitutes and abuse of office. Follow-up proceedings for bribery of witnesses also ended in acquittal. However, the conflicts with the law did not dampen his popularity with many Italians.
In the wake of the financial crisis, he finally had to resign as prime minister in 2011. Again and again he tried the political comeback for a top office. But the rushing return to the big stage did not succeed for the “Cavaliere” – even his last dream of becoming President burst in early 2022.
Always health problems
In terms of health, Berlusconi repeatedly had major health problems in his last years: in 2016 he had heart surgery, in 2020 he had to go to the hospital because of a corona infection and pneumonia. In 2022 he was also hospitalized for a urinary tract infection. In 1997 he underwent surgery for a prostate tumour. He had also had a pacemaker for several years.
His Forza Italia, which he had made the largest party in the 1994 parliamentary elections, continued to shrink in the boot state. This was also due to the fact that Berlusconi hardly allowed any political heirs and Forza Italia was always associated with his name. After all, she made it back into government as a small partner of Giorgia Meloni in autumn 2022.
In private, too, Berlusconi always made headlines. The twice-divorced politician leaves behind five children and many grandchildren. Most recently, he was with Forza Italia MP Marta Fascina, who was more than 50 years younger than Berlusconi.