Italy and the Death of Silvio Berlusconi
Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
The former leader of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, died in Milan after suffering from several severe medical conditions. He died aged 86, but knowing that Italy is currently led by the first female Prime Minister of Italy – who also aspires to many of his ideas.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said he was “one of the most influential men in the history of Italy.”
Meloni continued, “Silvio Berlusconi was above all a fighter. He was a man who was never afraid to stand up for his convictions, and it was exactly that courage and determination that made him one of the most influential men in the history of Italy.”
The Deputy Prime Minister (Matteo Salvini) said Berlusconi was “a great friend and a great Italian man.”
The BBC reports, “A flamboyant billionaire media tycoon, Berlusconi first came to office in 1994 and led four governments until 2011.”
The Defense Minister of Italy (Guido Crosetto) said: “An era is over… Farewell Silvio.”
His doctors at San Raffaele Hospital informed the public that Berlusconi had a rare blood cancer. Accordingly, his lung infection and chronic myelomonocyte leukemia combined – and other ailments – accounted for his death.
The Guardian reports, “Forza Italia was founded in 1993. A year later, Berlusconi was the first prime minister to be elected without previously having held a government office. His second term in office, between 2001 and 2006, was the longest served by any Italian leader since the second world war. He returned to power in 2008 but was forced to resign in 2011 amid an acute debt crisis.”
Elly Schlein, the Secretary of the Center-left Democratic party, Elly Schlein, said: “Everything has divided us and divides us from his political vision, but the human respect to a person who was a protagonist of our country’s history remains… The Deepest condolences from the Democratic party.’’
Berlusconi was blighted by various scandals that entailed the love-hate reality of his leadership: his influence in Italian politics long after his last term in office also continued to divide the electorate until the announcement of his death.
Reuters reports, “Brash, ebullient and a self-made billionaire, four-time prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was a media mogul and political showman whose financial and sexual scandals made him the most polarising figure in modern Italy.”
Berlusconi said, “Politics was never my passion. It made me lose a lot of time and energy. If I entered the ring, it was just to prevent the communists from taking power.”
Italians today – his supporters and enemies – all understand his significance in Italian politics since he first rose to influence in the early 1990s.
Lee Jay Walker says, “Indeed, with Meloni in power – he died knowing that the next generation on the right of politics is still a potent force in Italian politics.”
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