Political demagogue, media tycoon and, to many, serial troublemaker.
At the age of 86, often outrageous former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, died on June 12 following a battle with leukaemia.
He leaves behind a legacy of scandal, mixed opinions, emotions, and achievements in both business and politics that are so numerous they are difficult to fit into a single obituary.
Love him or loathe him, in the face of all the controversy he attracted, there is, perhaps strangely, no doubt that he will be missed. Already, opinionists are rushing to put together ‘best of’ compilations of the late world leader’s most outlandish gaffes.
Berlusconi was born in 1936 in Milan to a middle-class family; his father a bank employee and his mother a housewife. Often touted as a ‘rags to riches’ story, Berlusconi originally worked as a cruise-ship crooner during his youth, before making his fortune in construction and real estate, helping to build the MilanDue residential complex. He soon moved on to establish his own television network, which began as a local Milanese station but grew to become the first privately-owned national network in Italy.
Berlusconismo first entered the Italian language in the 1980s as a word to describe this upbeat entrepreneurial spirit – although it would pick up many more connotations before the man’s time was out.
It was on the back of his status as a media mogul that Berlusconi was able to make his breakthrough into politics.
In 1994, he became the first person to have never held political office to be elected Prime Minister. While it would not be long before he was ousted, in the revolving-door of Italian governments and coalitions, Berlusconi would prove himself to be the system’s most able and flexible political operator. Today, he still holds the title of longest-serving post-war Italian Prime Minister.
His time on the centre stage has for sure left its mark internationally, causing headaches both for the European Union and world leaders alike. Without doubt, he was a political and social firebrand.
Among some of his widely-reported outrageous remarks was the incident where he informed top German politicians in the EU Parliament that he would be “perfect” to play the role of a concentration camp officer in a movie.
Another involved referring to then newly-elected US President Barack Obama as “handsome, young, and also suntanned”, while on a trip to Russia. During an EU leaders summit he made a “cuckold” gesture behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister.
Many of his interactions with former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, rank as his best known. On one occasion he kept her waiting for several minutes at a NATO summit while taking a phone call. Another time, he jumped out at her from behind a statue shouting “peekaboo”. Perhaps most notoriously, he referred to her in unrepeatable, sexually lurid terms.
However, Berlusconi’s relationship with the EU took a sharp downturn in the post-crash Euro crisis of the early 2010s. After locking horns with EU Commission President, José Barroso, the Italian parliament voted in a sweeping austerity programme that forced Berlusconi’s resignation, before bringing in the technocratic Monti cabinet. Many noted an increase in euro-scepticism after this episode.
Berlusconi’s personal life provided a never-ending feast of material for the tabloids of Italy and abroad.
Among some of the more notorious morsels was the allegation he slept with ladies of what might be called a ‘colourful’ background, perhaps most notably the Moroccan-Italian belly-dancer known as “Ruby the heart-stealer”.
And, of course, no biography of Berlusconi would be complete without mentioning the famous “Bunga Bunga” parties, which those who attended said verged on orgies.
He was pushed outside politics following his conviction for tax fraud but, while that was one of the few corruption allegations to stick, there were many, many more.
Still, even in his 80s, Berlusconi was hardly a man to be kept from the game – 2019 saw him making his triumphal return as an MEP. However, by that time forces further to his right had already outgunned him, including Matteo Salvini’s Lega party and later, current Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia.
But, incorrigible to the end, it could be argued he finally wreaked his revenge on EU technocracy. In early 2022, Italy’s right-wing parties assembled at his villa, planning to topple the Brussels-backed Mario Draghi-led government. Shortly after, the still-notorious octogenarian swept to victory with more than 50 per cent of the votes in a Senate race in the northern constituency of Monza.
Scandalous? Yes. Corrupt? Read the court cases.
But still there is something to be admired about the man and his indefatigable ability to overcome any outrage, any off-colour remark, simply through force of charisma and personality.
Whether in the halls of Brussels or Rome, the wisecracks, the pranks, the raunchy jokes, have all now gone quiet.
Bunga Bunga is no more.
