Two prominent Mediaset journalists have challenged the Berlusconi family, adding momentum to an ongoing debate about a possible strategic shift in their political and media influence— from a traditional centre-right stance towards a more liberal and progressive orientation.
If confirmed, such a change could have a significant impact on Italian politics because the Berlusconi family holds considerable influence over Forza Italia, one of the three parties in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing governing coalition, as well as over Mediaset’s television networks. These have historically given broad visibility to conservative voices and amplified their reach among the public.
The controversy was further fuelled by Mario Giordano, a well-known Mediaset presenter, who spoke at a League rally in Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, where he supported the idea of “remigration” from the stage.
This occurred despite Forza Italia not formally participating in the event, with some of its representatives reportedly trying to boycott it.
Paolo Del Debbio, another prominent Mediaset presenter, has also publicly questioned the nature of the Berlusconi family’s influence over Forza Italia. That created a noticeable rift within the broader political-media system built around the Berlusconi legacy — one that could potentially reshape Italy’s political and media balance.
More than two decades after Silvio Berlusconi’s political rise — and following his death in 2023 — Forza Italia continues to be strongly shaped by his legacy. Founded in 1994, the party was never a traditional political organisation but, rather, a personalised project closely tied to Berlusconi’s business and media empire.
Today, according to recent polls, the party holds support of around 8 per cent to 9 per cent and its leadership is formally held by Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister and former president of the European Parliament. He is widely seen as representing the party’s institutional and pro-European wing.
Influence is often understood as extending beyond formal structures, particularly towards Marina and Pier Silvio Berlusconi, Silvio Berlusconi’s children, who manage the family’s corporate and media assets. Tajani is largely seen as constrained by the Berlusconi family, with limited autonomy.
The family continues to support Forza Italia financially through periodic high-value donations, helping ensure its stability after Berlusconi’s death. The Berlusconi family also controls Mediaset (now MediaForEurope), maintaining significant influence over its strategic direction.
Historically, Mediaset has played a central role in Italy’s political communication landscape and has often been considered close to the political Right, both due to ownership and editorial orientation.
Within this context, the Berlusconi heirs are reportedly open to a gradual repositioning of Forza Italia towards a more liberal profile.
This is also reflected in perceptions of Mediaset’s programming, which in recent years has increasingly hosted presenters from the centre-left and LGBT community. Marina Berlusconi’s more liberal positions on LGBT issues have further reinforced the idea of a partial ideological evolution within the family sphere.
This direction, though, has met resistance within Forza Italia and the broader centre-right environment. Many within the party and its media ecosystem prioritise maintaining a stable governing coalition with Brothers of Italy and the League, viewing unity on the Right as essential in Italy’s fragmented political system.
A growing clash between these two visions for the party has also begun to surface within Mediaset itself, becoming increasingly visible through the positions of leading presenters such as Mario Giordano and Paolo Del Debbio, who play a key role in shaping conservative political discourse.
Both have recently been associated with public interventions critical of what they perceive as attempts to move Forza Italia away from its traditional centre-right identity.
Giordano’s appearance at the League rally has been interpreted as politically symbolic, seen by some as a signal of alignment with the broader right-wing bloc rather than a shift towards a more centrist or progressive position.
Del Debbio has also taken a similar stance. His critical article published in La Verità on April 12, commenting on a meeting between Tajani and members of the Berlusconi family at Mediaset’s headquarters to discuss internal party matters, further intensified the debate.
What sparked controversy was not only the content of the meeting but the fact that the foreign minister, in order to take strategic decisions, went to meet individuals who, without formally holding political office, still exercise influence over the party’s strategic direction — raising questions about autonomy and political independence.
These latest interventions by Giordano and Del Debbio have been interpreted by many observers as a reflection of growing fractures within Forza Italia, which are now spilling over into Mediaset itself.
A potential shift of Forza Italia —a nd by extension Mediaset — towards a more progressive position would imply a gradual distancing from the governing alliance with Brothers of Italy and the League, whose electorate also represent a key audience for Giordano and Del Debbio’s programmes.
For this reason, leading figures within Mediaset appear increasingly uneasy, without attempting to hide it.
But this also raises a broader question: Would the Berlusconi family tolerate internal dissent within their own television networks? That is likely the next key battleground — one unfolding in parallel between political headquarters and media control rooms.
