‘End of an era’: Italians bid farewell to Silvio Berlusconi

Milan, Italy – It is an official day of national mourning in Italy with flags flying at half-mast to mark the death of Silvio Berlusconi, the country’s most divisive and charismatic public figure who dominated politics, business and sports for decades.

Tens of thousands of supporters of the controversial four-time prime minister are expected to gather in Milan on Wednesday for a state funeral to pay their respects to the so-called “Knight” — a man who epitomized the modern era of self-made moguls and remained a darling of many Italians despite a history of legal woes, sex scandals and international blunders.

Berlusconi died on Monday at the age of 86 at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. He was admitted there on Friday for planned examinations related to a chronic form of leukemia.

His death came as a shock to many. Despite his frail health, Berlusconi’s defining presence on the Italian political scene – coupled with his exuberance and eternally tanned appearance – had almost created the illusion that he would have lived forever, as television presenter Bruno Vespa put it on Tuesday evening.

“He left a huge void,” says Rosanna de Angelis, a 60-year-old boutique owner in central Milan. “He made everyone feel important, he was human,” she added.

“We will all miss him, even those who criticized him – and even cartoonists who now have nothing to sketch,” said Tiziana Guerra, who sells flowers near the Gothic Duomo cathedral, a 14th-century architectural masterpiece that is home to Berlusconi’s funeral took place. will take place.

The church will seat about 2,000 people, including Italian President Sergio Mattarella and European Union Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. It is not yet clear which world leaders will attend the event, but state news agency ANSA reported that Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will attend. The funeral will begin at 3 p.m. local time (1 p.m. GMT) and will be shown live on large screens in the city’s main square.

Meanwhile, as newspapers and broadcasters remarked endlessly about “The end of an era,” supporters flocked to Villa Arcore, Berlusconi’s lavish mansion outside Milan, where a small private vigil attended by close family and friends took place on Tuesday. Political flags, bouquets of flowers and a large banner reading “Thank you forever president” line the area outside the house.

‘Entering the field’

Berlusconi stormed into Italian politics in 1994 with an eight-minute video announcing the creation of a new right-wing party, Forza Italia (Go Italy). His aim was to build a new political movement on the ashes of the post-1945 First Republic, which had been decimated by a spate of corruption scandals that had left Italians suspicious of the political elite.

Berlusconi was already a successful entrepreneur, media mogul and owner of the successful football team AC Milan. He tried to win the hearts of Italians by using a radically different language – one that was direct, modern and populist. He broke with a decades-old tradition of allowing politicians to play a role in educating the electorate and instead used his allure to engage directly with the people. In doing so, he reoriented politics from the ideological background of the traditional parties to a cultural one.

“He was a charmer, a leader who would use his personal charisma rather than provide political content,” said Edoardo Novelli, a sociologist and professor of political communications at Rome Three University.

His most powerful weapon was Mediaset, a popular cable TV network that broke the information monopoly of the state-controlled media. He brought American soap operas and shows starring female entertainers into the homes of Italians, accelerating a cultural shift that had already begun in the 1980s.

“Berlusconi was an empathetic man by nature and got an idea of ​​what Italians wanted through his commercial television,” says Lorenzo Castellani, a professor of history at Rome’s LUISS University with a focus on Italian right-wing parties. “His main capacity was to understand what the majority of Italians cared about and mostly it was about jobs, wealth, entertainment… And not great ideals or political ideologies,” he added.

And it worked. He was first elected Prime Minister in 1994, a post he would retake in 2001, 2005 and 2008.

As a testament to his stamina and appeal, at the time of his death, Berlusconi was still the leader of Forza Italia and a small but important coalition partner in the government of incumbent Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Loved and hated

Berlusconi’s playful touch was loved by some but loathed by others. Never far from controversy, he has been accused of corruption and passing laws to protect his interests.

His humor often backfired, especially among international guests. In 2008, he came under fire for calling then-US President Barack Obama a “tanned man.” The following year, at a G20 summit, he was scolded by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for speaking too loudly in public.

In 2013, two years after leaving office, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud and later of political corruption. He narrowly managed to avoid prison, but the conviction banned him from office until 2019. He was also under investigation for the notorious ‘Bunga Bunga’ sex parties involving young and underage women.

Berlusconi’s critics saw him as entering politics to protect his business interests and failing to implement solid economic reforms as promised during election campaigns.

“There were only partial results in terms of fiscal austerity, but nothing very structural,” said Castellani, adding that the tycoon was also hampered by his ego, preventing him from appointing a successor and creating a ruling class that could outlive him .

“He also spent years defending himself in lawsuits, defending the interests of his media empire, while sacrificing reform to defend himself, his political consensus and personal interests,” Castellani added.

A divisive figure in life, Berlusconi managed to spark controversy even after his death. The government’s announcement of a day of national mourning – an honor bestowed on no other former prime minister – has been met with some criticism.

“We must not forget that some of his actions were disrespectful to the state he represented,” said Senator Andrea Crisanti, who strongly opposed national awards.

Rosy Bindi, former head of the Antimafia Commission, said it was “inconvenient” for “a person as divisive as Berlusconi” and the daily Repubblica said the “institutional closure” was “extreme”.