With a state funeral and a day of national mourning, Italy bids farewell to controversial Silvio Berlusconi

Thousands of people gathered in Milan on Wednesday to pay a final tribute to billionaire and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. According to tradition, the state funeral was organized in the Duomo cathedral in Milan. The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, the country’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni; three former prime ministers; his five children and Berlusconi’s partner.

The business and political elite of the country also met there. From abroad, the Hungarian president, Viktor Orban, and the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad.

Berlusconi’s hearse was greeted by a crowd of admirers gathered in the square in front of the cathedral, cheering “Silvio,” “Berlusconi president” and “Thank you, you’re the only one.” Fans of the AC Milan soccer club, of which he was president, also cheered as the coffin was carried into the church.

Lucia Diele traveled from Altamura, in Apulia, to be able to attend the broadcast of the funeral in the square.

“Silvio Berlusconi has been the greatest politician in the history of Italy. He leaves a huge void that will be impossible to fill,” he told AFP.

The Archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini, who carried out the ceremony, did not go into the details of the controversial legacy of the former politician. He described him as a notoriety-seeking businessman who had both admirers and detractors.

“When a man is a politician, he tries to win. He has supporters and opponents. Some praise him, others can’t stand him,” summed up the Archbishop of Milan.

“But in this moment of farewell and prayer, what can we say about Silvio Berlusconi? He has been a man: desire for life, desire for love, desire for joy,” Delpini said.

Berlusconi died at the age of 86 on Monday in Milan from chronic leukemia. The Government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni decided to decree a day of national mourning this Wednesday for his funeral, an unprecedented measure dedicated to a former Prime Minister who was not President of the Republic.

Flags were flown at half mast and most political events were suspended. The Senate, where Berlusconi still held a seat, suspended all its plenary sessions until June 19, and the Chamber of Deputies will also hold no vote until next week, apart from a session on minimum pensions.

Italian society divided over national mourning

“The person must be respected per se. She is a person who represents the history of this country (…) I think that no one is free from stains, “said Barbara Cacellari, councilor for Forza Italia, the party founded by Berlusconi, in front of the cathedral doors.

But for a large part of the population, celebrating a day of national mourning is inappropriate due to the multiple scandals that marked the life of the politician.

“He had no respect for the state when he evaded taxes,” said Andrea Crisanti, a senator from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), alluding to Berlusconi’s 2013 sentence to four years in prison — reduced by amnesty to one year— in the case of tax fraud related to his television channel ‘Mediaset’.

“State funerals are planned and that is correct, but national mourning for a divisive person like Silvio Berlusconi seems to me an inappropriate choice,” said Rosy Bindi, former left-wing minister of the Prodi II government (2006-2008). ).

Several journalists also denounced the decision.

“Berlusconi divided Italy, insulted his adversaries for 30 years, criminalized magistrates and did not recognize the laws. What are we talking about?” journalist Marco Travaglio, co-founder of the Il Fatto Quotidiano newspaper, said on Tuesday.

The ‘Cavaliere’, a controversial character

Berlusconi was called ‘cavaliere’, from the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro that was granted to him after an urban project in 1977 by the then President of the Republic, Giovanni Leone. In addition, people recognized his ability to open spaces both in politics and in the business world.

He started his career as a real estate magnate before investing in television channels. He was also director of the AC Milan football club from 1986 to 2017. He was, at the same time, admired and criticized for his dissident side, his rude jokes or his taste for women 50 years younger than him.

Berlusconi profoundly marked the Italian political landscape. He was Prime Minister three times, from May to December 1994, from 2001 to 2006 and, finally, from 2008 to 2011. In addition, he is the Prime Minister who remained in power the longest: 3,340 days exactly.

His admirers view his terms as periods of stabilization, after years of rapid government turnover. On the other hand, he is recognized as a forerunner of the populist type of politics, a political strategy similar to that of Donald Trump in the United States. He was also criticized for his strong friendship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The billionaire was known for his numerous court scandals. He organized the famous “bunga bunga” sex parties that earned him several lawsuits. In 2010, 17-year-old Karima El-Mahroug claimed to have received money from Berlusconi in exchange for sex. The politician was also charged with bribing witnesses to lie about the parties, though he was ultimately acquitted.

In 2021 he was considered the sixth richest man in Italy and the 318th in the world. He leaves behind a fortune estimated at seven billion dollars, according to the Forbes media outlet, which he would inherit to his five children.

With AP, EFE and AFP