The death of Silvio Berlusconi, aged 86, brings to a close one of the most remarkable, if not illustrious, careers in modern Italian politics. With extensive business interests in publishing, television, advertising, banking, financial services and sport, Berlusconi was on a number of occasions identified as the richest man in Italy. In his parallel political career, he was prime minister in four governments, serving for almost 10 years, a record in postwar Italy.
Berlusconi’s entry into politics began in 1993 with his formation of Forza Italia, a pro-business party which quickly assumed the leadership of the political right after funding scandals had buried the long-dominant Christian Democrats. Forza Italia, unlike most political parties, was from the start staffed by business managers, chiefly drawn from Berlusconi’s own empire. It attempted, with considerable success, to persuade Italians at a time of crisis and change that it had the capacity to make the country as prosperous as its leader had made himself.
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Berlusconi insisted at the time that his entry into politics was motivated simply by a desire to serve his country, but his critics believed that he was more concerned to serve himself and protect his financial interests. In office, particularly during the period 2001 to 2006, his government pushed through parliament a large number of laws whose rationale was seen as being solely to benefit his own businesses. Berlusconi’s later career was marked by a growing number of inquiries and prosecutions for corruption and a series of allegations about his private life, including sexual abuse of minors.
The resulting welter of scandal caused considerable damage to the international reputation of Italy. Meanwhile, Forza Italia was entering into serious decline, losing its leadership position on the right, outflanked first by Matteo Salvini’s xenophobic Lega, and then by current prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s “postfascist” Fratelli d’Italia. Silvio Berlusconi was a dominant figure in Italian politics. It cannot be said that his influence on its culture was in any way a positive one.