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• Italy judges defy Berlusconi in walkout over reform - BBC News

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  Italy judges defy Berlusconi in walkout over reform BBC News Dozens of Italian judges have walked out of courts in protest at PM Silvio Berlusconi's judicial reforms, which they call destructive. ... Italian judges stage walk-out against BerlusconiAFP Berlusconi Appeals to Alcoa on SmeltersABC News Battling an Image and Reality, Berlusconi Takes on the Mafia (Real and Fictional)New York Times Reuters -CCTV -The Guardian all 352 news articles »

• Berlusconi to arrive for first joint Italian-Israeli cabinet meet - Ha'aretz

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  Berlusconi to arrive for first joint Italian-Israeli cabinet meet Ha'aretz Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is scheduled to arrive in Israel today for a three-day visit, together with seven cabinet ministers, ... Is Tony Soprano Bad For Italy's Reputation?Big Think Berlusconi: Israeli settlements 'obstacle to peace'Press TV Berlusconi: "Th Israeli settlement policy is a mistake"Ennahar AFP -Arutz Sheva -DEBKA file all 19 news articles »

• Silvio Berlusconi and wife meet to thrash out divorce - Telegraph.co.uk

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  Silvio Berlusconi and wife meet to thrash out divorce Telegraph.co.uk Silvio Berlusconi and his estranged wife have met for the first time in nine months as their lawyers reportedly exchanged details of alleged infidelities ... Berlusconi and his wife swap cheating claims toDaily Mail Berlusconi meets wife to hammer out divorce dealTimes Online Silvio Berlusconi, wife meet to discuss divorceLittle About (blog) Metro -Scotsman -The Guardian all 7 news articles »

• Berlusconi warns Alcoa over 2 smelter closures: report - MarketWatch

  Berlusconi warns Alcoa over 2 smelter closures: report MarketWatch By London Bureau LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, warned US aluminum producer Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) Friday that it ... Berlusconi warns Alcoa on closuresFinancial Times all 5 news articles »

• Berlusconi 'planning to nominate showgirls as poll candidates' - Times Online

  Times Online

  Berlusconi 'planning to nominate showgirls as poll candidates' Times Online Silvio Berlusconi was facing a party revolt yesterday over reported plans to field showgirls with little or no political experience as candidates in ... and more »

• Berlusconi Believes in McDonald's Magic - Forbes (blog)

  Christian Science Monitor

  Berlusconi Believes in McDonald's Magic Forbes (blog) Italian prime minister and media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi has tapped Mario Resca, the ex-chief of McDonald's Italian operations, as master overseer of ... Italy: Would you like fries with your art history?Christian Science Monitor all 8 news articles »

• PM: Berlusconi is Israel's greatest friend in international community - Ynetnews

  PM: Berlusconi is Israel's greatest friend in international community Ynetnews Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's upcoming visit to Israel, saying that "his arrival with a delegation of six ...

• Gates blasts Berlusconi for wasting money on hair transplant - Oneindia

  Gates blasts Berlusconi for wasting money on hair transplant Oneindia New York, January 31 (ANI): Bill Gates has slammed Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi for wasting money on hair transplantion instead of supporting ... and more »

• Italy's senate backs bill ending Berlusconi trials - Washington Post

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  Italy's senate backs bill ending Berlusconi trials Washington Post ... drastically cutting the duration of trials, a measure critics say is tailor-made to stop pending court cases against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. ... Me, the Great Pretender? No way, says BerlusconiTimes Online Silvio's Tax EvasionWall Street Journal Judge asks for report on Berlusconi injuriesTelegraph.co.uk AFP -Financial Times -Variety all 253 news articles »

• Italian Magistrates Walk Out In Protest Against Berlusconi- Reuters - Wall Street Journal

  Italian Magistrates Walk Out In Protest Against Berlusconi- Reuters Wall Street Journal Magistrates walked out of courts across Italy on Saturday in protest against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's judicial oerhauls and what they see as ...

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The Honourable  Silvio Berlusconi
Prime Minister of Italy
Incumbent
Assumed office  8 May 2008
President	Giorgio Napolitano
Preceded by	Romano Prodi
In office 11 June 2001 – 17 May 2006
President	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Deputy	Giulio Tremonti Gianfranco Fini Marco Follini
Preceded by	Giuliano Amato
Succeeded by	Romano Prodi
In office 10 May 1994 – 17 January 1995
President	Oscar Luigi Scalfaro
Deputy	Giuseppe Tatarella Roberto Maroni
Preceded by	Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
Succeeded by	Lamberto Dini
Minister of Foreign Affairs Acting
In office 6 January 2002 – 14 November 2002
Preceded by	Renato Ruggiero
Succeeded by	Franco Frattini
Minister of Economy and Finance Acting
In office 3 July 2004 – 16 July 2004
Preceded by	Giulio Tremonti
Succeeded by	Domenico Siniscalco
Minister of Health Acting
In office 10 March 2006 – 17 May 2006
Preceded by	Francesco Storace
Succeeded by	Livia Turco
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
In office 21 April 1994 – 13 April 2008
Constituency	XIX - Campania I
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Incumbent
Assumed office  14 April 2008
Constituency	XVIII - Molise
Born	29 September 1936 (1936-09-29) (age 73) Milan, Italy
Political party	The People of Freedom (2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Forza Italia (1994–2008)
Spouse(s)	Carla Dall'Oglio (1965–1985) Veronica Lario (1990–present)
Children	Marina Berlusconi Pier Silvio Berlusconi Barbara Berlusconi Eleonora Berlusconi Luigi Berlusconi
Residence	Arcore, Italy
Alma mater	University of Milan
Profession	Businessperson
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Silvio Berlusconi (help·info) (born 29 September 1936) is an Italian politician, the current Prime Minister of Italy as well as a billionaire entrepreneur. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Italy, a position he has held on three separate occasions: from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2006 and currently since 2008.¹ He is the leader of the People of Freedom political movement, a centre-right party he founded in 2009. As of November 2009, he is the longest-serving current leader of a G8 country.

Berlusconi's political rise was rapid and surrounded by controversy. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time and appointed as Prime Minister following the March 1994 snap parliamentary elections, when Forza Italia gained a relative majority a mere three months after having been officially launched. However, his cabinet collapsed after seven months, due to internal disagreements in his coalition. In the April 1996 snap parliamentary elections, Berlusconi ran for Prime Minister again but was defeated by centre-left candidate Romano Prodi. In the May 2001 parliamentary elections, he was again the centre-right candidate for Prime Minister and won against the centre-left candidate Francesco Rutelli. Berlusconi then formed his second and third cabinets, until 2006.

Berlusconi was leader of the centre-right coalition in the April 2006 parliamentary elections, which he lost by a very narrow margin, his opponent again being Romano Prodi. He was re-elected in the parliamentary elections of April 2008 following the collapse, on 24 January 2008, of Romano Prodi's government and sworn in as prime minister on 8 May 2008 (see also 2008 Italian political crisis).

Contents 1 Family background and private life 2 Business career 2.1 Milano 2 2.2 Telemilano 2.3 Fininvest 2.4 Wealth 3 Political career 3.1 Entering "the field" 4 Policies 4.1 General guidelines 5 Legal problems 5.1 Clear record up to now 5.2 Delaying tactics 5.3 False testimony regarding membership of the "Propaganda 2" (P2) masonic lodge 5.4 "Jowellgate"/David Mills bribery case 6 Controversies 6.1 The debate about motives 6.2 Bettino Craxi 6.3 Legislative changes 6.4 Alleged links to the Mafia 6.5 Russia and Gazprom 6.6 The Economist 6.7 Influence on the media 6.8 Conflicts of interest 6.9 Remarks on western civilization and Islam 6.10 Wiretaps and accusations of corruption through the exploitation of prostitution 6.11 Right-to-die case 6.12 Prostitution accusations and divorce case 6.13 Jokes, gestures and blunders 6.14 Assault at rally 7 See also 8 References 9 Documentaries 10 Feature films 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links

Family background and private life

Berlusconi was born in Milan and raised there in an upper middle-class family. His father Luigi (1908–1989) was a bank employee, and his mother was Rosa Bossi (1911–2008). Silvio was the first of three children; his siblings are Maria Francesca Antonietta Berlusconi (1943–2009) and Paolo Berlusconi (born 1949), both entrepreneurs.

After completing his secondary school education at a Salesian college, he studied law at the Università Statale in Milan, graduating with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising in 1961. Berlusconi was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time.² During his university studies he was an upright bass player in a group formed with the now Mediaset Chairman and amateur pianist Fedele Confalonieri and occasionally performed as a cruise ship crooner. In later life he wrote AC Milan's anthem with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italia's anthem with the opera director Renato Serio. With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella he wrote two Neapolitan song albums: Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006.

In 1965, he married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, and they had two children: Maria Elvira, better known as Marina (born 1966), and Pier Silvio (b. 1969). By 1980, Berlusconi had established a relationship with the actress Veronica Lario (born Miriam Bartolini), with whom he subsequently had three children: Barbara (b. 1984), Eleonora (b. 1986) and Luigi (b. 1988). He was divorced from Dall'Oglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. At this time, Berlusconi was a well-known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of his best men was former Prime Minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party Bettino Craxi. In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce.³

Business career

Milano 2

Berlusconi's business career began in construction during the 1960s. In the latter part of that decade, he had the idea of developing Milano 2, a garden city of around 10,500 apartments, which he eventually built at Segrate on the eastern outskirts of Milan.

Telemilano

Berlusconi first entered the media world in 1973 by setting up a small cable television company, Telemilano, to service units built on his Segrate properties. It began transmitting in September the following year. After buying two further channels, Berlusconi relocated the station to central Milan in 1977 and began broadcasting over the airwaves.⁴

Fininvest

In 1978 Berlusconi formed his first media group, Fininvest,at the time he joined P2. In the five years leading up to 1983 it earned 113,000,000,000 lire (€58.3 million). The funding sources are still unknown because of the complex system of holding companies that makes them impossible to trace, despite investigations conducted by various state attorneys.

Fininvest expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. This was seen as breaching the Italian public broadcaster RAI's statutory monopoly on creating a national network which was later abolished. In 1990 Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network, Canale 5, followed shortly thereafter by Italia 1 which was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, and Rete 4, which was bought from Mondadori in 1984.⁵

Berlusconi was assisted in his successful effort to create the first and only Italian commercial TV empire by his connections to Bettino Craxi, secretary-general of the Italian Socialist Party and also prime minister of Italy at that time, whose government passed, on 20 October 1984, an emergency decree legalizing the nationwide transmissions made by Berlusconi's television stations.⁵ This was because, on 16 October 1984, judges in Turin, Pescara and Rome, enforcing a law which previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting.

After some political turmoil in 1985 the decree was approved definitively. But for some years, Berlusconi's three channels remained in a legal limbo, and were not therefore allowed, for instance, to broadcast news and political commentary. They were elevated to the status of full national TV channels in 1990 by the so-called Mammì law.

In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group Kirch (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999 Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called the Epsilon MediaGroup.⁶

Wealth

Berlusconi is the proprietor of three analogue television channels, various digital television channels, as well as some of the larger-circulation national news magazines. Together these account for nearly half the Italian market. He is the founder and major shareholder of Fininvest, which is among the ten largest privately owned companies in Italy⁷ and currently operates in media and finance. With Ennio Doris he founded Mediolanum, one of the country's biggest banking and insurance groups. Berlusconi, together with the Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal,⁸⁹ is the main shareholder of Mediaset, a publicly traded company. He is the owner of the Italian football club A.C. Milan, which has won a number of national and international trophies under his ownership. According to Forbes magazine, Berlusconi is Italy's third richest person, with personal assets worth $9.4 billion (USD) in 2008¹⁰.

Berlusconi's main company Mediaset comprises three national television channels, which together have approximately half the national viewing audience, and Publitalia, the leading Italian advertising and publicity agency. He also owns Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, the largest Italian publishing house, whose publications include Panorama, one of the country's most popular news magazines. He has interests in cinema and home video distribution firms (Medusa and Penta), insurance and banking (Mediolanum and Mediobanca) and a variety of other activities. His brother, Paolo Berlusconi, owns and operates il Giornale, a centre-right wing newspaper which provides a strong pro-Berlusconi slant on Italy and its politics. Il Foglio, one of the most influential Italian right-wing newspaper is partially owned by his wife, Veronica Lario.

"Forza Italia" (meaning "Go Italy!", "Forward, Italy!" or simply "Italy Forward") was best known, before the political party of the same name was founded, as the slogan of the Italian national football team.¹¹

Political career

Entering "the field"

“

Italy is the country I love. Here I have my roots, my hopes, my horizons. Here I have learned, from my father and from life, how to be an entrepreneur. Here I have also acquired the passion for liberty. I have chosen to enter the field and become a public servant because I do not want to live in an illiberal country, ruled by immature forces and by people who are well and truly bound to a past that proved both a political and economic failure.  — Silvio Berlusconi, discourse on Entering the field ("la discesa in campo") – 26 January 1994.12

”

Policies

General guidelines

As he founded his Forza Italia party and entered politics, Berlusconi expressed his support for "freedom, the individual, family, enterprise, Italian tradition, Christian tradition and love for weaker people"¹³ and his intention to combat fiscal, judicial and bureaucratic oppression of Italians. The political family of the European People's Party was joined by Forza Italia in 1999 and by the People of Freedom in 2009.¹⁴ Some allies of Berlusconi, especially the Lega Nord, push for controls on immigration. Berlusconi himself has shown some reluctance to pursue such policies as strongly as his allies might like.¹⁵ A number of measures have been taken, with mixed results. The government, after introducing a controversial immigration law (the "Bossi-Fini" law, from the names of the Lega Nord and National Alliance leaders, as first authors of the text) is seeking the cooperation of European and other Mediterranean countries in reducing the large number of immigrants trying to reach Italian coasts on old and overloaded ferries and fishing boats, risking (and, often, losing) their lives.

Legal problems

“

I'm the universal record-holder for the number of trials in the entire history of man -- and also of other creatures who live on other planets.  — Silvio Berlusconi, at the G8 press conference in Hokkaido – 5 July 2008 16

”

Clear record up to now

Silvio Berlusconi has an extensive record of criminal allegations, including mafia collusion, false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges. Berlusconi has been tried in Italian courts in several cases. In three of these cases accusations were dropped by the judiciary because of laws passed by Berlusconi's parliamentary majority shortening the time limit for prosecution of various offences and making false accounting illegal only if there is a specific damaged party reporting the fact to the authorities.¹⁷¹⁸ In all of them, but one, he was acquitted, either by a court of first instance or on appeal, or when proceedings came to a halt because the statute of limitations had expired. Therefore he has a clear record up to now.^1920212223 Berlusconi claimed that "this is a manifest judicial persecution, against which I am proud to resist, and the fact that my resistance and sacrifice will give the Italians a more fair and efficient judicial system makes me even more proud",²⁴ and added that "789 prosecutors and magistrates took an interest in the politician Berlusconi from 1994 to 2006 with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian people" reeling off statistics that he said have constituted a "calvary including 577 visits by police, 2,500 court hearings and 174 million euros in lawyers' bills paid by me".²⁵²⁶ Berlusconi has always been able to afford top lawyers, for example Nicolas Sarkozy was one of his French top advocates.²⁷²⁸²⁹ Some of his former prosecutors are members of the parliamentary opposition. Some of his attorneys are also members of parliament.

Delaying tactics

The Italian legal system, trying to contain the excessive length of judgments, allows the statute of limitations to continue to run during the course of the trial. Due to the unceasing slow justice system, the delaying tactics adopted by Berlusconi's attorneys (including repeated motions for change of venue) have served to nullify pending charges on many occasions. Some of Berlusconi's close collaborators, friends and firm managers have been found guilty of related crimes, notably his brother, Paolo, who in 2001 agreed to pay 100,000,000 Italian Liras (52,000 Euros) as a plea bargain for various charges including corruption.

False testimony regarding membership of the "Propaganda 2" (P2) masonic lodge

In 1981, a scandal arose after the police discovery of Licio Gelli's secret freemasonry lodge Propaganda 2 (P2), which aimed to change the Italian political system to a more authoritarian regime to oppose communism. The list of people involved in P2 included members of the secret services and some prominent characters from political arena, business, military and media. Silvio Berlusconi, who was then just starting to gain popularity as the founder and owner of "Canale 5" TV channel, was listed as a member of P2.³⁰³¹ The P2 lodge was dissolved by the Italian Parliament in December 1981 and a law was passed declaring similar organizations illegal, but no specific crimes were alleged against individual members of the P2 lodge.^{citation needed}

Berlusconi later (in 1989) sued three journalists for libel for writing articles hinting at his involvement in financial crimes. In court, he declared that he had joined the P2 lodge "only for a very short time before the scandal broke" and "he had not even paid the entry fee". Such statements conflicted with the findings of the parliamentary inquiry commission appointed to investigate the lodge's activity, with material evidence, and even with previous testimony of Berlusconi, all of which proved that he had actually been a member of P2 since 1978 and had indeed paid 100,000 Italian liras (52 Euros) as an entry fee. In 1990 the court of appeal of Venice found Berlusconi guilty of false testimony in front of the Court of Verona, however the court did not proceed to sentence because the wrongdoing had been extinguished by an amnesty passed in 1989.³²

Some political commentators claim that Berlusconi's electoral programme followed the P2 plan.³³

"Jowellgate"/David Mills bribery case

The link between him and the difficulties of British Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, has attracted less media attention in Italy than in the United Kingdom, where the media has sensed a whiff of something scandalous (or at least hypocritical and embarrassing) for the government. David Mills, lawyer husband of the British cabinet minister in the Blair government, had acted for Berlusconi in the early 1990s and has been accused by Italian prosecutors of money laundering and of accepting a gift from Berlusconi in return for friendly evidence given as a prosecution witness against Berlusconi. However, Mills has asserted that the money in question did not come from Berlusconi but from another client. No formal indictment has yet been issued but on 10 March 2006 it was reported that prosecuting magistrates in Italy had submitted evidence to a judge, seeking an indictment for bribery against Berlusconi and Mills²⁷: all parties vehemently deny wrong-doing and Berlusconi commented that the timing showed that the prosecution is political. Berlusconi denied meeting Mills. The British media have not yet unearthed anything to warrant Jowell's resignation or which proves the guilt of Mills, Berlusconi or their intermediaries. Mills separated from his wife around this time. On 17 February 2009, Mills was found guilty of accepting a bribe of about 400,000 Sterling Pounds, allegedly from Silvio Berlusconi. Mills was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison but is appealing.³⁴

Controversies

This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sections into the article as a whole. (January 2010)

The debate about motives

According to journalists Marco Travaglio and Enzo Biagi, Berlusconi entered politics to save his companies from bankruptcy and himself from convictions.³⁵ From the very beginning he said it clearly to his associates. Berlusconi's supporters hailed him as the "new man", an outsider who was going to bring a new efficiency to the public bureaucracy and reform the state from top to bottom.

While investigating these matters, three journalists noted the following facts:

• Mediobanca's annual report about the 10 biggest Italian companies showed that, in 1992, Berlusconi's media and finance group Fininvest had about 7,140 billion lire of debts, 8,193 billion lire of assets (with 35% of liquidity) and a net worth (that is, assets minus debts) of 1,053 billion lire. The asset-debt ratio represented a patrimonial situation bordering on bankruptcy.^{citation needed}
• Between 1992 and 1993, Fininvest was investigated several times by prosecutors in Milan, Turin and Rome. The investigations regarded: alleged bribes (to political parties and public officials with the aim of getting contracts), alleged fake invoicing by Publitalia, the financing of political congresses and abuse of television frequencies.
• On the other hand Dr. Bruno Vespa notest that "In January 1994, Silvio Berlusconi was under no proceedings. Two members of the staff from the Ministry of the Finances were charged to be corrupted for a minor episode by a Fininvest manager, but the accusation would have later fallen. Aldo Brancher, who was working with Fininvest at the time, was charged for having financed some stands at the "Feste dell'Unità" and "L'Avanti!", and he would have been declared fully not guilty only in 2004. Paolo Berlusconi [Silvio Berlusconi's brother] was instead arrested [...] after the Cavaliere went into politics." After having decided to enter the political arena, Berlusconi was investigated for forty different inquests in less than two years.³⁶

Bettino Craxi

Berlusconi's career as an entrepreneur is also often questioned by his detractors. The allegations made against him generally include suspicions about the extremely fast increase of his activity as a construction entrepreneur in years 1961-63, hinting at the possibility that in those years he received money from unknown and possibly illegal sources. These accusations are regarded by Berlusconi and his supporters as empty slander, trying to undermine Berlusconi's reputation of a self-made man. Frequently cited by opponents are also events dating to the 1980s, including supposed "favour exchanges" between Berlusconi and Bettino Craxi, the former Socialist prime minister and leader of the Italian Socialist Party convicted in 1994 for various corruption charges.The Milan magistrates who indicted and successfully convicted Mr. Craxi in their "Clean Hands" investigation laid bare an entrenched system in which businessmen paid more than hundreds of millions of dollars to political parties or individual politicians in exchange for sweetheart deals with Italian state companies and the government itself.³⁷ Berlusconi acknowledges a personal friendship with Craxi.

Legislative changes

On some occasions, which raised a strong upheaval in the Italian political opposition, laws passed by the Berlusconi administration have effectively delayed ongoing trials on him. Relevant examples are the law reducing punishment for all cases of false accounting and the law on legitimate suspicion, which allowed defendants to request their cases to be moved to another court if they believe that the local judges are biased against them. ^7,8 Because of these legislative actions, political opponents accuse Berlusconi of passing these laws on the purpose of protecting himself from legal charges. An enquiry realized by the newspaper "La Repubblica" sustained that Berlusconi passed 17 different laws which have advantaged himself³⁸; Berlusconi and his allies, on the other hand, maintain that such laws are consistent with everyone's right to a rapid and just trial, and with the principle of presumption of innocence (garantismo); furthermore, they claim that Berlusconi is being subjected to a political "witch hunt", orchestrated by certain (allegedly left-wing) judges ¹¹.

For such reasons, Berlusconi and his government have an ongoing quarrel with the Italian judiciary, which reached its peak in 2003 when Berlusconi commented to a foreign journalist that judges are "mentally disturbed" and "anthropologically different from the rest of the human race", remarks that he later claimed he meant to be directed to specific judges only, and of a humorous nature¹². More seriously, the Berlusconi administration has long been planning a judiciary reform intended to limit the flexibility currently enjoyed by judges and magistrates in their decision-making, but which, according to its critics, will instead limit the magistrature's independence, by de facto subjecting the judiciary to the executive's control. This reform has met almost unanimous dissent from the Italian judges ^13,14 and, after three years of debate and struggle, was passed by the Italian parliament in December 2004, but was immediately vetoed by the Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi ¹⁵, who said some of the passed laws were "clearly unconstitutional".

Berlusconi has also been indicted in Spain for charges of tax fraud and violation of anti-trust laws regarding the private Television network Telecinco, but his status as a member of the European Parliament allowed him to gain immunity from prosecution until 2005.¹⁶ All the accused have been acquitted by the Spanish "Corte de Casacion" in July 2008.³⁹⁴⁰

Alleged links to the Mafia

Silvio Berlusconi has never been tried on charges relating to the Mafia, although several Mafia turncoats have stated that Berlusconi had connections with the Sicilian criminal association. The claims arise mostly from the hiring of Vittorio Mangano, charged for Mafia association, as a gardener and stable-man at Berlusconi's Villa San Martino in Arcore, a small town near Milan. It was Berlusconi's friend Marcello Dell'Utri (convicted of extortion in association with Cosa Nostra in 2004) who introduced Mangano to Berlusconi in 1973.⁴¹⁴² Berlusconi denied any ties to the Mafia. Marcello Dell'Utri even stated that the Mafia did not exist at all.

Heated debate on this issue emerged again in 2004 when Dell'Utri, the manager of Berlusconi's publishing company Publitalia '80 and a Forza Italia senator was sentenced to nine years by a Palermo court on charge of "external association to the Mafia",⁴²⁴³ a sentence describing Dell'Utri as a mediator between the economical interests of Berlusconi and members of the criminal organization. Berlusconi refused to comment on the sentence.

In 1996, a Mafia informer, Salvatore Cancemi, declared that Berlusconi and Dell'Utri were in direct contact with Salvatore Riina, head of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 90s. Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (100 000 euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in return for political favours.⁴⁴ After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996.⁴¹

According to yet another mafia turncoat, Antonino Giuffrè – arrested on 16 April 2002 – the Mafia turned to Berlusconi's Forza Italia party to look after the Mafia's interests, after the decline in the early 1990s of the ruling Christian Democrat party, whose leaders in Sicily looked after the Mafia's interests in Rome. The Mafia's fall out with the Christian Democrats became clear when Salvo Lima was killed in March 1992. "The Lima murder marked the end of an era," Giuffrè told the court. "A new era opened with a new political force on the horizon which provided the guarantees that the Christian Democrats were no longer able to deliver. To be clear, that party was Forza Italia."⁴⁵ Dell'Utri was the go-between on a range of legislative efforts to ease pressure on mafiosi in exchange for electoral support, according to Giuffrè. "Dell'Utri was very close to Cosa Nostra and a very good contact point for Berlusconi," he said.⁴⁶ Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano told Giuffrè that they "were in good hands" with Dell'Utri, who was a "serious and trustworthy person". Provenzano stated that the Mafia's judicial problems would be resolved within 10 years after 1992, thanks to the undertakings given by Forza Italia.⁴²⁴⁵

Giuffrè also said that Berlusconi himself used to be in touch with Stefano Bontade, a top Mafia boss, in the mid 1970s. At the time Berlusconi still was just a wealthy real estate developer and started his private television empire. Bontade visited Berlusconi's villa in Arcore through his contact Vittorio Mangano.⁴⁷ Berlusconi's lawyer dismissed Giuffrè's testimony as "false" and an attempt to discredit the Prime Minister and his party. Giuffrè said that other Mafia representatives who were in contact with Berlusconi included the Palermo Mafia bosses Filippo Graviano and Giuseppe Graviano.⁴⁸ The Graviano brothers allegedly treated directly with Berlusconi through the business-man Gianni Letta, somewhere between September/October 1993. The alleged pact with the Mafia fell apart in 2002. Cosa Nostra had achieved nothing.⁴⁹

Dell'Utri's lawyer, Enrico Trantino, dismissed Giuffrè’s allegations as an "anthology of hearsay". He said Giuffrè had perpetuated the trend that every new turncoat would attack Dell'Utri and the former Christian Democrat prime minister Giulio Andreotti in order to earn money and judicial privileges.⁴⁷

In October 2009, Gaspare Spatuzza, a Mafioso turned pentito in 2008, has confirmed Giuffrè statements. Spatuzza testified that his boss Giuseppe Graviano had told him in 1994 that Berlusconi was bargaining with the Mafia, concerning a political-electoral agreement between Cosa Nostra and Berlusconi’s party Forza Italia. Spatuzza said Graviano disclosed the information to him during a conversation in a bar Graviano owned in the upscale Via Veneto district of the Italian capital Rome. Dell'Utri was the intermediary, according to Spatuzza. Dell'Utri has dismissed Spatuzza's allegations as "nonsense". Berlusconi’s lawyer and MP for the PdL, Niccolò Ghedini said that "the statements given by Spatuzza about prime minister Berlusconi are baseless and can be in no way verified."⁵⁰

Russia and Gazprom

Berlusconi has a warm relationship with Vladimir Putin.⁵¹

In November 2007 Italy’s state-owned energy company Eni signed an agreement with Russian state-owned Gazprom to build the controversial South Stream pipeline.⁵² Investigating Italian parliament members discovered that Central Energy Italian Gas Holding (CEIGH), a part of the Centrex Group, was to play a major role in the lucrative agreement. Bruno Mentasti-Granelli, a close friend of Berlusconi, owned 33 percent of CEIGH. Italian parliament blocked the contract and accused Berlusconi of having a personal interest in the Eni-Gazprom agreement.⁵²⁵³

The Economist

One of Berlusconi's strongest critics in the media outside Italy is the British weekly The Economist (nicknamed by Berlusconi "The Ecommunist"), which in its issue of the 26 April 2001 carried a title on its front cover, 'Why Silvio Berlusconi is unfit to lead Italy'.⁵⁴ The war of words between Berlusconi and The Economist has gained notoriety, with Berlusconi taking the publication to court in Rome and The Economist publishing letters against him.⁵⁵ The newspaper claimed that the documentation contained in its article proves that Berlusconi is 'unfit' for office⁵⁶ because of his numerous conflicts of interest. Berlusconi claimed the article contained "a series of old accusations" that was an "insult to truth and intelligence".

According to The Economist's findings, Berlusconi, while Prime Minister of Italy, retained effective control of 90% of all national television broadcasting. This figure included stations he owns directly as well as those over which he had indirect control by dint of his position as Prime Minister and his ability to influence the choice of the management bodies of these stations. The Economist has also claimed that the Italian Prime Minister is corrupted and self-serving. A key journalist for The Economist, David Lane, has set out many of these charges in his book Berlusconi's Shadow.⁵⁷

Lane points out that Berlusconi has not defended himself in court against the main charges, but has relied upon political and legal manipulations, most notably by changing the statute of limitation to prevent charges being completed in the first place. In order to publicly prove the truth of the documented accusations contained in their articles, the newspaper has publicly challenged Berlusconi to sue The Economist for libel. Berlusconi did so,⁵⁸ losing versus The Economist, and being charged for all the trial costs on 5 September 2008, when the Court in Milan issued a judgment rejecting all Mr Berlusconi's claims and sentenced him to compensate for legal expenses.

Influence on the media

Berlusconi's extensive control over the media has been widely criticised by both analysts⁵⁹ and press freedom organisations, who allege Italy's media has limited freedom of expression. The Freedom of the Press 2004 Global Survey, an annual study issued by the American organization Freedom House, downgraded Italy's ranking from 'Free' to 'Partly Free' ⁶⁰ due to Berlusconi's influence over RAI, a ranking which, in "Western Europe" was shared only with Turkey (as of 2005^[update]). Reporters Without Borders states that in 2004, "The conflict of interests involving prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and his vast media empire was still not resolved and continued to threaten news diversity".⁶¹ In April 2004, the International Federation of Journalists joined the criticism, objecting to the passage of a law vetoed by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi in 2003, which critics believe is designed to protect Berlusconi's reported 90% control of the Italian national media.⁶²

Berlusconi's influence over RAI became evident when in Sofia, Bulgaria he expressed his views on journalists Enzo Biagi and Michele Santoro,⁶³ and comedian Daniele Luttazzi. Berlusconi said that they "use television as a criminal means of communication". They lost their jobs as a result.⁶⁴ This statement was called by critics "Editto Bulgaro".

The TV broadcasting of a satirical programmme called RAIot was censored in November 2003 after the comedienne Sabina Guzzanti, made outspoken criticism of the Berlusconi media empire.⁶⁵ Mediaset, one of Berlusconi's companies, sued RAI over Guzzanti's program, demanding 20 million euros for "damages"; in November 2003 the show was cancelled by the president of RAI, Lucia Annunziata. The details of the event were made into a Michael Moore-style documentary called Viva Zapatero!, which was produced by Guzzanti.

Mediaset, Berlusconi's television group, has stated that it uses the same criteria as the public (state-owned) television RAI in assigning a proper visibility to all the most important political parties and movements (the so-called 'Par Condicio') - which has been since often disproved.⁶⁶⁶⁷ In March 2006, on the television channel Rai Tre, in a television interview with Lucia Annunziata during his talk show, In 1/2 h, he stormed out of the studio because of a disagreement with the host journalist regarding the economic consequences of his government.⁶⁸ In November 2007, allegations of news manipulation caused the departure from RAI of Berlusconi's personal assistant.⁶⁹

Enrico Mentana, the news anchor long seen as a guarantor of Canale 5’s independence, walked out in April 2008, saying that he no longer felt “at home in a group that seems like an electoral (campaign) committee” ⁷⁰

On 24 June 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria young members congress in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy has invited the advertisers to interrupt or boycott the advertising contracts with the magazines and newspapers published by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso,⁷¹ in particular the newspaper la Repubblica and the newsmagazine L'espresso, calling the publishing group "shameless",⁷¹ because is fueling the economic crisis speaking more and more about it and accusing also to make a subversive attack against him to replace with an "un-elected".⁷² The publishing group has announced to begin legal proceedings against Berlusconi, to protect the image and the interests of the group.⁷²

On 12 October 2009, Silvio Berlusconi during the Confindustria Monza and Brianza members congress, has again invited the industrialists present to a "widespread rebellion" against a "newspaper that hadn't any limits in discrediting the government and the country and indoctrinating foreign newspapers".⁷³

In October 2009, Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard declared that Berlusconi "is on the verge of being added to our list of Predators of Press Freedom", which would be a first for a European leader. He also added that Italy will probably be ranked last in the European Union in the upcoming edition of the RWB press freedom index.⁷⁴

Conflicts of interest

To better understand the controversies over a conflict of interest between Berlusconi's personal business empire and his political office, it is necessary to look at the structure of governmental control over State television. Under the law, the Speakers of the two Houses appoint the RAI president and board of directors. In practice, the decision is a political one, generally resulting in some opposition representatives becoming directors, while top managerial posts go to people sympathetic to the government. It was normal to have two directors and the president belonging to the parliamentary majority, and two directors who are opposition supporters. A parliamentary supervisory commission also exists, whose president is traditionally a member of the opposition. During the tenure of Mr. Baldassarre as RAI president, the two opposition directors and the one closer to the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats left over internal disagreements that mainly regarded censorship issues. RAI continued to be run by a two-man team (mockingly nicknamed by the opposition the Japanese after the Japanese soldiers who kept fighting on in the Pacific Ocean after the end of World War II).

The former Italian Left coalition under Prodi was often criticized for failing to pass a law to regulate the potential conflict of interest that might arise between media ownership and the holding of political office, despite having governed Italy for an entire legislature from 1996 to 2001. In 2002, Luciano Violante, a prominent member of the Left, said in a speech in Parliament: "Honourable Anedda, I invite you to ask the honourable Berlusconi, because he certainly knows that he received a full guarantee in 1994, when the government changed — that TV stations would not be touched. He knows it and the Honourable Letta knows it."^{75verification needed}

The authors of the book Inciucio²⁶ cite this sentence as evidence for the idea that the Left made a deal with Berlusconi in 1994, in which a promise was made not to honour a law in the Constitutional Court of Italy that would have required Berlusconi to give up one of his three TV channels in order to uphold pluralism and competition. According to the authors, this would be an explanation of why the Left, despite having won the 1996 elections, didn't pass a law to solve the conflicts of interest between media ownership and politics.

Controversy concerning Berlusconi's conflicts of interest are normally centred around the use of his media and marketing power for political gain. However, there is also controversy regarding his financial gains. When RAI was being run by a two-man team appointed by the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (both in Berlusconi's coalition), the state broadcaster increased its viewers, but lost a significant share of its advertising revenue to the rival Mediaset group, owned and run by the Berlusconi family, which has led to large personal gain.^{citation needed}

His government has passed some laws that have shortened statutory terms for tax fraud. Berlusconi responded to critics by saying that he would not take advantage of these himself, but later did.^{citation needed} Romano Prodi, who defeated Berlusconi in 2006, claimed that these were ad personam laws, meant to solve Berlusconi's problems and defend his interests.^76777879

Remarks on western civilization and Islam

On 26 September 2001, after the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York, USA, Berlusconi said: "We must be aware of the superiority of our civilisation, a system that has guaranteed well-being, respect for human rights and - in contrast with Islamic countries - respect for religious and political rights, a system that has as its value understanding of diversity and tolerance."⁸⁰⁸¹ This declaration caused an uproar, not only in the Arab and Muslim world, but also all around Europe, including Italy.⁸²⁸² Subsequently Berlusconi told the press: "We are aware of the crucial role of moderate Arab countries... I am sorry that words that have been misunderstood have offended the sensitivity of my Arab and Muslim friends."⁸³

Wiretaps and accusations of corruption through the exploitation of prostitution

In December 2007 the audio recording of a phone call between Berlusconi, then leader of the opposition parties, and Agostino Saccà (general director of RAI) were published by the magazine L'espresso and caused a scandal in several media.⁸⁴ The wiretap was being part of an investigation by the Public Prosecutor Office of Naples, where Berlusconi was investigated for corruption.⁸⁵ In the phone call, Saccà expresses words of impassioned political support to Berlusconi and criticises the behaviour of Berlusconi's allies. Berlusconi urges Saccà to broadcast a telefilm series which was strongly advocated by his ally Umberto Bossi. Saccà laments that many people have spread rumors on this agreement causing problems to him. Then Berlusconi asks Saccà to find a job in RAI for a young woman explicitly telling him that this woman would serve as an asset in a secret exchange with a senator of the majority who would help him to cause Prodi, with his administration, to fall.⁸⁶ After the publication of these wiretaps, Berlusconi has been accused by other politicians and by some journalists of political corruption through the exploitation of prostitution. Berlusconi said, in his own defense: "In the entertainment world everybody knows that, in certain situations in RAI TV you work only if you prostitute yourself or if you are leftist. I have intervened on behalf of some personalities who are not leftists and have been completely set apart by RAI TV."⁸⁷

Right-to-die case

After the family of Eluana Englaro (who had been comatose for 17 years) succeeded in having her right to die recognized by the judges and getting doctors to start the process of allowing her to die in the way established by the court, Berlusconi issued a decree to stop the doctor from letting her die. Stating that, "This is murder. I would be failing to rescue her. I'm not a Pontius Pilate", Berlusconi went on to defend his decision by claiming that she was "in the condition to have babies",⁸⁸ arguing that comatose women were still subject to menstruation.

Prostitution accusations and divorce case

At the end of April 2009, Veronica Lario wrote an open letter expressing her anger at Berlusconi's choice of young, attractive female candidates—some with little or no political experience—to represent the party in the 2009 European Parliament elections. Berlusconi demanded a public apology, claiming that for the third time his wife had "done this to me in the middle of an election campaign", and stated that there was little prospect of his marriage continuing.⁸⁹ On 3 May, Veronica Lario announced she was filing for divorce following her husband's attendance at a girl's 18th birthday party in Casoria, province of Naples.⁹⁰⁹¹ She claimed that Berlusconi had not attended his own sons' 18th birthday parties, and that she "cannot remain with a man who consorts with minors" and "is not well".⁹²⁹³ Noemi Letizia, the girl in question, gave interviews to the Italian press, revealing that she calls Berlusconi "papi" ("daddy"), that they often spent time together in the past, and that Berlusconi would take care of her career as showgirl or politician, whichever she opted to pursue.⁹⁴

In the following days Silvio Berlusconi gave explanations about the incident to press⁹⁵⁹⁶ and television,⁹⁷⁹⁸ swearing that he knew the girl only through her father and that he never met her alone without her parents.⁹⁹ However, on 14 May, newspaper la Repubblica published an article showing the many inconsistencies and contradictions arisen so far and formally asking Berlusconi to answer ten questions in order to clarify the situation.⁹⁹¹⁰⁰

Ten days later, Letizia's ex-boyfriend Luigi Flaminio claimed that Berlusconi contacted the girl personally in October 2008, impressed by her "purity" and "angelic face" after seeing pictures of her in a photobook, brought to him by the journalist Emilio Fede (director of Rete 4's news program). Flaminio also mentioned that she spent a week without her parents at Berlusconi's Sardinian villa around New Year's Eve 2009,¹⁰¹ a fact confirmed later by her mother.¹⁰² Photographs of the event taken by a paparazzo were confiscated by the Prosecutor's Office of Rome for violation of privacy¹⁰³ but a selection of those photos was published in El País on 4 June.^104105106

On 28 May 2009, Silvio Berlusconi said that he never had "spicy" relations with Noemi Letizia, swearing also on his sons. He said also if had any such thing like this occurred, he would have resigned immediately.¹⁰⁷

On 17 June 2009, Patrizia D'Addario, a 42-year old escort and retired actress¹⁰⁸ from Bari, Italy, claimed that she had been recruited twice (by a common friend, who paid her 2000 Euros) in order to spend the evening, and once also the night with Berlusconi.¹⁰⁹ Magistrates in Bari are investigating this case, since the common friend could be prosecuted for favouring prostitution.

Silvio Berlusconi denied any knowledge of D'Addario being a paid escort: "I have never paid a woman - he declared - I have never understood what satisfaction there is if the pleasure of conquest is absent".¹¹⁰ He also accused an unspecified person of maneuvering and paying D'Addario (accusations which she vehemently denied).¹¹¹

Other young women have also described to the press the parties held in Berlusconi's Rome residence (Palazzo Grazioli):¹¹² while photos and transcripts of audio cassettes circulated widely in the press: these descriptions have raised, in particular, concerns about the lack of security measures and the uncontrolled access to the PM's residence.¹¹³

On 26 June 2009, the "10 questions" to Berlusconi were reformulated by la Repubblica newspaper, and then frequently republished on it.¹¹⁴ No answers were given, until 28 August 2009, when Berlusconi sued Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, the owner company of the newspaper, and defined these ten questions as "defamatory" and "rhetorical".¹¹⁵

Berlusconi's lifestyle has raised eyebrows in Catholic circles, with vigorous criticism being expressed in particular by the newspaper Avvenire, owned by the Conferenza Episcopale Italiana (Conference of Italian Bishops). This was followed by the publication in the newspaper il Giornale (owned by the Berlusconi family) of details with regard to legal proceedings against the editor of Avvenire, Dino Boffo, which seemed to imply him for harassments case against the wife of his ex-partner.¹¹⁶ Dino Boffo has always declared the details of proceeding as false, although hasn't denied the fact.¹¹⁷

After a period of tense exchanges and polemics, on 3 September 2009, Boffo resigned from his editorial position¹¹⁸¹¹⁹ and the assistant editor Marco Tarquinio became editor ad interim.¹²⁰

On 22 September 2009, Silvio Berlusconi after a press conference declared that he has asked his ministers not to respond anymore to questions regarding "gossip". He has stated also that the Italian press should talk only about the "successes" of Italian Government in internal and foreign policies, adding also that the press now will be able only to ask questions such as "how many apartments will be given in L'Aquila", i.e. on his administration and not on gossip.¹²¹

During a contested¹²²¹²³ episode of AnnoZero on 1 October 2009, the journalist and presenter Michele Santoro has interviewed Patrizia D'Addario.¹²⁴ She has stated she was contacted by Giampaolo Tarantini - a businessman from Bari - who already knew her and requested her presence to Palazzo Grazioli with "the President".¹²⁵ D'Addario also stated that XX1 knows that she was a paid escort.¹²⁶

Jokes, gestures and blunders

Berlusconi is notorious for his questionable sense of humour.

In February 2002, at a European Union summit of foreign ministers, Berlusconi, who was present since the replacement of his previous foreign minister, Renato Ruggiero, had not yet been appointed, made a vulgar gesture (the "corna") behind the head of the Spanish foreign minister, Josep Piqué, intimating he was a cuckold during an official photo shoot. This is a common joke among Italian children, but many felt it was utterly out of place in an international meeting. He later explained that he "was just kidding", and was trying to create a relaxed atmosphere, that this sort of meeting was meant to "create friendship, cordiality, fondness and kind relationships" between the participants, and that he wanted to amuse a small group of Boy Scout bystanders.

On 2 July 2003, one day after taking over the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, he was heavily criticised by the German SPD Member of the European Parliament Martin Schulz because of his domestic policy and his alleged links to the Mafia. Berlusconi responded: "Mr Schulz, I know a movie producer in Italy who is making a movie about Nazi concentration camps. I will recommend you for the role of a Kapo. You are perfect for the part!". Responding to the shoutings that then came from the Socialist MEP backbenchers, Berlusconi insisted that he was only joking, but soon after accused Martin Schulz and others leftish MEPs to be "bad-willing tourists of democracy". His comparisons with the Nazis caused a brief cooling of Italy's relationship with Germany.¹²⁷

In 2003, during an interview with Nicholas Farrell and Boris Johnson, then editor of The Spectator magazine, Berlusconi claimed that Mussolini "had been a benign dictator who did not murder opponents but sent them "on holiday".¹²⁸

In mid-May 2005, while opening the European Food Safety Authority in Parma (preferred over a Finnish location, after Berlusconi made an assertion of Finns "not knowing what prosciutto is"), Berlusconi claimed that he had to "dust off my playboy skills" with the Finnish president, Tarja Halonen, to convince her to locate the EFSA in Parma. This caused criticism from both Italy and Finland, with the Italian ambassador in Finland being summoned by the Finnish foreign minister.¹²⁹ A minister of his cabinet later 'explained' the comment by saying that "anyone who had seen a picture of Halonen must have been aware that he had been joking". Before that, speaking to a group of Wall Street traders, he listed a series of reasons to invest in Italy. The first of them was that "we have the most beautiful secretaries in the world". This resulted in uproar in Italy, where, for a day, female Members of Parliament took part in a cross-party protest. Over the prosciutto comment, the Finnish pizza chain Kotipizza later came back with a new variety of pizza called Pizza Berlusconi, using smoked reindeer as the topping. The pizza won first prize in America's Plate International pizza contest in March 2008.¹³⁰¹³¹

In March 2006, Berlusconi defended accusations he made that the "Communists used to eat children", by responding with claims that "... read the Black Book of Communism and you will discover that in the communist China of Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields". He later admitted, "It was questionable irony ... because this joke is questionable. But I did not know how to restrain myself." His political opponent, Romano Prodi, told the press, "The damage caused to Italy by an insult to 1.3 billion people is by all means a considerable one", and that Berlusconi's comments were "unthinkable".¹³² Berlusconi replied by gifting 1000 copies of the Black Book of Communism during one of his election rallies.^{citation needed}

On 4 April 2006, less than a week before the upcoming political elections in Italy, during a speech given at the National Chamber for Trade, Berlusconi stated that he holds "too high esteem of the Italians' intelligence to think that there are so many coglioni (literally "testicles", a vulgar term often used about people considered stupid) around voting against their interest". He later apologized for the "rude but effective language".¹³³

At an awards dinner in January 2007, Berlusconi was quoted as saying, "If I wasn't already married, I would marry you right away," and "With you, I'd go anywhere" to Mara Carfagna, a representative of Forza Italia and former showgirl. These flirtatious comments prompted his wife Veronica to demand an apology in a front-page letter to the Italian newspaper la Repubblica, one of Berlusconi's rival publications. In a statement released through his political party, he begged for forgiveness and stated that he would "always protect [Veronica's] dignity."¹³⁴ Mara Carfagna is now serving under him as minister for Equal Opportunities.¹³⁵

In the run-up to the 2008 Italian general election, Berlusconi claimed that right-wing female politicians were better looking than their left-wing counterparts. His remarks provoked an angry reaction from Italian centre-left parties, which accused him of being sexist. Berlusconi was quoted as saying that when he looked round Parliament, he found that female politicians from the right were "more beautiful" and that "The left has no taste, even when it comes to women".¹³⁶

During a televised encounter with voters on 10 April 2008 a young woman asked Silvio Berlusconi what the younger generation should do about the lack of secure jobs. He promptly suggested that she try to marry "the son of Berlusconi... with a smile like yours, you could try."¹³⁷

Since the 2008 general election, Berlusconi has already begun to court controversy at European level. He has publicly criticized the current composition of the Council of Ministers of the Spanish Government as being too 'pink' by virtue of the fact that it has (once the President of the Council, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is counted) an equal number of men and women. He also stated that he doubted that such a composition would be possible in Italy given the "prevalence of men" in Italian politics.¹³⁸

At a joint press-conference at Villa La Certosa (17 April 2008) in Sardinia with the Russian president Vladimir Putin, a Russian journalist from Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Natalia Melikova, put a question to Putin, asking him if he intended divorcing his wife and marrying Alina Kabayeva, an Olympic gold medalist and an MP in Russia. When his guest showed annoyance, Berlusconi intervened with a gesture toward the journalist that imitated a gunman shooting.¹³⁹ The journalist was reportedly reduced to tears. Putin denied rumours that he was to marry Kabaeva. A spokesman for Berlusconi tried to play down the shooting gesture. He said: "It was just a gesture, a playful gesture, in fact it was appreciated given the technical time needed for a long and tedious Russian translation." Afterwards, Melikova said: "I saw Berlusconi's gesture and I know he has a reputation as being a joker. I hope there are no consequences." Vittorio Feltri, founder and editor of the right-wing newspaper Libero, argued that, given the records in transparency that Russia scores, Berlusconi actually 'saved' Melikova's life by making that gesture.^{citation needed}

Berlusconi and George W. Bush are known to be intimate friends and spend time together on Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch. He declared that he and Bush would "remain friends forever", nostalgic at the end of Bush's term as a president.¹⁴⁰ On an official dinner in the White House on October 2008, Berlusconi, tripping over a microphone cable, crumbled the podium, too excited about greeting Bush and embracing him. Then Berlusconi commented: "did you see what a huge love can do?"¹⁴¹

On 6 November 2008, two days after Barack Obama was elected the first African-American US President, Berlusconi "complimented" Obama on his "suntan":¹⁴²

“

I will try to help relations between Russia and the United States where a new generation has come to power. I don't see problems for Medvedev to establish good relations with Obama because he is young, handsome and even tanned, therefore I think that a good cooperation can be developed.143144

”

On 26 March 2009 he added:

“

I'm paler [than Mr Obama], because it's been so long since I went sunbathing. He's more handsome, younger and taller.145

”

Subsequently at a tent camp on the outskirts of L'Aquila housing some of the more than 30,000 people who lost their homes during the 2009 earthquake he said to an African priest:

“

you have a nice tan.146

”

Berlusconi then grabbed the priest and told him:

“

hold me tight and call me Papa.146

”

On 18 November 2008, Berlusconi played "hide-and-seek" with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. He was set to receive Merkel but opted to hide behind a column while Merkel and her entourage walked by. According to reporters present, Berlusconi called out "coo coo", prompting Mrs Merkel to turn around, saying "Oh, Silvio".¹⁴⁷

On 24 January 2009 Berlusconi announced his aim to enhance the numbers of military patrolling the Italian cities from 3000 to 30000 in order to crack down on what he called an "evil army" of criminals. Responding to a female journalist who asked him if this tenfold increase in patrolling soldiers would be enough to secure Italian women from being raped, he said:

“

We could not field a big enough force to avoid this risk [of rape]. We would need as many soldiers as beautiful women and I don't think that would be possible, because our women are so beautiful.

”

Opposition leaders called the remarks insensitive and in bad taste. Berlusconi retorted that he had merely wanted to compliment Italian women. Other critics accused him of creating a "police state".¹⁴⁸

On 3 April 2009, Berlusconi appeared to have annoyed Queen Elizabeth II at a photo session during the G20 summit. During the photo session, Berlusconi shouted "Mr Obama, Mr. Obama", prompting her to turn around and chastise Berlusconi, “What is it? Why does he have to shout?”.¹⁴⁹¹⁵⁰ The following day, at the NATO meeting in Kehl, Berlusconi was seen talking on his mobile phone, while the German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other NATO leaders waited for him for a photo on a Rhine bridge.¹⁵¹ (Afterwards, Berlusconi claimed he was talking to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan about accepting the Secretary Generalship of Anders Fogh Rasmussen). Responding to the Italian media's reaction to these incidents, he said he was considering "hard measures" against reporters, and referred to some of their claims as "slander".¹⁵²

Two days after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, devastating the capital city of the Abruzzo region and causing more than 290 deaths, Berlusconi said to n-tv that the people left homeless by the earthquake should view their experience as a camping weekend.¹⁵³ In that occasion he asked woman councillor Lia Beltrami, "Can I fondle you?" on a tour of an earthquake site.¹⁵⁴

On May 2009 Berlusconi said to a reporter while he was on a live television in Rome that when he was in Finland he had to travel three hours to see a two hundred year old church in the countryside. In his opinion that wooden church would have been destroyed if it was in Italy. Mr Berlusconi had made a non-official visit to Finland in 1999 and had never seen any Finnish church. He had just been visiting Iceland.^{155 156}

Assault at rally

On 13 December 2009 Berlusconi was hit in the face with an alabaster^{citation needed} statuette of Milan Cathedral after a rally in Milan's Piazza Duomo. As Berlusconi was shaking hands with the public, a man in the crowd stepped forward and launched the statuette at him. The attack was captured on film and the assailant was subsequently detained and identified as Massimo Tartaglia, a 42 year-old surveyor with a history of mental illness but no criminal record, living in the outskirts of Milan.¹⁵⁷¹⁵⁸ According to a letter released to the Italian news agency ANSA, Tartaglia has apologised for the attack, writing: "I don't recognise myself", and adding that he had "acted alone [with no] form of militancy or political affiliation". Berlusconi suffered facial injuries, a broken nose and two broken teeth; he was subsequently hospitalised.¹⁵⁹ Italian president Giorgio Napolitano and politicians from all parties in Italy condemned the attack.

In the night of 15–16 December a 26-year old man was stopped by police and Berlusconi's bodyguards while trying to gain access to Berlusconi's hospital room. A search revealed that he carried no weapons, although three hockey sticks and two knives were later found in his car. The suspect was known to have a history of mental illness and mandatory treatment in mental institutions.¹⁶⁰

Berlusconi was discharged from hospital on 17 December 2009.¹⁶¹

See also

• List of billionaires
• List of national leaders

References

• (Italian) Il mistero Sindona
• (German) Geschäfte mit dem Vatikan. Die Affäre Sindona. München 1987. ISBN 3-426-03970-2
• Amedeo Benedetti, Il linguaggio e la retorica della nuova politica italiana: Silvio Berlusconi e Forza Italia, Erga, Genova, 2004, ISBN 8881633639
• L'odore dei soldi. Origini e misteri delle fortune di Silvio Berlusconi (Elio Veltri and Marco Travaglio, 2001, Editori Riuniti, ISBN 88-359-5007-4 ).
• (Italian) [3],¹⁶² Journalists Marco Travaglio (interviewed by Daniele Luttazzi in his show Satyricon)
• (Italian) Berlusconi bankruptcy risks and legal investigation before entering politics: Mani pulite. La vera storia. Da Mario Chiesa a Silvio Berlusconi (Gianni Barbacetto, Peter Gomez and Marco Travaglio, 2002, Editori Riuniti, ISBN 88-359-5241-7)
• (Italian) L'amico degli amici. (Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez, 2005, RCS MediaGroup, ISBN 88-17-00707-2)
• (Italian) Article Forza Bahamas, in the column Bananas by Marco Travaglio (17 April 2005, L'Unità). This article has been also published in book Berluscomiche (Marco Travaglio, 2005, Garzanti Libri, ISBN 88-11-59765-X), pp. 431–433. It can be found at:¹⁶³¹⁶⁴
• (Italian) Inciucio. (Peter Gomez and Marco Travaglio, 2005, RCS MediaGroup, ISBN 88-17-01020-0 ).
• "Italy bid for PM corruption trial", BBC News, 10 March 2006
• "Berlusconi hands in resignation", BBC News, 2 May 2006
• "Berlusconi: Left has uglier women"
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8497827.stm

Documentaries

• "Citizen Berlusconi - The Prime Minister and the Press", 2003
• Viva Zapatero!, directed by Sabina Guzzanti, 2005
• "Quando c'era Silvio"

Feature films

• Videocracy (directed by Erik Gandini, 2009)¹⁶⁵
• "Bye Bye Berlusconi!/Buonanotte Topolino"
• Il Caimano (directed by Nanni Moretti, 2006)
• Shooting Silvio (directed by Berardo Carboni)
• Citizen Berlusconi (directed by Andrea Cairola and Susan Gray )

References

Further reading

• "The Thing Berluscony, by Nobel Prize Winner José Saramago, El País, 7 June 2009, Retrieved 7 June 2009
• "Italy immunity law provokes fury", BBC news, 25 June 2003, Retrieved 24 December 2004
• "Berlusconi in EU 'Nazi' slur", BBC news, 2 July 2003, Retrieved 24 December 2004
• "Berlusconi accused of Mafia links", BBC news, 8 January 2003, Retrieved 22 January 2005
• "Italy's left attacks Berlusconi", BBC news, 11 December 2004, Retrieved 22 January 2005
• "Berlusconi plans to get off the hook", The Observer, 7 October 2001, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Italian Senate passes disputed bill", BBC News, 2 August 2002, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Berlusconi scores double victory", BBC News, 5 November 2002, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Berlusconi ally jailed for bribery", BBC News, 29 April 2003, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Berlusconi ally partially cleared", BBC News, 22 November 2003, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Berlusconi warns 'subversive' judges", BBC News, 8 August 2003, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Berlusconi stuns Italian judges", BBC News, 5 September 2003, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Italian judges fight reforms", BBC News, 20 June 2002, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Italian magistrates go on strike", BBC News, 25 May 2004, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Italian president blocks reforms", BBC News, 16 December 2004, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• Q&A: "Berlusconi's battle with the courts", BBC News, 24 January 2002, Retrieved 1 February 2005
• "Italian premier's brother wants plea bargain in corruption case", Financial Times, 22 April 2002, Retrieved 1 February 2005, reported on the la Margherita (the Daisy) opposition party website.
• "New storm over Berlusconi remarks", BBC News, 11 September 2003, Retrieved 2 February 2005
• "Jewish communities split over Berlusconi", BBC News, 26 September 2003, Retrieved 2 February 2005
• "Berlusconi's life [chronology", paper spread 2 July 2003 among the European parliamentarians by member Gianni Vattimo, written by journalists Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.
• "Berlusconi and his mysteries" paper spread 2 July 2003 among the European parliamentarians by member Gianni Vattimo, written by journalists Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.
• New York Times journalist Nick Tosches interviewes with Michele Sindona, while imprisoned in the United States:
  • (English) Power On Earth, 1986, Arbor House Pub Co, USA, ISBN 0-87795-796-7
• Alexander Stille, "Girls! Girls! Girls! The P.M.'s sex follies" The New Yorker 84/35, 3 November 2008 : 70-76

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Silvio Berlusconi

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silvio Berlusconi

• (English) (Italian) ACMilan.it, AC Milan official website
• (English) Profile: Silvio Berlusconi, BBC
• (English) (Italian) Forza Italia, Berlusconi's political movement; click on International for an English version.
• (English) (Italian) (French) (Spanish) (German) A popular paper spread among the members of the European Parliament about Berlusconi's life chronology, mysteries and trials. By Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.
• (English) A chronology of Berlusconi's life from Ketupa.net
• (English) Berlusconi cuts stake in television company, IFEX
• (English) Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People
• (English) BBC News Europe: Berlusconi in his own words
• (English) - RussiaToday
• (Italian) - Progetto Politica: le 10 domande di Repubblica a Berlusconi

Party political offices
New political party	President of Forza Italia 1994–2009	Succeeded by Himself as President of People of Freedom
	President of People of Freedom 2009–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Carlo Azeglio Ciampi	Prime Minister of Italy 1994–1995	Succeeded by Lamberto Dini
Preceded by Giuliano Amato	Prime Minister of Italy 2001–2006	Succeeded by Romano Prodi
Preceded by Renato Ruggiero	Minister of Foreign Affairs Acting 2002	Succeeded by Franco Frattini
Preceded by Giulio Tremonti	Minister of Economy and Finance Acting 2004	Succeeded by Domenico Siniscalco
Preceded by Francesco Storace	Minister of Health Acting 2006	Succeeded by Livia Turco
Preceded by Mario Baccini	Minister of Public Function Acting 2006	Succeeded by Luigi Nicolais
Preceded by Romano Prodi	Prime Minister of Italy 2008–present	Incumbent
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Morihiro Hosokawa	Chair of the G8 1994	Succeeded by Jean Chrétien
Preceded by Giuliano Amato	Chair of the G8 2001
Preceded by Taro Aso	Chair of the G8 2009	Succeeded by Nicolas Sarkozy
Order of precedence
Preceded by Gianfranco Fini as President of the Chamber of Deputies	Italian order of precedence Prime Minister	Succeeded by Francesco Amirante as President of the Constitutional Court

Silvio Berlusconi v • d • e Prime Ministers of Italy Kingdom of Italy Cavour · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Farini · Minghetti · La Marmora · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Menabrea · Lanza · Minghetti · Depretis · Cairoli · Depretis · Cairoli · Depretis · Crispi · Starrabba · Giolitti · Crispi · Starrabba · Pelloux · Saracco · Zanardelli · Giolitti · Tittoni · Fortis · Sonnino · Giolitti · Sonnino · Luzzatti · Giolitti · Salandra · Boselli · Orlando · Nitti · Giolitti · Bonomi · Facta · Mussolini · Badoglio · Bonomi · Parri · De Gasperi Italian Republic De Gasperi · Pella · Fanfani · Scelba · Segni · Zoli · Fanfani · Segni · Tambroni · Fanfani · Leone · Moro · Leone · Rumor · Colombo · Andreotti · Rumor · Moro · Andreotti · Cossiga · Forlani · Spadolini · Fanfani · Craxi · Fanfani · Goria · De Mita · Andreotti · Amato · Ciampi · Berlusconi · Dini · Prodi · D'Alema · Amato · Berlusconi · Prodi · Berlusconi v • d • e Italian Ministers of Foreign Affairs Kingdom of Italy Cavour · Ricasoli · Rattazzi · Pasolini · Visconti-Venosta · La Marmora · Visconti-Venosta · Campello · Menabrea · Visconti-Venosta · Melefari · Depretis · Corti · Cairoli · Depretis · Cairoli · Mancini · Depretis · Robilant · Depretis · Crispi · Starabba di Rudinì · Brin · De Blanc · Caetani · Capelli · Canevaro · Visconti-Venosta · Prinetti · Tittoni · Paternò-Castello · Guicciardini · Tittoni · Guicciardini · Paternò-Castello · Barone Sidney Sonnino · Tittoni · Scialoja · Sforza · Tommasi della Torretta · Schanzer · Mussolini · Grandi · Mussolini · Ciano · Mussolini · Guariglia · Badoglio · Bonomi · De Gasperi Italian Republic De Gasperi · Nenni · Sforza · De Gasperi · Pella · Piccioni · Martino · Pella · Fanfani · Pella · Segni · Fanfani · Piccioni · Saragat · Moro · Fanfani · Moro · Fanfani · Medici · Nenni · Moro · Medici · Moro · Rumor · Forlani · Malfatti · Ruffini · Colombo · Andreotti · De Michelis · Scotti · Amato · Colombo · Andreatta · Elia · Martino · Agnelli · Dini · Amato · Ruggiero · Berlusconi · Frattini · Fini · D'Alema · Frattini v • d • e Great Offices of the Italian Republic President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano President of the Senate Renato Schifani President of the Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi v • d • e European Council List of summits · President · Parties Van Rompuy (President) · Faymann (AT) · Leterme (BE) · Borisov (BG) · Christofias (CY) · Fischer (CZ) · Merkel (DE) · Løkke Rasmussen (DK) · Ansip (EE) · Vanhanen (FI) · Sarkozy (FR) · Papandreou (GR) · Bajnai (HU) · Cowen (IE) · Berlusconi (IT) · Dombrovskis (LV) · Kubilius (LT) · Juncker (LU) · Gonzi (MT) · Balkenende (NL) · Tusk (PL) · Sócrates (PT) · Boc (RO) · Fico (SK) · Pahor (SI) · Zapatero (ES) · Reinfeldt (SE) · Brown (UK) · Barroso (EC) v • d • e G8 Leaders Harper · Sarkozy · Merkel · Berlusconi · Hatoyama · Medvedev · Brown · Obama v • d • e G20 Leaders Kirchner · Rudd · Lula · Harper · Hu · Sarkozy · Merkel · Singh · Yudhoyono · Berlusconi · Hatoyama · Calderón · Medvedev · Abdullah · Zuma · Lee · Erdoğan · Brown · Obama v • d • e Berlusconi I Cabinet (1994 – 1995) Berlusconi | Tatarella | Maroni | Comino | Guidi | Urbani | Berlinguer | Ferrara | Speroni | Martino | Biondi | Pagliarini | Tremonti | Dini | Previti | D'Onofrio | Radice | Poli Bortone | Fiori | Tatarella | Gnutti | Costa | Bernini | Mastella | Fisichella | Matteoli | Podestà  v • d • e Berlusconi II Cabinet (2001–2005) Berlusconi | Fini | Follini | La Loggia | Pisanu | Scajola | Frattini | Mazzella | Baccini | Stanca | Tremaglia | Prestigiacomo | Buttiglione | Bossi | Calderoli | Giovanardi | Ruggiero | Castelli | Tremonti | Siniscalco | Marzano | Moratti | Maroni | Martino | Alemanno | Lunardi | Sirchia | Urbani | Gasparri | Matteoli  v • d • e Berlusconi III Cabinet (2005–2006) Berlusconi | Fini | Tremonti | La Loggia | Caldoro | Baccini | Stanca | Tremaglia | Prestigiacomo | La Malfa | Calderoli | Giovanardi | Miccichè | Pisanu | Castelli | Siniscalco | Scajola | Moratti | Maroni | Martino | Alemanno | Matteoli | Lunardi | Storace | Buttiglione | Landolfi  v • d • e Berlusconi IV Cabinet (2008–present) Berlusconi | Tremonti | Maroni | Alfano | Frattini | Sacconi | Gelmini | La Russa | Scajola | Zaia | Prestigiacomo | Matteoli | Bondi | Bossi | Ronchi | Vito | Brunetta | Calderoli | Fitto | Meloni | Carfagna | Rotondi  v • d • e President of Forza Italia Silvio Berlusconi

Persondata
NAME	Berlusconi, Silvio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Italian politician, entrepreneur, and media proprietor
DATE OF BIRTH	29 September 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH	Milan, Italy
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH