Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Silvio Berlusconi
*** Shopping-Tip: Silvio Berlusconi
{{current}}
{{npov}}
{{Infobox_Prime Minister | name=Silvio Berlusconi
| nationality=Italian
| image=SilvioB.jpg
| order=33rd Prime Minister
| term_start=
27 April1994 —
22 December1994
11 June 2001
| term_end=present
| predecessor=first time:
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
second time:
Giuliano Amato
| successor=Incumbent
| birth_date=
September 29,
1936
| birth_place=
Milan,
Italy
| dead=alive
| death_date=
| death_place=
| spouse=Carla Dall'Oglio (1965)
Veronica Lario (1985)
| party=
Forza Italia
| deputy prime ministers=
Giulio Tremonti and
Gianfranco Fini
}}
{{audio|It-Silvio_Berlusconi.ogg|'''Silvio Berlusconi'''}} (born
September 29,
1936) is an Italian
politician,
entrepreneur,
media proprietor and the current
Prime Minister of Italy Prime Minister of
Italy. He is the leader of the
Forza Italia political movement, a
center-right party he himself founded in 1994.
Berlusconi is the founder and principal
shareholder of
Fininvest, the second largest Italian corporation (after
Fiat), which deals in media and financial business and, most notably, comprises three national TV channels. Together these account for nearly half the Italian TV market.
He is also well known for being, since 1986, the president of
A.C. Milan, a prominent Italian
Football (soccer) football team; under his presidency it has won a number of national and international trophies.
According to ''
Forbes'' Magazine, Silvio Berlusconi is Italy's richest person, an allegedly self-made man (see
Silvio Berlusconi#Entrepreneurial career, Bettino Craxi & Mafia section) with personal assets worth $12,000,000,000 (
United States dollar USD) in 2005, making him the world's 25th richest person {{ref|forbes}}.
His rise in the political arena has been extremely fast. He was appointed Prime Minister following the March
1994 elections, when Forza Italia gained a relative majority a mere three months after having been officially launched. However this cabinet collapsed after seven months, due to internal disagreements in the centre-right coalition. In the
1996 elections, he ran for Prime Minister again but was defeated by centre-left candidate
Romano Prodi. From
1996 to
2001 he was the leader of the parliamentary opposition. In the
2001 elections, he was again the centre-right candidate for Prime Minister and won against the centre-left candidate
Francesco Rutelli. The second Berlusconi government was formed and this holds the record for being the longest-lasting in the history of the Italian republic.
Berlusconi is the centre-right candidate in the upcoming April
2006 elections, his contender being again
Romano Prodi.
In economics, Berlusconi has endorsed traditional conservative policies, such as lowering taxes and generally placing lesser constraints on enterprise, in an effort to encourage growth. In foreign policy, his views have been strongly pro-American, even at the expense of causing some attrition with other European countries; in particular he supported
George W. Bush's
2003 invasion of Iraq by sending Italian troops to join the "
Coalition of the Willing". In social policy matters the Berlusconi government has taken definitely right-wing stances, passsing more strict laws concerning
immigration,
artificial insemination and
drug use.
Although many aspects of Berlusconi's life and personality are highly controversial, the key peculiarity of his political career, which makes his a somewhat unique case, is probably the issue of media ownership and control. According to Berlusconi's adversaries, the Mediaset (Fininvest's media division) TV channels have played a crucial role in his political success by airing open or "covert"
propaganda during news or other information shows. By contrast, his supporters believe that the networks have always mantained a neutral profile. The issue has become even more divisive since Berlusconi's rise to premiership, with the left accusing him of also being in control of the publicly-owned
RAI TV channels, so in practice of almost all TV sources of information, and the right stating that the RAI channels are, if anything, biased in favor of the centre-left. Since this matter is, by its very nature, hard to settle objectively, the political debate in Italy has become rather alienating, as the contenders often seem to completely lack a shared information source regarded as neutral and reliable. It must be noted that Berlusconi officially resigned from all functions in his commercial group in
1994 upon entering politics; he is, however, still the largest shareholder, and all the key posts are held by members of his family or close collaborators.
Family background and private life
Berlusconi was raised in an upper middle-class family in
Milan; his father Luigi worked at a small bank,
Banca Rasini, of which he became general manager in the 1960s before retiring. Silvio was the first of three children, the others being Maria Antonietta Berlusconi (born
1943) and Paolo Berlusconi (born
1949), now both entrepreneurs.
After completing his secondary school education at a
Salesian college, he studied
law at the
Università Statale in Milan, graduating
cum laude with a thesis on the legal aspects of
advertising in
1961. Berlusconi did not serve the standard one-year stint in the
Italian army army which was compulsory at the time.
In
1965 he married Carla Dall'Oglio, and they had two children: Maria Elvira, best known as Marina (born
1966) and Piersilvio (b.
1968). Years later, while splitting from his first wife, whom he divorced in
1985, Berlusconi estabilished a durable relationship with the actress
Veronica Lario (''
nom de plume'' of Miriam Bartolini), with whom he had three children: Barbara (b.
1984), Eleonora (b.
1986) and Luigi (b.
1988). The couple married in
1990. At this time Berlusconi was a well known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event; one of the
best man best men for the wedding was the ex Prime Minister
Bettino Craxi.
Business career
Image:Craxi Berlusconi.gif thumb|Silvio Berlusconi with [[Bettino Craxi, the Prime Minister of Italy at the time.]]
Milano 2
Berlusconi's business career began in the building construction business in the 1960s. His first entry into the media world was in 1973 by means of a cable television station, ''Telemilano'', designed to service his ''Milano 2'' residential development.
Vittorio Mangano
In 1974 Berlusconi moved with his family into ''Villa Casati'', in
Milan.
Marcello Dell'Utri, a close friend and coworker of Berlusconi, brought into this
Villa the young
Mafia boss
Vittorio Mangano, from
Palermo (
Sicily). Officially Mangano was hired by Berlusconi as his
stable keeper, but he also took care of the Villa's security and sometimes took Berlusconi's children to school. Berlusconi kept Mangano as an employee despite his
criminal record dating back to the 1960s, and never dismissed him even when, during his time as employee in the Villa, he was
Prison imprisoned because of
conviction (law) convictions, and suspected of arranging the kidnapping of a friend of Berlusconi. Mangano left spontaneously in late 1976, concerned about Berlusconi's reputation, since many newspapers started making a scandal about his relationship to him
#References 24. Berlusconi later stated that he was absolutely unaware of who Mangano really was when he hired him.
Fininvest
In 1978 Berlusconi formed his first media group,
Fininvest, which in the five years to 1983 earned 113 billion lire (the equivalent of about 260 milion
euro at 1997 values). The funding sources are still unknown, because of the complex system of
holding company holding companies that makes them impossible to trace. Among the banks that helped in this funds transfer was the above mentioned
Banca Rasini.
Fininvest expanded to a country wide
Television network network of local TV stations which would all broadcast the same materials, forming, in effect, a single national station. This was illegal at the time, since Italian law reserved the
monopoly of national TV broadcasting to the public television. In 1980 he founded Italy's first private national network
Canale 5, shortly followed by
Italia 1 bought from the
Rusconi family (1982) and
Rete 4 (1984) bought from
Mondadori. A strong help to his successful effort to create the first and only Italian commercial TV empire is due to his link with
Bettino Craxi, at that time secretary-general of
Italian Socialist Party and prime minister of Italy. In 1986, Berlusconi tried also to expand in
France with his channel
La Cinq, but the project failed and he had to leave in 1990. For many years, the three Italian TV channels owned by Berlusconi were not allowed to broadcast news and political commentary, yet they formed the main alternative to the three State-owned channels
Rai Uno,
Rai Due and
Rai Tre. Only in the 1990s was the government monopoly on information ended.
In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group
Leo Kirch Kirch (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999 Berlusconi expanded again in the media business in a partnership with Kirch called the ''Epsilon MediaGroup''.
Current Assets
Berlusconi's main group, called
Mediaset, comprises three national television channels, which hold approximately half the national viewing audience; and Publitalia, the leading Italian advertising and publicity agency. Berlusconi also owns
Arnoldo Mondadori, the largest Italian publishing house, whose publications include ''Panorama'', one of the most popular news magazine in Italy. He has interests in cinema and home video distribution firms (Medusa and Penta), insurance and banking (Mediolanum) and a variety of other activities. His brother controls ''
Il Giornale'', and his wife ''
Il Foglio'', both centre-right newspapers: they are widely regarded as heavily pro-Berlusconi-biased publications. The latter has such poor sales that observers have argued that it is kept alive by Berlusconi solely for that puropse.
Berlusconi also owns the football club
AC Milan, which some think has been an important factor in the success of his political career ("Forza Italia" means "Go Italy!") and before the party was founded it was connected to football supporters of the national team [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/italy/stories/berlusconi/]).
Political career
"Going down onto the field"
In the early 1990s, the two largest Italian majority Parties, the Christian Democrats (
Democrazia Cristiana) and the Socialist Party (
Partito Socialista Italiano) lost much of their electoral strength due to a large number of judicial accusations of corruption for their foremost members (see the
Tangentopoli Mani Pulite affair). This led to the expectation that elections would be won by the
Partito Democratico della Sinistra Democratic Party of the Left (
Partito Democratico della Sinistra), (the former
Partito Comunista Italiano Communist Party and the main opposition party) and their allies of the Progressive coalition, unless there was a strong alternative: Berlusconi publicly announced on January 26th 1994 his decision to enter politics ("Going down onto the field", in his words) on a platform centered on the defeat of
communism. His announcement raised some questions because, just a couple of weeks before he decided to enter politics, investigators into the
Tangentopoli Mani Pulite affair were close to issuing warrants for him and the chief executives of his group.
The debate about the motives
One of the most debated matters about Berlusconi has been about the true reasons Berlusconi entered into politics.
Some critics argued that Berlusconi did it to take care of his own interests, namely saving his own companies from
bankruptcy and himself from
conviction (law) convictions. According to journalist
Marco Travaglio, Berlusconi «never hid it to anybody. Since the beginning he said it clearly to his fellows (and also to
Enzo Biagi Biagi and to
Indro Montanelli Montanelli): ''If I don't enter politics, I'm going to jail and into bankruptcy''»
#References 25.
Instead, Berlusconi's supporters hailed him as the "new man" that was to bring the public
bureaucracy to new efficiency and to reform the state from top to bottom; they argued that he was so rich that he would have no interest in using politics to become even richer, and regarding his trials they also argued that just after Berlusconi entered into politics, his opponents tried to get rid of him by a
judicial persecution.
While investigating these matters, three journalists
#References 23 mentioned these facts:
*
Mediobanca's annual report about the 10 biggest Italian companies, showed that in 1992 Berlusconi's media and fincance group
Fininvest had about 7140 billion lire of
debts, while its
net worth amounted to 'just' 1053. Furthermore, the creditor banks started asking for their money back and the advertising income stopped growing after the big increases of the previous years.
*Between 1992 and 1993,
Fininvest encountered several judicial investigations by Milan, Turin and Rome
prosecutors. They regarded: alleged
bribery bribes (to
Political party political parties and public officers in the aim of getting contracts), alleged fake invoices of Publitalia, political congress financing and television frequencies.
The 1994 Electoral Victory
Berlusconi founded
Forza Italia only two months before the 1994 elections; he formed two separate electoral alliances, with the
Northern League (Italy) Northern League in northern-Italian colleges, and with post-
fascism fascist Alleanza Nazionale National Alliance in the center and south; in a pragmatic move, he did not ally with the latter in the North, as the League disliked them: Forza Italia was then allied with two parties that were not allied with each other.
Berlusconi launched a massive campaign of electoral advertisements on his three TV networks. He subsequently won the elections, with Forza Italia ranking first party with 21% of popular vote. One of the most clamorous promises he did to win was "one million jobs more". He was appointed Prime Minister in 1994, but his term in office was short because of the inherent contradictions in his coalition, between the League, a regional party with a strong electoral base in northern Italy, which was at that time oscillating between
federalist and
separatist positions, and National Alliance, a
nationalist party which only then started dropping references to
fascist ideology and symbols.
Fall of the Berlusconi I administration
In December 1994, the Northern League left the coalition claiming that the electoral pact had not been respected, forcing Berlusconi to resign from office and moving the majority's weight to the centre-left side. The League also resented that many of his parliament members had switched to Forza Italia, allegedly called by promises of more prestigious portfolios. A coalition of opposition parties (including the League itself) then replaced him. In 1996, the interim coalition formed by Northern League and centre-left was replaced, after a new election, by a centre-leftist government (without the League) led by
Romano Prodi [http://www.forza-italia.it/notizie/int_2817.htm].
Image:Berlusvito.jpg thumb|left|250px|Silvio Berlusconi, [[Romano Prodi,
António Vitorino and
Jan Peter Balkenende.]]
Electoral Victory of 2001
In 2001 Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition ''
Casa delle Libertà '' (House of Freedoms) which included Alleanza Nazionale, UDC (Christian Democrats), Lega Nord and other parties. Despite the assertion that, during the "interregnum", some members of the League had defined him "a traitor" and even hinted at accusations of his mafia allegiance, this time the alliance with the northern party was tighter than the first time. Berlusconi's success in this election led to him becoming Prime Minister once more, with the coalition receiving 45.4% of the vote for the
Chamber of Deputies of Italy Chamber of Deputies (Italian's Lower House), and 42.5% for the
Italian Senate Senate-House (Italian's Upper House).
In a TV show during the electoral campaign, Berlusconi signed the so-called ''Contratto con gli Italiani'' (agreement with Italians), that was likely a key step to achieve the victory. In this unofficial agreement, Berlusconi claimed he could improve several aspects of the Italian economy and life, including lowering taxes, increasing employment, building up new public works, increasing retirement rents and strangling crime.
Opposition parties have always asserted that Berlusconi was not able to achieve the goals he claimed in ''Contratto con gli Italiani''. Alleanza Nazionale and UDC (Berlusconi's allied parties) also asserted that the Government did not manage to respect the promises in the agreement. According to them, Berlusconi's failure was due to the the unfavourable economical condition that Italy was experiencing. In particular, the Italian
GDP grew very slowly during Berlusconi's Government, and the public debt rose quickly. On the other hand, Berlusconi himself has always claimed he achieved all the goals of the agreement, and said his Government provided ''un miracolo continuo'' (a continuous miracle).
Subsequent elections
Casa delle Libertà has done less well in the 2003 local elections in comparison with the 2001 national elections, and, in common with many other European governing groups, in the 2004 elections of the European Parliament, gaining 43.37% support. Forza Italia's support also reduced from 29.5% to 21.0% (in the 1999 European elections Forza Italia had 25.2%). As an outcome of these results the other coalition parties, whose electoral results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for more influence in the government's political line.
The Berlusconi III Cabinet
{{npov-section}}
In the last local elections (
April 3 and
April 4,
2005), the opposition
The Union (political coalition) The Union (formerly known as
Olive Tree) won easily 12 of 14 regions where there was a vote; Berlusconi's coalition held in only two regions (
Lombardy and
Veneto). Two parties (
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats UDC and
NPSI) left the Berlusconi government. Berlusconi thus presented to the
List of Presidents of the Italian Republic President of the Republic the dissolution of his government on
April 20 2005, after much hesitation. On
April 23 he formed a new government with the same allies, but with some changes in the ministers and in the program. A key point required by UDC (and to a minor extent by
Alleanza Nazionale AN) was to reduce the focus on tax reduction the government had had, because this was considered incompatible with Italy's financial situation.
There have been harsh criticisms on Berlusconi's choices: the ministry of
Health, previously occupied by
Girolamo Sirchia, a famous
Physician doctor, has been given to
Francesco Storace, who, only a few weeks earlier, lost the regional elections in
Latium. Another controversial move was the nomination of
Giulio Tremonti as Vice-Prime Minister. Tremonti had been the Minister of Economy just few years earlier, but was forced to resign. He is strongly supported by the Northern League, but opposed by UDC and AN.
Policies
As he founded his
Forza Italia party and entered politics, Berlusconi expressed support for "freedom, the individual, family, enterprise, Italian tradition, Christian tradition and love for weaker people" [http://www.forza-italia.it/notizie/int_2816.htm]. Forza Italia could be considered a
Liberalism liberal party on economical issues, although references to
liberalism were more common in the initial years of the party development than they are now; some consider Forza Italia a
populist party. However, Forza Italia officially joined the
European People's Party in 1999, theoretically choosing to be identified mainly as a
Christian Democratic party. Internal democracy in the party is very low and internal dissent virtually non-existent. There are no known factions or currents; at present three party conventions have been held, all of them resolved to support Berlusconi, and his re-election by acclamation. Every man in the party apparatus is appointed by Berlusconi himself: for all these reasons, its political opponents call Forza Italia "the plastic party".
Some allies of Berlusconi, especially
Lega Nord (Northern League) push for a strong control of immigration and getting their support has required some changes in policies from Berlusconi. Berlusconi himself has shown some reluctance to pursue such policies as strongly as his allies might like. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1321804.stm] Even so, a number of measures have been taken, but the effects are controversial. The government, after introducing a controversial
immigration law (the "Bossi-Fini", from the names of Lega Nord and
Alleanza Nazionale leaders) is searching for the cooperation of both European and other Mediterranean countries to face the emergency of the large number of immigrants trying to reach Italian coasts on old and overloaded ferries and fishing boats, risking (and, often, losing) their life.
The Berlusconi government has had a strong tendency to support
United States American foreign policies despite the policy divide between the U.S. and many other founding members of
European Union (
Germany,
France,
Belgium), a break from the traditional Italian foreign policy. Italy, with Berlusconi in office, became a substantial ally to the United States of America in 2003 as Berlusconi supported the American/British-led Iraq War to oust the regime of
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein.
Berlusconi, in his meetings with
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. President
George W. Bush, said that he pushed for "a clear turnaround in the Iraqi situation" and for a quick hand-over of sovereignty to the government chosen by the U.N. Italy has some 2,700 troops deployed in Southern Iraq, the third largest contingent there after the American and British forces.
The government confirms the agenda to reduce taxes and simplify the taxation system for both privates and enterprises (Berlusconi himself engaged personally during his electoral campaign). The opposition claims these programs are not realistic in the present economic trend. The
EU Commission EU Commission also pushes for a strict budget control, to meet the European mandatory standards. It must be noted the Italian State has historically a large debt (at the present time 106% of GDP) whose cost heavily burdens the annual budgets.
A key point of the government program is the planned reform of the Constitution, an issue the coalition parties themselves initially had significantly different opinions about, with Lega Nord insisting on the federal reform (devolution of more power to the Regions) as the condition itself for remaining in the coalition; Alleanza Nazionale pushing for the so-called "strong premiership" (more powers to the executive), meant as a counterweight to the federal reform, to preserve the State unity; UDC asking for an electoral law not damaging small parties (more proportional) and being generally more willing to find a compromise with the moderate wing of the opposition. Difficulties in arranging a mediation caused some internal unrest in the Berlusconi government in 2003, but then they were mostly overcome and the law (comprising power devolution to the regions, Federal Senate, "strong premiership" and to be complemented with a new electoral law) was passed by the Senate in April 2004; it was slightly modified by the Chamber of Deputies in October 2004,and again on October 2005 and has finally been approved by the Senate on November 16, 2005 by 170 to 132 votes (and three abstentations). The opposition Union coalition has collected more than 500,000 signatures in order to call a referendum in which they are "confident" that the "Italian people will reject it."
Image:Silvio Berlusconi and Rick Perry.jpg thumb|Silvio Berlusconi meeting with [[Rick Perry, the Governor of
Texas.]]
Legislative actions
{{Expandsection}}
Berlusconi's government passed many pieces of legislation, among which:
*The reform of the labour system. (to be expanded)
*The reform of the school system. (to be expanded)
*The law on large public works (MOSE project saving city of Venice, High speed railways Turin-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples and Turin-Verona-Venice, Bridge between Sicily and Italy, underground in Rome, Parma, Naples, Turin, Milan, a strong modernisation of Highways and Water structures in South of Italy, project "Highways on the sea", etc. )
*Abolition of Donation and succession taxes on high income (these taxes had already been abolished for low- and medium- income taxpayers by the previous government)
*The abolition of compulsory military service for all male Italians (the armed forces now composed only of volunteers since 2004, anticipating the deadline set in a law passed by the previous government)
*The Urbani decree, named after the ''Ministro per i beni e le attività culturali''
Giuliano Urbani, punishing whoever circulates, even via
file sharing software, a
film or other
copyrighted material or part of it, or enjoys it with the same technology, with a 1,500 € fine, the confiscation of the instruments and the material, and the publication of the measure on a national daily paper and a periodical about shows. The decree was later modified by the parliament to include only copyright violation for the purpose of
profit, where "profit" also includes the savings due to not buying the software. Interestingly enough, Gabriella Carlucci, the member of parliament who presented the case for this law in the lower house of parliament, stated that she couldn't be expected to read all the text of the law.
Also, well-known (because regulating aspects of every-day life) legislative acts were:
*The reform of rules regarding drivers' licenses, which (according to the Italian police department) led to a 14.5% decrease in car accidents, or an 18.5% decrease of lethal car accidents. This law was actually a small modification of a law approved by the parliament in the previous term, and which was going to be applied soon anyway.
*The increase in taxation on blank
data storage devices — this was required by a
European Union directive, but the fee in Italy is much higher than in most other EU countries, so that many people now buy them abroad.
*The anti-smoke campaign with the prohibition of smoking in offices, pubs, restaurants and other public places, which came into effect in January 2005, and has already caused a reduction of the number of smokers of about 10%.
*The law regulating
artificial insemination, banning research on
embryonic stem cells, pre-implant diagnosis and insemination by donors other than the
husband, forcing women to being implanted after the embryo creation even in case of
genetic diseases, recognising the
embryo as a
human rights bearer. The abrogation of the most controversial items has been the object of an unsuccessful popular referendum called in June 2005 by former allies such as the
Italian Radicals, together with some (but not all) parties of
L'Unione.
In a controversial move, the Berlusconi government also passed a new media reform legislation. Among other things, such legislation increased the maximum limit on an individual's share of the media market, allowing Berlusconi to retain control of his three national TV channels (one of which was still using a frequency which by law should have gone to another channel). The legislation also enabled the roll-out of digital television and internet based publishing, and hence his government claimed it resolved the problem of conflict of interest and his media monopoly "by opening up more channels". The law was initially vetoed by the President of the Republic,
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, on charges of being anti-constitutional, but it was then forced into law by the Parliament.
A less known law made the so called "Articolo 41 bis" punitive jail regime for
mafia leaders a permanent provision. Under previous law, it had to be confirmed every two years.
The new pensions' law, issued on July 2004, raised the minimum age for retirement and added incentives for delayed retirement.
Berlusconi has forced through the Parliament an overall constitutional reform to deepen the current federal form of the State and strengthen the power of the Prime Minister. This reform is disputed, because it has been imposed only by repressing the former separatist party Lega Nord, and without an adequate sharing with the opposition. Many experts of constitutional law think it is fraught with potential disfunctionalities. As of January 2006, the reform has been approved by the Parliament and a referendum called by the opposition is pending.
In October 2005, Berlusconi forced a reform of electoral law. The
First Pass the Post system is abolished, even if it was voted by the people in the referendum of 1993 and even if a referendum to strengthen the system failed because the needed quorum was not reached in 1999 for a few voters.
Other pieces of legislation included:
* the depenalization of false account statements;
* the suspension of trials against the highest officers of the state during their terms (this law was later declared unconstitutional);
* a much shorter
statute of limitation for
white collar white-collar crimes, coupled with an increase in sanctions for repeated offenders. The opposition argued that this law was designed to save a close friend of Berlusconi,
Cesare Previti, from corruption charges; however, after modifications by the parliament, Previti was excluded by the benefits of this law.
In the last few days of the term, Berlusconi's parliamentary majority is approving many controversial laws, sometimes combining some into unrelated ones. For example, a bill about the
Winter Olympics also included controversial provisions tightening penalties for drugs use and peddling.
One of the last bills was a penal code reform forbidding prosecutors to
appeal against
acquittals (defendants could still appeal, though). This law was not signed by President
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi for being clearly anti-constitutional, since the
constitution of Italy provides for equal rights for prosecutors and defendants. The law will have to go through both houses of parliament again.
Controversies
Because of his
Propaganda Due P2 membership, his central role in the last decade of
Politics of Italy Italian politics, his personal
fortune, his involvement in the media structure of Italy, and also because of his extroverted personality, Silvio Berlusconi has often been at the centre of major controversies.
Statements about Mussolini
{{npov}}
On one occasion, Berlusconi claimed that
Benito Mussolini had been the greatest statesman in Italian history.
On another occasion, Berlusconi stated that "
Benito Mussolini's regime hadn't killed a single person" and that Mussolini "just used to send opposers on holiday", thus apparently denying or dismissing a long series of fascist crimes, from the murder of
Giacomo Matteotti to the infamous
fascist concentration camps (
Rab concentration camp Rab,
Gonars, etc). Berlusconi later claimed that he did not mean to white-wash Mussolini, that he only reacted to a comparison, which he felt unfair, between the fascist dictator and
Saddam Hussein.
Alessandra Mussolini, grand daughter of Benito, was until
2003 a member of
Alleanza Nazionale and so she supported Berlusconi's coalition. On that year she left it to form her own competing party, opposing 'Casa delle Libertà ' in the
2004 elections for the European Parliament and the
2005 local elections. Berlusconi said he was trying to do his best to keep her in his coalition. It seems he succeded, because for the
2006 Italian general election, 2006 general election she announced that her party, Azione Sociale, will join again 'Casa delle Libertà ' along with her neofascist coalition allies Forza Nuova and Fronte Sociale Nazionale. Two other neofascist parties will join Berlusconi's coalition for the 2006 elections including Movimento Sociale Fiamma Tricolore, another break-away from Alleanza Nazionale, and a splinter group from the MS-FT known as the Movimento Idea Sociale which is headed by
Pino Rauti, a veteran Italian neofascist.
Arguments for Illegal Jobs
In December 2002, Berlusconi astonished observers when he suggested that laid-off
FIAT workers should take illegal non-tax-paying jobs to make ends meet.[http://www.repubblica.it/online/economia/autocalodieci/berlusconi/berlusconi.html]
''The Economist''
One of Berlusconi's strongest critics in the media outside Italy is the
Britain British weekly ''
The Economist'' (nicknamed by Berlusconi "The Ecommunist"). The war of words between Berlusconi and ''The Economist'' has been infamous and widely reported, with Berlusconi taking the publication to court in Rome and ''The Economist'' publishing open letters against him [http://www.hebig.org/blogs/archives/main/001105.php].
In any event, according to ''The Economist'', Berlusconi, in his position as prime minister of Italy, now has effective control of 90% of all national television broadcasting. [http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=593654] This figure includes stations he owns directly as well as those he has indirect control of through his position as Prime Minister and his ability to influence the choice of the management bodies of these stations.
Influence on the media
{{npov-section}}
Berlusconi's extensive control of the media has been linked to claims that Italy's media shows 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' [http://www.freedomhouse.org/media/pressrel/042804.htm] on the basis of Berlusconi's influence over RAI, a ranking which, in "Western Europe" was shared only with Turkey (
as of 2005 2005).
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".[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10148] 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 alleged 90% control of national media. [http://www.ifj-europe.org/default.asp?index=2451&Language=EN]
Berlusconi's influence over RAI became evident when in
Sofia, Bulgaria he expressed his views on the journalists
Enzo Biagi,
Michele Santoro [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=3284], and comedian
Daniele Luttazzi after his satiric behaviour and his interview with journalist
Marco Travaglio. The four have never appeared in any TV shows since then. Left-wing politicians and media refer to this episode as the ''Sofia Diktat''. The TV broadcasting of a satirical program called
Raiot was censored in November 2003 after the comedienne,
Sabina Guzzanti, made outspoken criticism of the Berlusconi media empire [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8587]. Mediaset, one of Berlusconi's companies, sued the Italian state broadcasting company RAI because of the Guzzanti show asking for 20 million Euro for "damages" and from November 2003 she was forced to appear only in theatres around Italy. The details of the event were made into a
Michael Moore-style documentary called
Viva Zapatero!.
In response to such claims, 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'). It is also true that while the distribution of newspapers in Italy is lower than most other European countries (100 copies per 1000 individuals compared to 500 per 1000 in Scandinavian countries [http://www.nikkei-ad.com/media_data/ad/jpmarket/paperinjp.html]), the majority of national press, which includes the three largest Italian printed dailies, ''
La Repubblica,
Corriere della Sera Il Corriere della Sera'' and ''
La Stampa'', tends to report independently of the Berlusconi government or (in the case of ''La Repubblica'') to be very openly critical of it. Yet the resignations of the director of ''
Corriere della Sera'', Ferruccio de Bortoli, were seen as a grasp for more media control from the government. In fact the FNSI, the
Trade Union for Italian Journalists, organized a three day long strike to show support to the former director of the newspaper.
In March 2006, when questioned by
Lucia Annunziata (a progressist journalist) over his possible conflicts of commercial and political interest on the
Rai Tre television station, he stormed out of the studio halfway through the show, refusing to answer the questions posed in what Berlusconi considered a partisan way. [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/12/news/italy-5839062.php]
Conflicts of interests
The conflict-of-interest issues can be better understood in the context of the structure of control of the state media. The law delegated the presidents of the Chamber and Deputies to elect the president of
RAI and the board of directors. In practice the decision is a political one, which generally results in some opposition representatives becoming directors, but with a majority in the hands of the government candidates; typical numbers used to be two directors and the president for the parliamentary majority, and two directors for the opposition. There is also a parliamentary supervisory commission, where the president is customarily a member of the opposition. During the Baldassarre presidency of RAI, the two opposition directors and the one closer to UDC left for internal disagreements, usually centered on censorship issues. RAI continued to be run by a two-man team (mockingly nicknamed by the opposition ''i giapponesi'', "the Japanese" after the
Japanese soldiers that kept fighting in the
Pacific ocean after the end of
World War II).
The italian Left coalition has been often criticized for not approving a law to regulate the ''conflict of interest'' between media ownership and holding political officies, despite they had ruled over Italy for several years before
2001.
In the early
90s, Berlusconi Media group was close to
bankruptcy, also because of the
competition with the public broadcaster
RAI. Berlusconi said to his fellows that the only way out was to make a deal with RAI to end competition (that is to make a
cartel), lower costs and quality of programs, and fix audience share to about 45% for both. In 2002,
Luciano Violante, a prominent member of the Left, said in a speech in
Chamber of Deputies of Italy Parliament:
:«''Onorevole
Gian Franco Anedda Anedda, la invito a consultare l’onorevole Berlusconi perché lui sa per certo che gli è stata data la garanzia piena, non adesso, nel 1994, quando ci fu il cambio di governo - che non sarebbero state toccate le televisioni. Lo sa lui e lo sa l’onorevole
Gianni Letta Letta''».
(Luciano Violante, Chamber of Deputies of Italy, February 28 2002)
Authors of book ''Inciucio''
#References 26 claim that sentence to be an evidence that the Left make a deal with Berlusconi in
1994, promising to not respect a sentence of the
Constitutional Court of Italy that required to assign to someone else one of the three tv frequencies used by Belusconi media group, in order to enforce
pluralism and competition; according to the authors this would be an explanation of why the Left, despite of having won the 1996 elections, did't approve a law to solve the conflicts of interests between media ownership and potical career.
Controversy concerning Berlusconi's ''conflicts of interest'' are normally centered around the use of his media and marketing power for political gain; however, there is also controversy regarding financial gains. When RAI was being run by a 2-man team appointed by the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (both in Berlusconi's coalition), the state broadcaster lost a significant market share to the rival Mediaset group, owned and run by the Berlusconi family, which has led to large personal gain. Berlusconi has many financial interests, and it is inevitable that a lot of legislation can have a direct financial impact on his fortune.
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 he did.
Critics claim that this situation indicates that laws about conflict of interest and anti-trust are in practice completely ineffective. Berlusconi himself claims to have resolved his conflict of interest: for example, he cites the fact that he is neither longer president of Mediaset, nor 100% owner.
Jokes
Berlusconi has made a number of controversial jokes, often (perhaps inadvertently) causing offence to different groups and individuals, and being seen as embarrassing to
Prime Minister of Italy his office. The jokes could also be seen, however, as a way of showing that he has not lost touch with the common Italian, as well as providing a stark contrast to the perceived dullness of many contemporary politicians.
On April 4 2000, from his electoral ship, he shared a joke about
AIDS; ''A man with
AIDS meets his doctor and asks him: "Doctor, what can I do for my illness?". The doctor answers: "Have a mud bath". "But doc, will that really do me any good?" "Not really, but you'll get used to being buried!".''
Image:Berlusconi corna.jpg thumb|Berlusconi making the ''[[corna'' at
Josep Piqué i Camps Josep Piqué.]]
In February 2002, at a
European Union summit of
foreign ministers, Berlusconi, 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
Spain Spanish foreign minister,
Josep Piqué i Camps Josep Piqué, indicating he (Piqué) was a
cuckold'', exactly at the time of the taking of the official pictures. This is a common joke among Italian pre-teens, and many felt it was utterly out of place in an international meeting. He later explained that he "was joking", and was trying to create a relaxed climate, that this sort of meeting were meant to "create friendship, cordiality, ''simpatia'' and kind relationships" between the participants, and that he wanted to amuse a small group of
Scouting Boy Scout bystanders. [http://www.repubblica.it/online/politica/gesto/gesto/gesto.html]
On
July 2 2003, one day after taking over the rotating
presidency of the
EU Council of Ministers, he was heavily criticised by the German
Member of the European Parliament Martin Schulz (from the
SPD) because of his
domestic policy. Berlusconi replied, ''"Mister Schulz, I know a movie-producer in Italy that is making a movie about Nazi concentration camps. I will suggest you to play the role of a '''
Kapo''' (concentration-camp inmate appointed as supervisor). You are perfect!"'' Even though Berlusconi insisted that he was only "joking", his comparisons with the Nazis caused a brief diplomatic rift between Italy and Germany.
In mid-May 2005, while opening the
European Food Safety Authority in
Parma (after the location had previously been preferred over one in
Finland and Berlusconi had accused Finns of "not knowing what ''
prosciutto'' is"), Berlusconi claimed that he had to "''dust off my
English language English-language playboy arts''" 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 called by the Finnish foreign minister. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4122596.stm]. Berlusconi later 'retracted' 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 an uproar back home, where. for a day, female deputies in Parliament took part in a cross-party protest.
Sexist jokes are considered
bad taste in
Nordic countries: however, they are part of a
macho image in Italy, and are therefore more accepted, although far from being classy.
In March 2006, Berlusconi defended accusations he made that the "''
Chinese Communists used to eat children''", by responding with claims that "''...read the
Black Book of Communism and you will discover that in the China of
Mao, they did not eat children, but had them boiled to fertilise the fields''". He later admitted "It was questionable irony, I admit it, 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".[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4857226.stm]
On April 4th, 20006, less than a week before the oncoming Political Elections in Italy, during a speech given at the National Chamber for Trade Silvio Berlusconi stated that he holds "Italian citizens in too good a consideration to think that there are so many left-wing voting assholes (he used the word coglioni, which literaly translated is slang for testicles) around. I apologize for the rude but effective language."
Legal investigations of Berlusconi
{{npov-section}}
Dilatory tactics
Silvio Berlusconi undoubtedly has a rather long record of judicial trials, as several crimes have been alleged to him or his firms (see also the following subsection on Berlusconi's
#Trials trials), including false accounting, tax fraud, corruption and bribery of police officers and judges. Some of Berlusconi's close collaborators, friends and firm managers have been found guilty of related crimes, notably his younger brother, Paolo, who in 2002 agreed to pay 52 million euro as a plea bargain to local authorities for various charges including corruption and undue appropriation
#References 17. However, no definitive conviction sentence has ever been issued on Silvio Berlusconi himself for any of the trials which have concluded so far; in some cases he has been fully acquitted of the alleged charges, in others he has been acquitted with dubitative formula (
not proven), or he was acquitted because the
statute of limitations expired before a definitive sentence could be issued; in one case a previously granted
amnesty extinguished the crime (
perjury) before the sentence came into effect. The Italian legal system allows the statute of limitations to continue to run during the course of the trial. Consequently, the dilatory tactics adopted by Berlusconi's attorneys (including repeated motions for change of venue) served to nullify the pending charges.
Member of Propaganda Due masonry lodge
Some of the suspects on Berlusconi's person arise from real or perceived blank spots in his past. Notably, in 1981 a scandal arose on the discovery by the police of
Licio Gelli's secret freemasonry lodge (
Propaganda Due, or P2) aiming to move the Italian political system in an
authoritarian direction to oppose
communism. A list of names was found of adherents of P2, which included members of the secret services and some prominent personalities from the political, industrial, military and press elite, among which Silvio Berlusconi, who was just starting to gain popularity as the founder and owner of "Canale 5" TV network. 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 to individual members of P2. Berlusconi later (1989) sued for libel three journalists who had written an article hinting at his involvement in financial crimes and in this occasion he declared in court that he had joined the P2 lodge "only a very short time before the scandal broke" and "he had not even paid the entry fee". Such statements, however, conflicted with the findings of the parliamentary commission appointed to investigate the lodge's activity, with material evidence, and even with previous testimony of Berlusconi, all of which showing that he had actually been a member of P2 since 1978 and had indeed paid a 100,000 Italian liras entry fee. Because of this a
Court of Appeals court of appeal condemned him for
perjury in 1990, but the crime was extinguished by the previous 1989
amnesty so he was never actually convicted.
Entrepreneurial career, Bettino Craxi & Mafia
Berlusconi's career as an entrepreneur is also often questioned by his detractors. The allegations made against him generally include suspects 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 "favor exchanges" between Berlusconi and the former prime minister
Bettino Craxi, indicted in 1990-91 for various
political corruption corruption charges; and even possible connections to the Italian
Mafia, the latter accusations arising mostly from the above mentioned hiring of
Vittorio Mangano#References 4. Berlusconi acknowledges a personal friendship only to Craxi, and of course denies any ties to the Mafia. Heated debate on this issue was recently (2004) triggered again when
Marcello Dell'Utri, the manager (later managing director) of Berlusconi`s publishing company Publitalia 80 and a Forza Italia senator and long time friend of Berlusconi, was sentenced to 9 years by the Palermo court on charge of "external association to the Mafia"
#References 5, a sentence on which Berlusconi refused to comment.
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, allowing the statute of limitations to expire, or stopped them entirely. Relevant examples are the law reducing punishment for all cases of false accounting; the new law on international rogatories, which made his Swiss bank records unusable in court against him
#References 6; 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
#References 7,#References 8; and most importantly the ''lodo Maccanico'' law, passed in June 2003, which granted the highest five state officers, including the Prime Minister, immunity from prosecution while in office
#References 2. This law froze Berlusconi's position in the ''SME-Ariosto'' trial in which he was accused of having corrupted judges in previous legal rulings regarding his partecipation in the public auction of the state-owned food company SME in the 1980s. However, the trial was not frozen for other defendants, and the former lawyer of Berlusconi's main firm (Fininvest) and former Italian defence minister, Cesare Previti, was sentenced to 5 years although the crime was reduced from corruption of judges to simple corruption
#References 9,#References 10. In January 2004 the ''Lodo Maccanico'' was nullified by the Constitutional court as it was ruled to be in conflict with the Italian constitution. Subsequently Berlusconi has declared his intent to re-introduce the law using the correct procedure for constitutional modification. Because of these legislative acts, political opponents accuse Berlusconi of passing ''ad personam'' laws, to protect himself from legal charges; 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 subject to a judiciary persecution, a political ''witch hunt'' orchestrated by politicized (left-wing) judges
#References 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 nature
#References 12. More seriously, the Berlusconi administration has long been planning a judiciary reform intended to limit the arbitrariness allowed to the judges in their decisions (for example by introducing civil liability on the consequences of their sentences), 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
#References 13,#References 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 #References 15, who said some of the passed laws were "clearly unconstitutional". Presently (February 2005) the law is in process of being re-examined by the parliament, taking into account the President's objections on its constitutionality.
Berlusconi has also been indicted in Spain for charges of tax fraud and violation of anti-trust laws regarding the private TV network
Telecinco, but his status as a member of the European Parliament allowed him to gain immunity from prosecution
#References 16.
"Jowellgate" in Britain
{{main|Tessa Jowell financial allegations}}
Berlusconi describes the work of prosecutors pursuing him and his associates as a politically-motivated vendetta and attributes their current attentions to the imminent Italian elections. Over the years, there have been many such accusations but none seem to have made a lasting mark on him. Consequently, the link between him and the difficulties of UK
Culture Secretary,
Tessa Jowell, has attracted less media attention in Italy than in Britain, 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 has subnitted evidence to a judge, seeking an indictment for bribery against Berlusconi and Mills
#References 27: all parties vehemently deny wrong-doing and Berlusconi commented that the timing showed that the prosecution is political. Berlusconi also denies having met Mills. The British media have been having an investigative field-day but have not so-far unearthed anything that warrants Ms. Jowell's resignation nor that proves guilt of Mr Mills, Berlusconi or their intermediaries. Mr Mills has had to separate from his wife in the face of a drip-feeding of accusations aired in the British press.
Trials
{{main|Trials involving Silvio Berlusconi}}
Image:berlusconi_stalin.jpg thumb|250px|right|Berlusconi and the 1953 ''[[L'Unità '''s page about
Joseph Stalin Stalin's death. He declared that ''L'Unità '', a left-wing newspaper, often made a "criminal" use of news against him.]]
Personality
Berlusconi is admired by some Italians for his tremendous success as a businessman; they praise what they consider his innovative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. His detractors, however, point out that he tends to centralize power upon his person, and this is reflected in the organization of the Forza Italia party. Furthermore, critics often attribute a substantial part of his financial successes to his closeness to politicians that have been later exposed as corrupt (as
Bettino Craxi) or even contiguous to the
Mafia. Another criticism voiced is that he over-reacts to attacks from political opponents. Just about everyone agrees that he cares a great deal about his appearance; in January, 2004, after intense speculation in the media, he admitted he had a
facelift [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3439801.stm] and photos of him wearing a bandana while hosting a holidaying
Tony Blair aroused interest in hair transplants which he has been known to recommend for any balding man who can afford it and likes to look his best. The publicity did not seem to bother him.
It is known that Silvio Berlusconi has a very high opinion of himself, at times comparing himself to
Napoleon [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/politica/versoelezioni21/pariposo/pariposo.html],
Churchill [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/politica/versoelezioni23/versoelezioni23/versoelezioni23.html] and
Jesus Christ [http://www.repubblica.it/2006/b/sezioni/politica/versoelezioni23/gesuberlu/gesuberlu.html][http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/02/12/italy.berlusconi.reut/index.html]. He always tries to maintain a gentle, agreeable character with whomever he is talking to. His opponents perceive this as
hypocrisy, since he can also deliver strong speeches that at times border on hate, especially when talking about communists, but also whenever he feels menaced by journalists' questions. He is known to tell jokes to create a relaxed atmosphere, and trying to make sure everybody enjoys themselves in his presence. He is especially careful to talk in intelligible Italian, though with a light Milanese accent, whereas some politicians prior to 1992 talked an incomprehensible
jargon.
References
#{{note|forbes}}[http://www.forbes.com/static/bill2005/LIR9SKC.html?passListId=10&passYear=2005&passListType=Person&uniqueId=9SKC&datatype=Person Silvio Berlusconi] From [http://forbes.com Forbes.com's]: Forbes World's Richest People, Retrieved 2006/01/03
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3020960.stm Italy immunity law provokes fury], BBC news, 25 June 2003, Retrieved 2004/12/24
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3037386.stm Berlusconi in EU 'Nazi' slur], BBC news, 2 July 2003, Retrieved 2004/12/24
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2638609.stm Berlusconi accused of Mafia links], BBC news, 8 January 2003, Retrieved 2005/1/22
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4087861.stm Italy's left attacks Berlusconi], BBC news, 11 December 2004, Retrieved 2005/1/22
#[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,564717,00.html Berlusconi plans to get off the hook], The Observer, 7 October 2001, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2167204.stm Italian Senate passes disputed bill], BBC News, 2 August 2002, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2406329.stm Berlusconi scores double victory], BBC News, 5 November 2002, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2987147.stm Berlusconi ally jailed for bribery], BBC News, 29 April 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3228906.stm Berlusconi ally partially cleared], BBC News, 22 November 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3136107.stm Berlusconi warns 'subversive' judges], BBC News, 8 August 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3082476.stm Berlusconi stuns Italian judges], BBC News, 5 September 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2055418.stm Italian judges fight reform], BBC News, 20 June 2002, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3745119.stm Italian magistrates go on strike], BBC News, 25 May 2004, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4102541.stm Italian president blocks reforms], BBC News, 16 December 2004, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1779724.stm Q&A: Berlusconi's battle with the courts], BBC News, 24 January 2002, Retrieved 2005/2/1
#[http://www.margheritaonline.it/stampa/scheda.php?id_stampa=4671 Italian premier's brother wants plea bargain in corruption case], Financial Times, 22 April 2002, Retrieved 2005/2/1, reported on the ''la Margherita'' (the Daisy) opposition party website.
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3101198.stm New storm over Berlusconi 'remarks'], BBC News, 11 September 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/2
#[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3142884.stm Jewish communities split over Berlusconi], BBC News, 26 September 2003, Retrieved 2005/2/2
#[http://www.giannivattimo.it/menu/libro_berl.html#vitaEN Berlusconi's life: cronology], paper spread July 2 2003 among the european parliamentarians by member Gianni Vattimo, written by journalists Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.
#[http://www.giannivattimo.it/menu/libro_berl.html#mistEN Berlusconi and his mysteries], paper spread July 2 2003 among the european parliamentarians by member Gianni Vattimo, written by journalists Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez.
# Banca Rasini and money laundering.
#*New York Times journalist Nick Tosches interviewes with Michele Sindona, while imprisoned in the United States:
#** {{en icon}} ''Power On Earth'', 1986, Arbor House Pub Co, USA, ISBN 0877957967
#** {{it icon}} ''[http://www.sistemabbiatense.it/Document.htm&numrec=031171035935380 Il mistero Sindona]. le memorie e le rivelazioni di Michele Sindona'' (Published in Milano by editor SugarCo in 1986. 316 pages) Dewey class: 332.1
#** {{de icon}} ''Geschäfte mit dem Vatikan. Die Affäre Sindona.'' München 1987. ISBN 3-426-03970-2
#* ''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).
#
- [http://www.marcotravaglio.it/interviste/satyricon.htm Journalists Marco Travaglio (interviewed by Daniele Luttazzi in his show ''Satyricon'')
# {{it icon}} 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), p. 138-139.
# {{it icon}} ''L'amico degli amici.'' (Marco Travaglio and Peter Gomez, 2005, BUR Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, ISBN 88-17-00707-2).
#*References about Mangano and Berlusconi: p. XIII-XIX, 35-124, 209-225, 300-311, 699-703
# {{it icon}} Article ''Forza Bahamas'', in the Columnist column ''Bananas'' by Marco Travaglio (April 17 2005, L'Unità ). This article has been also published in book ''Berluscomiche'' (Marco Travaglio, 2005, Garzanti Libri, ISBN 88-11-59765-X), pages 431-433. It can be read at these links: [http://bananabis.splinder.com/post/4560913] [http://www.onemoreblog.org/archives/005805.html]
# {{it icon}} ''Inciucio''. (Peter Gomez and Marco Travaglio, 2005, BUR Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, ISBN 88-17-01020-0).
# [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4793070.stm Italy bid for PM corruption trial], BBC News, 10 March 2006
Films
; Documentaries:
* ''
Viva Zapatero!''
; Features:
* ''[http://www.byebyeberlusconi.de Bye Bye Berlusconi! / Buonanotte Topolino]'', Schiwago Film GmbH / Hessischer Rundfunk, Germany, 2006
* ''[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117930009?categoryid=31&cs=1&nid=2562 The Cayman / Il Caimano]'', Sacher Film / Bac Films / Stephan Films / France 3 Cinema, Italy/France, 2006 (''
Variety (magazine) Variety'' review link)
See also
*
List of national leaders
*
List of billionaires
*
Freedom of speech
External links
{{wikiquote|Silvio Berlusconi}}
{{commons|Silvio Berlusconi}}
* {{it icon}} [http://www.silvioconnoi.splinder.com Italian young fans of Silvio Berlusconi]
*{{en icon}} {{it icon}} [http://www.governo.it/Presidente/Biografia/biografiaen.html Italian government: official Silvio Berlusconi biography]
*{{en icon}} [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3034600.stm Profile: Silvio Berlusconi], BBC
*{{en icon}} {{it icon}} [http://www.forza-italia.it/ Forza Italia], Berlusconi's political movement; click on ''International'' for an English version.
*{{en icon}} {{it icon}} {{fr icon}} {{es icon}} {{de icon}} A popular [http://www.giannivattimo.it/menu/libro_berl.html paper] spread among the
Member of the European Parliament members of the European Parliament about Berlusconi's life chronology, mysteries and trials. By
Marco Travaglio and
Peter Gomez.
*{{en icon}} [http://www.ketupa.net/berlusconi2.htm A chronology of Berlusconi's life from Ketupa.net]
*{{en icon}} [http://www.opendemocracy.net/debates/article-3-55-2448.jsp The fall and rise of Silvio Berlusconi]
*{{en icon}} [http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/66079/ Berlusconi cuts stake in television company],
IFEX
*{{it icon}} [http://ilcavaliere.altervista.org Il Cavaliere]
*{{it icon}} [http://www.geocities.com/basta2006/ Silvio Berlusconi]
*{{en icon}} [http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2002/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2002&passListType=Person&uniqueId=EEPT&datatype=Person Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest People]
*{{en icon}} [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3041288.stm BBC News Europe: Berlusconi in his own words]
*{{it icon}} [http://la5colonna.1.forumer.com/index.php?s=997e3fc20a514ba1b65428e2b16388f0&act=Attach&type=post&id=249 The handbill against the Urbani decree]
{{start box}}
{{succession box|title=
Prime Minister of Italy.html">Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
after=Lamberto Dini|years=1994–1995}}
{{succession box|title=
Prime Minister of Italy|before=
Giuliano Amato|after=Incumbent|years=2001–}}
{{succession box|title=
Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs.html">Renato Ruggiero
after=Franco Frattini|years=2002}}
{{succession box|title=
Italian Minister of Health|before=
Francesco Storace|after=Incumbent|years=2006}}
{{end box}}
Category:1936 births Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Billionaires Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Current national leaders Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Entrepreneurs Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Forbes World's Richest People Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Forza Italia politicians Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Freemasons Berlusconi
Category:Italian businesspeople Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Italian football chairmen and investors Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Lawyers Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Living people Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Mass media owners Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Natives of Milan Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Newspaper publishers of the 21st century (people) Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Prime Ministers of Italy Berlusconi, Silvio
Category:Football in Italy
ar:سيلÙ?يو برلسكوني
bs:Silvio Berlusconi
br:Silvio Berlusconi
bg:Силвио БерлуÑ?кони
ca:Silvio Berlusconi
cs:Silvio Berlusconi
da:Silvio Berlusconi
de:Silvio Berlusconi
et:Silvio Berlusconi
es:Silvio Berlusconi
eo:Silvio BERLUSCONI
eu:Silvio Berlusconi
fr:Silvio Berlusconi
ga:Silvio Berlusconi
gl:Silvio Berlusconi
hr:Silvio Berlusconi
io:Silvio Berlusconi
id:Silvio Berlusconi
is:Silvio Berlusconi
it:Silvio Berlusconi
he:סילביו ×‘×¨×œ×•×¡×§×•× ×™
la:Silvius Berlusco
lv:Silvio Berluskoni
nl:Silvio Berlusconi
ja:シルヴィオ・ベルルスコーニ
no:Silvio Berlusconi
nn:Silvio Berlusconi
pl:Silvio Berlusconi
pt:Silvio Berlusconi
ro:Silvio Berlusconi
ru:БерлуÑ?кони, Сильвио
scn:Silviu Berlusconi
simple:Silvio Berlusconi
sk:Silvio Berlusconi
sl:Silvio Berlusconi
sr:Силвио БерлуÑ?кони
sh:Silvio Berlusconi
fi:Silvio Berlusconi
sv:Silvio Berlusconi
th:ซิลวีโภ�บร์ลุสโ�นี
tr:Silvio Berlusconi
zh:西尔维奥·��斯科尼
*** Shopping-Tip: Silvio Berlusconi
