The polarizing legacy of Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former prime minister

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has passed away at the age of 86. Berlusconi was a media tycoon and served as Italy‘s prime minister multiple times from 1994, despite facing multiple legal troubles throughout his political career. Berlusconi was known for his flamboyant style, his constant legal woes, and his famous empire of television networks, newspapers, publishing houses, and a top soccer team. However, his reign was also controversial due to his allegations of corruption, bribery, and ties with the Sicilian Mafia and the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Berlusconi’s Empire-building

Berlusconi began his career as a crooner on cruise ships before moving on to construction and real estate. His media empire started in the 1970s with a game show that displayed a housewife stripping a piece of clothing for a right answer. This show initiated the media tycoon’s journey towards establishing Italy‘s largest media empire, Mediaset. Berlusconi used his empire to win control over all state-run broadcasting and to consolidate power and control.

Berlusconi’s Political Career

In the early 1990s, Berlusconi took advantage of the turmoil in Italy‘s political establishment due to bribery scandals and started filling the vacuum. He was successful in elections in 1994, sweeping to power by selling many Italians a rosy dream of prosperity and lower taxes. Berlusconi’s government only lasted about seven months but showed his flamboyant style, abrasiveness, and coarseness throughout. According to Maurizio Viroli, a politics and government professor at the University of Texas – Austin, Berlusconi’s power was closer to tyranny than democracy. Even abroad, Berlusconi was often derided for his perma-tan, hair transplants, and facelifts, and his schoolboy pranks and racist remarks left him increasingly shunned on the international stage.

Legacy

Berlusconi’s political career was marked by endless legal battles and controversies that ultimately caught up with him. He was convicted of tax evasion and ousted from office in 2014, and his political career appeared to come to an ignominious end. However, Berlusconi stayed on as the leader of his Forza Italia party through his sentence, and he eventually returned to Italian politics after being elected to the Senate in the 2022 general elections. Berlusconi’s legacy is always going to be one of controversy and an endorsement for the disregard toward civic duties and laws. He moulded an adoring audience of virtual electorates and accumulated massive control over Italy‘s media, politics, and economy.

Advice and Editorial

Berlusconi’s legacy leaves behind important lessons for democracies worldwide. Berlusconi used his private property to gain political influence and stranglehold Italy‘s freedom of speech at one point. The influence of media in contemporary democracies is undeniable, and preventing the total control of media conglomerates should be considered essential in every state. Berlusconi’s career also serves as a warning against populism and demagoguery, which can subvert the system’s checks and balances and cause massive damage to democratic institutions. His political career shows how easily people can be swayed by empty promises of prosperity, lower taxes, and disregard for moral principles.

In conclusion, the late Berlusconi’s political career had an indelible impact on Italian society and politics, both in terms of his legacy and his controversies. His death marks the end of an era of larger-than-life Italian political careers that left a deep impact on Italian society. However, Berlusconi’s lesson to the world of politics is that populism and demagoguery can lead to dangerous consequences, and as leaders, one should always avoid subverting the checks and balances of a democratic system.

Italian Politics–politics,Italy,SilvioBerlusconi,primeminister,legacy