Former Italian Prime Minister
Silvio
Berlusconi has passed away
at the age of 86,
self-described
as the Jesus Christ of politics.
His legacy is complicated,
to say the least.
On the international stage,
he tried to play the role of statesman,
happy to be friends with all and forced
to try and steer Italy through
what was a disastrous euro crisis.
Well, tonight we ask
how do we assess Silvio
Berlusconi's legacy in Italy and beyond?
Let's kick this part of the show off
with Barbie Nadeau,
who has this reflection
at the Jesus Christ of Politics,
the best political leader in Europe
and the world.
That is how Silvio
Berlusconi once described himself.
And without a doubt,
he was a powerful political
operator and businessman
who sparked more than one scandal.
And despite a string of legal trouble
and dubious friends,
Berlusconi always managed to bounce back
Metropole emotion
after he made his name
as a business tycoon.
He owned the famous
AC Milan football club for 31 years.
At one point,
he was the richest man in Italy.
So that was
I have always been adored
by those who have worked with me.
First elected as Prime Minister in 1994,
he was quickly removed
when his coalition partners pulled out.
But he was elected to the top job twice
more in 2001 and 2008,
becoming Italy's
longest serving
prime minister since World War Two.
And voters
brought him back
to power in 2022 as a coalition partner
with Georgia Meloni and Matteo Salvini.
I have to say
charming and with a flippant sense
of humor.
Berlusconi's off the cuff.
Remarks and missteps
with protocol were often criticized.
He welcomed the newly elected U.S.
president in 2008 by complimenting Barack
Obama on his, quote, suntan
and left German Chancellor Angela Merkel
waiting during a NATO's summit.
And his close
friendship with Vladimir Putin
got him in hot water after he disclosed
he had reestablished his friendship
with the Russian president in late 20, 22
after Putin sent him
20 bottles of Russian vodka
for his birthday.
He later blamed Ukraine President
Vladimir Zelensky
for starting a war,
putting him at odds with Maloney.
The prime minister often
surrounded himself with beautiful women.
Allegations of a relationship
with an 18 year old aspiring model,
which he strenuously denied,
triggered a painfully public divorce,
and revelations about his so-called bunga
bunga parties
landed him in court
on charges of abuse of power
and having sex
with an underage prostitute.
Allegations he also denied
access to certain It is absurd to think
that I have paid to have rapport
with a woman.
Meanwhile, the Eurozone was going through
a financial crisis.
Italy was hit hard
and the government's
debt ballooned to 120% of the GDP
in August. 2011.
The Italian prime minister
promised to crack down on tax evasion
and introduce other austerity measures.
But it was not enough.
Berlusconi lost
his majority
in parliament
and was forced to resign
as prime minister in November.
20. 11. In 2012.
He was convicted of corporate tax fraud
and banned from public office.
Months later, an Italian court
found Berlusconi guilty on the charges
stemming from the bunga bunga parties.
An appeals court
later overturned the conviction.
He was voted out of parliament in 2013
two years later
convicted of bribing a senator
a decade before
but never served time
since a statute of limitations
time out in the same year.
EU saw no in Washington
at the age of 82,
Berlusconi managed another comeback.
He led his fourth
Italia party in the European elections
and won a seat in Parliament
just a month before he turned 86.
He led his party back to power
as the junior partner
of the current ruling coalition
in the summer of 2020,
a few weeks away
from turning 84 years old.
Berlusconi was struck by COVID 19
and was hospitalized for 12 days.
He called that experience
the most dangerous test of my life
and boasted to journalists
that his viral load entity of the virus
left us
was the highest one
among tens of thousands.
Few could match the one and
only Silvio Berlusconi
I'm already old.
And even though the quote, Teflon
Don, as he was
known, was in and out of the hospital
in his later years,
he always managed to look remarkably
younger than his years.
He's Bobby Nadeau.
Joining me now live from Rome.
And I know that you've interviewed
Berlusconi in the past.
What was your impression of him?
Well, you know, I interviewed him
this is for print.
It was outside of the cameras
in 2001 and again in 2006
for print articles.
And he was a different man
off camera than he was on camera.
He was smart.
He wasn't this sort of clown.
He wasn't
the caricature
that I think
you very much
like to have portrayed about himself.
And I always felt
you know,
he was a little bit of
that was kind of a cover
to sort of be the entertainer.
After all, he was an entertainer.
He was a cruise
ship crew
singer for a short
period of time as well.
But I think he was a smart man.
He was well studied.
He understood things.
He wasn't a great leader.
Everyone says, you know,
he was a great politician,
but not such a good leader.
He didn't do the best for Italy.
That's obviously demonstrable
in terms of the way the economy was going
and things like that.
But he's you know,
he's very much a part of the postwar
Italy and so many levels.
He had control
of the television networks,
the first private television networks.
He introduced the American sitcom,
you know, Dallas and some of these shows
to the Italian audience.
He made people want to be wealthy.
You know,
he was a really
a big part of Italian history
and a part of Italy as it is today,
I think very much is reflected
in who Berlusconi was during those years
that he was a leader, Becky.
Bobby, thank you.
I want to
take you through
some of the international reaction
to the death of Silvio Berlusconi.
He reported earlier
the European Parliament president
describing him as a fighter
who led the Center-Right. Right.
And was the protagonist of politics
in Italy and in Europe for generations.
The German government
tweeting, quote,
We've learned
today of the death of former
Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.
We express our condolences
to the Italian people
and government
and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte,
for example, offered this tribute,
the death of Silvio Berlusconi.
Italy has lost a strong personality.
Was the first Italian prime minister.
I worked with,
and I will remember him as a striking
and passionate politician.
Interesting choice of words.
My next guest is a senior policy fellow
and the head of the Rome Office
for the European Council
on Foreign Relations.
Arturo
Varela is an expert on
Italian foreign policy with insight
on Berlusconi's
lasting impact, particularly here
in this region
where I'm broadcasting to you from
the Gulf.
And so let's bring him
and he joins me from Skype tonight.
We've heard some kind words from
Italy's neighbors, Russia's
President Vladimir Putin,
adding to the chorus, calling Berlusconi
a wise and dear friend after all.
And there's no doubt
he will be remembered fondly by many.
What do you believe is lasting
legacy will be?
Let's start on the international stage.
Yeah.
In a year
where rather traditional leaders
still still
predominate
and Berlusconi was one of the first world
leaders
to change the style of approach
to foreign policy,
to build international relations
based on personal mutual trust.
Berlusconi based his foreign policy
on his capacity as a success businessman.
He needed these both
with traditional allies,
the Europeans, the Americans, etc..
And by building particular friendship
with regional and global power
outside the Atlantic alliance,
from Gadhafi
to Erdogan
to Putin, one of his greatest sources,
for example,
was the inclusion of Russia,
because we are talking about Putin,
the Russian inclusion of Russia
in the G-7 transform it into the G-8
because he work a lot for these.
Berlusconi also worked to establish
a sort of structure,
a dialog between the Atlantic Alliance
and Russia.
Those were different times
the end of the nineties,
the beginning of of
of the twenties, in in in which
it was still believed
that the full inclusion of Moscow
in the Western international system was
where was was possible.
And in reality, these Italian policy
as not deviated much
from the traditional Italian policy,
that of acting as a bridge
between between the West
and the other external actors.
But he did it with his home style,
something sometimes unconventional,
very informal, formal style
that that prevailed throughout the West.
If we think of Boris Johnson,
Donald Trump, but also Sarkozy or Macron.