Many have wanted to compare him to DONALD TRUMP, but...
Poor old Donald Trump wishes he looked like Berlusconi!
We could say that Berlusconi started from nothing and conquered absolute power like
almost no one else in history.
He not only conquered political power in Italy.
He also amassed business power... and media power.
If power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And Berlusconi's life has many shadows... but also many highlights!
To begin with, there is something that we have to recognize about this man and it’s
something that, frankly, is enviable....
HIS ENERGY!
Think about it...
Berlusconi died on 12 June at the age of 86: he was an old man.
Well, last year he appeared on TIKTOK with this video.
We are not going to go into the message of the video.
What I want to emphasize is that the man you see was 85 years old at the time when this
recording was made...
when he was running again in an election... in which he had a real chance of winning!
I don't know about you, but...
I wish I could reach the age of 85 with that kind of energy.
That said, are we going to praise Berlusconi in this video?
Of course not!
To speak of Berlusconi is to speak of corruption, tailor-made laws and a political legacy that
is mediocre to say the least.
We could say that a good number of the problems Italy suffers from – and they are not few
– are his fault.
I suppose that most of the obituaries you read out there will also mention Berlusconi's
many sex scandals and his bunga bunga parties...
We are going to leave all that aside because we are going to focus on two things: the political
and business profile of this man.
And, believe me, those two aspects alone would be enough to make a movie.
In fact...
there is already a Berlusconi biopic and it is a masterpiece: LORO, by Paolo Sorrentino.
Highly recommended.
For better or worse, Berlusconi has defined what Italy is today, but not only that!
He also brought about a revolution in the media throughout much of Europe.
That said, why does everyone know Berlusconi’s name?
What is his political legacy?
Why do we say he has been revolutionary in the business world?
Today we are going to answer these questions, but first... let's take a look at a bit of
history.
The first difference between Berlusconi and Donald Trump is their birth.
While Trump was born into a family that was already immensely wealthy, Berlusconi was
born into a middle-class family in Milan.
Normal parents, normal education and normal life.
However, Berlusconi had something special: he was fascinated by show business and was
the best salesman you could find.
In fact, Berlusconi's beginnings were... as a singer!
That’s right.
Berlusconi started his career as a crooner who entertained parties on cruise ships and
the like.
Not surprisingly, that also launched his fame as a heartthrob, but, as we said...
We are not going to focus on anyone's sex life because we are a serious channel!
The fact is that by entertaining the Milanese by night, Berlusconi made the contacts to
start his first big business project: MILANO DUE.
A mega-development of 4,000 homes that was an economic success.
But make no mistake!
What Berlusconi was really interested in was not the real estate market but... the media!
In fact, Berlusconi's doctoral thesis was precisely about the advertising business in
the media – by the way, his thesis gained a summa cum laude...
In fact, in these early years of his career we have to recognize one thing: he was a visionary.
We are about to find out exactly how.
(THE GODFATHER...
OF PRIVATE TV)
If you are watching this video from outside Europe you might be surprised, but... there
was a time when private TV channels were banned in most of Europe.
And no, we are not talking about Eastern Europe!
In the 1970s, television in Italy – and in other countries like Spain – was a state-owned
monopoly.
That is, if you turned on the TV you only had the channels of RAI, that is, the Italian
state-owned television corporation.
To give you an idea, in 1973, the Italian government issued a decree prohibiting any
attempt to set up a private television station.
In fact, they not only had a monopoly on television but also on television ADVERTISING.
And that was a very, very lucrative business.
Berlusconi was perfectly aware of this and, therefore, his goal was to end this monopoly
in order to have his own national television network.
The question is, how did he do it?
Well, pay attention, because this story is worthy of...
A VisualPolitik video!
The first question we have to ask ourselves is why was TV a monopoly?
Well, because of the radio spectrum.
At that time there was no digital television, let alone the internet.
Television was broadcast by radio frequency and the radio spectrum is limited.
In other words: there are not infinite frequencies for everyone who wants to broadcast TV.
However...
around that time, a new technology for broadcasting television emerged.
Cable TV offered enough space to broadcast multiple TV channels.
The problem?
Not all homes in Italy were ready to receive it...
Except for the homes of Milano DUE that is!
Exactly: Berlusconi arranged for his 4,000-home development to have cable TV.
After a long legal battle, the Italian Constitutional Court allowed the creation of private TV stations
broadcasting on cable... as long as they did so only at the local level.
Well, Berlusconi had 4,000 households that could become viewers of his own television
content.
This is how TELEMILANO was born.
A television station that was super local...
It was basically a neighborhood television station!
Of course, TeleMilano was not the only local television broadcasting on cable, but it was
one of the most popular because...
It had 4,000 captive viewers!
But wait because this is only the beginning.
Two years later, in 1976, the Constitutional Court ruled again on the TV issue.
This time they allowed private TV stations to broadcast by radio frequency as long as
they were only local.
That is, you could have a TV channel in Milan, Torino or Rome... but not a channel broadcasting
nationally.
So what do you think Berlusconi did at this point?
Well, good old Silvio was dedicated to buying up all the local TV channels in all the regions
of Italy.
In a few years, he got hold of Roma TV, Video Veneto, TeleTorino...
basically, he managed to get hold of all the private TV stations in the country.
He united them into Italy's first media group.
In 1981, all these local TV stations changed their logos to CANALE 5.
And that is how Berlusconi achieved what had seemed impossible: to end a state monopoly.
Now he could compete head to head with the RAI empire.
Thanks to having a national TV network, Canale 5 could sign the most popular public TV presenters
and pundits.
This is how the famous MIKE BONGIORNO left the state-owned corporation for the new and
brand new private television company.
The strategy could not have been more aggressive.
Berlusconi wanted to storm the market and, for that, he spared no expense.
He bought the most popular series in the United States and even introduced Japanese anime
into Italian homes.
To give you an idea, between 1980 and 1981 alone, Canale 5 went from a turnover of 13
billion lire to more than 75 billion lire.
By 1987, Berlusconi's TV network already had a 48% share of the screen time in the whole
country.
In case you are not yet astonished, remember that only 15 years earlier, private television
stations in Italy were not even allowed by law.
And this is a feat we have to give Berlusconi credit for.
But if you thought that his business career stops here, you are very wrong: after conquering
Italy, Silvio went on to conquer Europe, and boy, did he do it!
Thus was born the MEDIASET GROUP, a company that remains today, under the name MEDIA FOR
EUROPE, one of the largest media groups in Europe.
Basically, this man was dedicated to buying shares in many of the private television stations
that were beginning to emerge in other countries around him.
And this is where we come to...
Spain!
Until 1989, private television was also banned in Spain.
But in the 1990s, the government put an end to the state monopoly.
And there was Silvio, also known as "il Cavaliere", ready to enter with TELECINCO.
And here we come to the darkest part of Berlusconi's business career: debt.
You don't build such a media empire in just over 10 years without borrowing money from
half the world.
By 1994, FININVEST, which is the financial arm of Silvio's empire, was the second most
indebted company in all of Italy.
So, at that point...
What do you think he did?
What's the next step when you've become the lord and master of the media?
Well... pack up your things and leave the company!
That’s right!
In 1994, Berlusconi gave up all his leadership positions.
However, he kept all the shares in his empire.
Keep this fact in mind because it is important for the next phase of the story.
But...
Where did Berlusconi go?
Well, we are going to look at that right now.
(THE POLITICAL CONQUEST)
Italian politics is really crazy!
It doesn't matter at which point in time you are hearing this... it applies to any period
in history.
In this country, prime ministers last on average 2.5 years.
If you study Italian politics you will find: conspiracies carried out by secret lodges,
state terrorism and, of course, mafias of all types.
There was only one constant: CHRISTIAN DEMOCRACY.
We are talking about a center-right political party that dominated the country throughout
the Cold War era.
However... in 1994, Christian Democracy was dissolved due to a spiral of corruption scandals
worthy of a banana republic.
The right was orphaned... and the left was not convincing voters.
But... where there are people willing to buy, there is someone willing to sell.
And who knew how to sell better than anyone else?
Exactly!
Silvio Berlusconi.
During the 1980s, he had publicly supported the Socialist Party.
But now he knew that, if he wanted to win elections, he had to switch sides.
And that's how he created his own center-right party.
Although...
the truth is, we could say that it was a party without ideology.
Basically, the process was as follows What do Italians like more than pizza and
women?
Soccer!
And what do Italians shout when they support their national team?
FORZA ITALIA!!!
Great!
Well, we already have the name of the party...
Ideology?
Well... we are for the good and against the bad.
Who wouldn’t vote for such a party?
This is how, in 1994, the year of the World Cup, Berlusconi created Forza Italia.I don't
need to tell you that Berlusconi won the elections that same year.
And why, you may ask?
For three reasons: first, he had control of the biggest television station in the country,
second...
the rest of the parties were killing each other in internal disputes and third, we are
talking about one of the most charismatic personalities ever known.
So this is how the most impressive political career in Italian history began.
This does not mean that Silvio has always won the elections.
Remember that Italian politics is chaos...
Even for him!
He has been prime minister in different interrupted periods.
Now, we can say that Berlusconi has been the politician who has governed Italy for the
longest period of time in recent history.
And we can also say that he has been the Prime Minister with the most power.
Because he not only controlled politics but also the media.
To give you an idea, according to estimates by The Economist, in 2001, he came to control
91% of the screen share of Italian TV.
Think of it this way: he was the owner of CANALE 5 and, at the same time, he dominated
State television.
Conclusion: the man who ended the TV monopoly in the 80s ended up building another monopoly.
And this is where we come to the darkest part of his life.
Because if power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And Berlusconi turned parliament into his backyard.
Plain and simple he passed laws tailor-made for him.
For example, in 2004, Italy passed a law to give financial aid for the purchase of digital
TV decoders.
Who had the main company that sold these devices?
Exactly!
Berlusconi's family.
And this is just one example in a very long list: tax amnesties, financial regulations...
we could say that Silvio changed Italy to make it fit his interests.
But now let's go to the most important thing of all: the general picture.
What political outcome does Berlusconi leave behind?
Apart from corruption...
Has he been good for the Italians?
Well, let's take a look right now.
(POWER FOR POWER'S SAKE)
Italy's economy is even worse than its political class... and it makes no difference when you’re
hearing this.
Actually, Italy had a very good period in the 1980s.
That is, when Berlusconi was building his business empire, the country was on fire.
In the early 1990s, the Italians were richer than the British and were close to catching
up with the Germans.
Now, however, Italy is in Europe's intensive care unit.
One of the few countries that is now poorer than it was 20 years ago.
And why, you may ask?
We have a couple of videos where we explain it in detail: one from VisualPolitik and one
from VisualEconomik.
I’ll leave the link in the description.
But here is a brief summary.
Italy has systemic problems that make it almost impossible for it to function.
It has a huge and totally inefficient State, with more than 3 million civil servants and
a lot of public spending.
But that's not all!
One of Italy's great weaknesses is the most absurd bureaucracy you can imagine.
For example, almost all the professions are governed by regulatory colleges.
That means that if you want to work as a journalist or computer scientist, you need a license.
And getting that license is a process that seems to be from another era.
Well, with all these problems, Italy in the 1980s grew thanks to one thing: they were
addicted to devaluation.
Italy devalued its currency to make its products cheaper on the international market.
During the 1980s and 1990s, "Made in Italy" was sweeping Europe.
In the 2000s, China joined the World Trade Organization and Italy joined the euro.
Conclusion: they could not compete with the even cheaper prices of Chinese companies...
and they could not devaluate their currency either.
It began a long crisis from which they have not yet emerged.
However...
Silvio Berlusconi only wanted to win elections.
His political proposal?
For the good and against the bad.
What do Italians want?
To maintain the illusion that there are no problems, nothing needs to be reformed, and
things will be fine.
Maintain public spending while the economy sinks.
That is what Berlusconi has always promised and what Berlusconi has achieved.
So what is the flipside of this policy?
Well you see, right now, Italy ranks 7th in the world in debt to GDP and 5th in debt per
capita.
In fact, today, Italy is one of the biggest headaches in all of Europe.
And in a way a good part of that is due to what Berlusconi did, or rather did NOT do
despite having more power than almost any other politician.
And what has Berlusconi done in recent years?
Well, the truth is that he has never abandoned politics.
As we saw at the beginning, even at the age of 84 he continued to run for election.
However, we can hardly find any interesting political position... except this one.
(Silvio Berlusconi: Ex-PM defends Russian war on eve of Italian election.
– BBC)
Exactly!
Berlusconi has been supporting Russia in the Ukrainian war.
And why, you may ask?
Well, his argument was based on the fact that...
He knew Vladimir Putin personally and they were very good friends.
In this case, it seems that Berlusconi's private life DOES affect his political positions...
or so it appears from photos like this one.
Conclusion?
No one can deny that Berlusconi was a true genius: a self-made man.
He managed to have more power than almost any other man in history: he combined economic,
political and media power in the same person.
However, he used all that power in a mediocre way, to say the least.
But now the questions are for you: Will we ever see a new leader with as much power as
Berlusconi?
Are there other international leaders we could compare with IL CAVALIERE?
And...
Would you like to reach 80-something years of age with as much energy as Silvio?
You can leave me your answer in the comments.
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