Berlusconi Given State Funeral as Italian Parties Seek to Woo His Supporters
By Eric Sylvers June 14, 2023 9:36 am ET MILAN—Italy said goodbye to its flamboyant former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with a state funeral in his native Milan on Wednesday, as the country debated the controversial leader’s legacy and questions hung over the future of his business empire and political party. Crowds gathered outside the cathedral on Wednesday amid tight security on the ground and snipers on the rooftops overhead. Inside, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined other political leaders and foreign dignitaries at the ceremony officiated by the archbishop of Milan. Berlu
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MILAN—Italy said goodbye to its flamboyant former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with a state funeral in his native Milan on Wednesday, as the country debated the controversial leader’s legacy and questions hung over the future of his business empire and political party.
Crowds gathered outside the cathedral on Wednesday amid tight security on the ground and snipers on the rooftops overhead. Inside, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined other political leaders and foreign dignitaries at the ceremony officiated by the archbishop of Milan.
Berlusconi, Italy’s longest-serving postwar prime minister, died on Monday at the age of 86 having been under treatment for a chronic form of leukemia.
The divisive figure known in Italy and abroad for his off-color jokes and sex scandals, combined a career in politics with ownership of a sprawling media empire.
Huge screens in front of the cathedral allowed onlookers to follow the funeral. Police said that for security reasons they had capped at 8,000 the number of people allowed into the square, which has often held more than 20,000 during concerts and political events.
People cheered as the screens showed the car carrying Berlusconi’s casket making its way from his villa north of the city toward the cathedral square. As the car pulled up in front of the cathedral people began chanting, “Silvio. Silvio, Silvio.” Fans of the AC Milan soccer team Berlusconi owned for many years waved the team’s flags and sang a song dedicated to him.
People gathered in the square outside the cathedral to follow the funeral.
Photo: gabriel bouys/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Screens in front of the cathedral allowed onlookers to follow the service.
Photo: Ciro Fusco/Zuma Press
Berlusconi celebrated many of his political successes in the same square but also faced confrontation there, including in 2009 when he was hit in the face by a souvenir metal statue of the cathedral thrown from the crowd. After being bundled into his car by his bodyguards, Berlusconi emerged to show his bloodied face to the crowds.
He is one of only a handful of prime ministers to be honored with a state funeral since Italy became a republic in the wake of World War II. Meloni also declared Wednesday a national day of mourning with flags at all government buildings flown at half-staff.
Some political leaders didn’t attend, including Giuseppe Conte,
In Liguria, a coastal region near Milan, several council members left an official meeting on Tuesday when the council president called for a minute’s silence to honor Berlusconi. The dean of the University for Foreigners of Siena refused to have the flags at his university lowered, citing Berlusconi’s connection to people with mafia links, attacks against judges and objectification of women.
Berlusconi’s television channels were famous for their variety shows featuring scantily clad women. During a discussion about whether the Italian Parliament should be required to have a certain percentage of female members, Berlusconi said, “We like very much the idea of having women in Parliament, especially the beautiful ones.”
Berlusconi is survived by five children from two marriages. His two eldest have prominent roles in the family businesses and have promised continuity after their father’s death. That has done little to quiet investor speculation that MediaForEurope, the media company controlled by the family, could soon take part in a merger or be sold. The company’s Class B shares have risen about 15% since Berlusconi entered the hospital on Friday.
Questions also remain regarding the future of Forza Italia, which Berlusconi founded in late 1993 a few months before becoming prime minister with 21% of the national vote. His electoral support peaked at 37% in 2008 and dropped to 8.1% in last year’s election. Berlusconi, who has always been the embodiment of his party, didn’t leave a clear successor and political analysts expect there could now be some splintering.
That has set off a race between other political parties trying to tempt Forza Italia voters who felt more allegiance to Berlusconi than the party. Meloni’s effusive praise for Berlusconi since he died and her decision to hold both the state funeral and the national day of mourning could help her gain some Forza Italia voters, political analysts said.
Matteo Renzi, a former center-left prime minister who has moved close to the center ground, an area that Berlusconi also tried to grab in recent years, also praised Berlusconi this week. On Monday, Renzi, who had many bitter political battles with the now-deceased former prime minister, teared up several times during an interview on one of the Berlusconi family’s television channels.
The first real test of Forza Italia’s staying power post-Berlusconi will come next year with the European Parliament elections.
A woman pays her respects at a temporary memorial.
Photo: Mauro Ujetto/Zuma Press
Write to Eric Sylvers at [email protected]
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