CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Silvio Berlusconi - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z-e3tdMJONPQg2tHDTm1TgAAARU","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Silvio_Berlusconi","wgTitle":"Silvio Berlusconi","wgCurRevisionId":2722650,"wgRevisionId":2722650,"wgArticleId":86214,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Pages using DynamicPageList parser function","Bronze-level articles","Politics","Anti-immigration","Authoritarianism","Billionaires","Business","Chickenhawks","Conservative deceit","Convicted felons","Denialists","European politicians","Fascists","Government incompetence", "Great Replacement conspiracy theorists","Holocaust denialists","Homophobes","Islamophobes","Italy","Liberal conservatism","Machismo","Musicians","Perennial candidates","Publishers","Racists","Right-wing activists","Rape","Sexists","Vatniks"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Silvio_Berlusconi","wgRelevantArticleId":86214,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","ext.embedVideo.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","ext.embedVideo","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head", "mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.embedVideo.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Silvio "Bunga Bunga"&#91;2&#93; Berlusconi (1936–2023) (a.k.a "Il Cavaliere" and "psycho-dwarf"&#91;3&#93;) was an Italian lounge singer, media mogul, and career criminal/politician,&#91;4&#93;:159-162&#91;5&#93; having served three terms as Prime Minister. He was the leader of Forza Italia (FI, literally Let's Go, Italy!, an obvious reference to the cheer of the football club that he owned from 1986, Forza Milan!), a party made in the image and likeness of the founder, which was tied with Matteo Salvini's Northern League (Lega Nord) and Giorgia Meloni's Brothers Of Italy (Fratelli D'Italia). Berlusconi held his country hostage for 25 years and did this because he had a distortion field in the form of his near-monopoly on Italian media, and enough money to throw at any problem."/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Silvio Berlusconi"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Silvio "Bunga Bunga"&#91;2&#93; Berlusconi (1936–2023) (a.k.a "Il Cavaliere" and "psycho-dwarf"&#91;3&#93;) was an Italian lounge singer, media mogul, and career criminal/politician,&#91;4&#93;:159-162&#91;5&#93; having served three terms as Prime Minister. He was the leader of Forza Italia (FI, literally Let's Go, Italy!, an obvious reference to the cheer of the football club that he owned from 1986, Forza Milan!), a party made in the image and likeness of the founder, which was tied with Matteo Salvini's Northern League (Lega Nord) and Giorgia Meloni's Brothers Of Italy (Fratelli D'Italia). Berlusconi held his country hostage for 25 years and did this because he had a distortion field in the form of his near-monopoly on Italian media, and enough money to throw at any problem."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi"/>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Silvio_Berlusconi rootpage-Silvio_Berlusconi skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity</a>. </p> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><big><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">Fighting pseudoscience isn't free</a>.<br />We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with <img alt="PayPal Logo.png" src="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/61px-PayPal_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="61" height="17" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/92px-PayPal_Logo.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/122px-PayPal_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="883" data-file-height="244" />!</b></big><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=67BJMQC85CUFW" title="Donate via PayPal" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/100px-DonateButton.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="32" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/150px-DonateButton.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/200px-DonateButton.png 2x" data-file-width="759" data-file-height="241" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div role="progressbar" style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; position: relative; padding: 2px; border-radius: 18px;"> <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; left: 0%; margin: 0 0 0 10px"><b>Donations so far: $8765.50</b></span></a><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; right: 0%; margin: 0 10px 0 0"><b>Goal: $10000</b></span></a><div style="height: 28px; border-radius: 14px; background-color: hsl(70.124,100%,45%); width: 87.655%;"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> <div id="mw-indicator-bronze" class="mw-indicator"><a href="/wiki/Category:Bronze-level_articles" title="Category:Bronze-level articles"><img alt="Bronze-level article" src="/w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/25px-Copperbrain.png" decoding="async" width="25" height="25" style="vertical-align: baseline" srcset="/w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/38px-Copperbrain.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/3/3d/Copperbrain.png/50px-Copperbrain.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="800" /></a></div> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">Silvio Berlusconi</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg/165px-Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="225" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg/248px-Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg/330px-Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1538" data-file-height="2096" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_2018.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Italy's embarrassment.</div></div></div> <table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #1E90FF; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF"><b>Oh no, they're talking about</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Politics" title="Politics"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Politics</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#97DEFF;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Politics" title="Category:Politics"><img alt="Icon politics.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/f/f2/Icon_politics.svg/100px-Icon_politics.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/f2/Icon_politics.svg/150px-Icon_politics.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/f2/Icon_politics.svg/200px-Icon_politics.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b>Theory</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Political_spectrum" title="Political spectrum">Political spectrum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">Political party</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government" title="Government">Government</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_forms_of_government" title="List of forms of government">forms of</a>)</li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b>Practice</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/International_relations" title="International relations">International relations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propaganda" title="Propaganda">Propaganda</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/War" title="War">War</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b><a href="/wiki/Political_philosophy" title="Political philosophy"><font color="white">Philosophies</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Totalitarianism" title="Totalitarianism">Totalitarianism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ideology" title="Ideology">Ideology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_spectrum" title="Political spectrum">Political spectrum</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b><a href="/wiki/Category:Political_terms" title="Category:Political terms"><font color="white">Terms</font></a></b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anti-environmentalism" title="Anti-environmentalism">Anti-environmentalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ratepayers" title="Ratepayers">Ratepayers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberty" title="Liberty">Liberty</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b>As usual</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state" title="Separation of church and state">Separation of church and state</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Party_for_Freedom" title="Party for Freedom">Party for Freedom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judicial_activism" title="Judicial activism">Judicial activism</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#1E90FF; text-align:center;"><b>Country sections</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#97DEFF;"> <center><a href="/wiki/Category:United_States_politics" title="Category:United States politics"><img alt="United States politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="18" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/53px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/70px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1235" data-file-height="650" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:British_politics" title="Category:British politics"><img alt="British politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/40px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="21" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/60px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg/120px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom_%283-5%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Canadian_politics" title="Category:Canadian politics"><img alt="Canadian politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/35px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="18" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/53px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg/70px-Flag_of_Canada.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Chinese_politics" title="Category:Chinese politics"><img alt="Chinese politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/53px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg/70px-Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:French_politics" title="Category:French politics"><img alt="French politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/40px-Flag_of_France.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/60px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Flag_of_France.svg/120px-Flag_of_France.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:German_politics" title="Category:German politics"><img alt="German politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/35px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="21" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/53px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg/70px-Flag_of_Germany.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Indian_politics" title="Category:Indian politics"><img alt="Indian politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/35px-Flag_of_India.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/53px-Flag_of_India.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Flag_of_India.svg/70px-Flag_of_India.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Iranian_politics" title="Category:Iranian politics"><img alt="Iranian politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/40px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="20" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/60px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Flag_of_Iran.svg/120px-Flag_of_Iran.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="630" data-file-height="360" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Israeli_politics" title="Category:Israeli politics"><img alt="Israeli politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/35px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="25" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/53px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Flag_of_Israel.svg/70px-Flag_of_Israel.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1100" data-file-height="800" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Japanese_politics" title="Category:Japanese politics"><img alt="Japanese politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/40px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/60px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg/120px-Flag_of_Japan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:South_Korean_politics" title="Category:South Korean politics"><img alt="South Korean politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/40px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/60px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Flag_of_South_Korea.svg/120px-Flag_of_South_Korea.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a> <a href="/wiki/Category:Turkish_politics" title="Category:Turkish politics"><img alt="Turkish politics" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Flag_of_Turkey.svg/35px-Flag_of_Turkey.svg.png" decoding="async" width="35" height="23" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Flag_of_Turkey.svg/53px-Flag_of_Turkey.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Flag_of_Turkey.svg/70px-Flag_of_Turkey.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="800" /></a> </center> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics" title="Template:Politics">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics" title="Template talk:Politics">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Politics&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I don't need to go into office for the power. I have houses all over the world, stupendous boats… beautiful airplanes, a beautiful wife, a beautiful family… I am making a sacrifice.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Bunga Bunga Berlusconi.<sup id="cite_ref-quotes_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-quotes-1">[1]</a></sup> Ring any bells?</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Silvio "Bunga Bunga"</b><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> <b>Berlusconi</b> (1936–2023) (a.k.a "<b>Il Cavaliere</b>" and "psycho-dwarf"<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup>) was an <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italian</a> lounge singer, <a href="/wiki/Media" title="Media">media</a> mogul, and career criminal/politician,<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:159-162</sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> having served three terms as Prime Minister. He was the leader of <a href="/wiki/Forza_Italia" class="mw-redirect" title="Forza Italia">Forza Italia</a> (FI, literally <i>Let's Go, Italy!</i>, an obvious reference to the cheer of the football club that he owned from 1986, <i>Forza Milan!</i>), a party made <a href="/wiki/Personality_cult" title="Personality cult">in the image and likeness of the founder</a>, which was tied with Matteo Salvini's <a href="/wiki/Northern_League" class="mw-redirect" title="Northern League">Northern League</a> (Lega Nord) and <a href="/wiki/Giorgia_Meloni" title="Giorgia Meloni">Giorgia Meloni</a>'s Brothers Of Italy (Fratelli D'Italia). Berlusconi held his country hostage for 25 years and did this because he had a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_distortion_field" class="extiw" title="wp:Reality distortion field" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Reality distortion field">distortion field</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> in the form of his near-monopoly on Italian media, and enough money to throw at any problem. </p><p>He paved the way for "outsider" <a href="/wiki/Populism" title="Populism">rabble-rousing</a> in Italy before being emulated on a grander scale by <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Trump</a> in <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">America</a>. Both were unqualified for the jobs they sought or held, never shut up, had head-scratching support, and would ultimately fail miserably but they were such trainwrecks that one couldn’t help but tune in.<sup>Living rent-free in your heads, suckers!</sup> It didn't matter, it was just 4 years.<sup>Wait, Bunga Man was one of their longest-serving leaders?</sup> Damn. Strangely, he also owned Italian soccer giants AC Milan, and his particular brand of extravagance saw them win 8 Italian Championships (scudetto) and five European Cups/UEFA Champions Leagues<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> He would later on (in 2018) own AC Monza. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Zombie_king"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Zombie king</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#Can.27t_shear_The_Cavalier.3F"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Can't shear The Cavalier?</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Slime_trail"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Slime trail</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Tangerine_sex_machine"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Tangerine sex machine</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Knight_in_shining_Teflon"><span class="tocnumber">1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Knight in shining Teflon</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Il_Douche"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Il Douche</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#Look_who.27s_back.2C_back_again"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Look who's back, back again</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#Berlusconi_demonstrates_his_.22technique.22"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Berlusconi demonstrates his "technique"</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Top_quotes"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Top quotes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#Videos"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Videos</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#Sources"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Sources</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Zombie_king">Zombie king</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Zombie king">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/d/d8/Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG/165px-Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG" decoding="async" width="165" height="125" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/d8/Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG/248px-Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/d/d8/Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG/330px-Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG 2x" data-file-width="576" data-file-height="436" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_e_Mike_Bongiorno_anni_80.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Berlusconi and Bongiorno from 1982-1985</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>He's had so many face-lifts, his face has moved to the top of his head, you have to get on a step-ladder to watch him lie.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Dylan Moran<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Umberto Eco wrote an essay on the success of Mike Bongiorno, one of Italy's most famous personalities.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> Berlusconi was no different: the manifestation of a proud and widespread <a href="/wiki/Bread_and_circuses" title="Bread and circuses">mediocrity</a> which made Mike the god of Italian television.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> </p><p>What was behind Berlusconi? The failure of the Italian First Republic in the first place. Then, the implosion of the center-left who could neither put forward a coherent labor stance nor move firmly into a pseudo-<a href="/wiki/Third_Way" title="Third Way">Blairite</a> pro-business orbit. Berlusconi began to steal parliamentarians from the League and other <a href="/wiki/Right-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Right-wing">right-wing</a> parties, attracting them to FI. He offered a change from the endless coalition collapses and deadlocked and short-lived governments and campaigned on a popular distaste for politicians.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup> </p><p>Since Berlusconi entered into Italian politics, they have stopped having a center-right worthy of the name. This is demonstrated by the fact that FI failed to cultivate a person worthy of taking the reins from him. So much of this is the fault of Berlusconi and of his <i>lacchè</i> (lackies): if one creates a party in which <a href="/wiki/Nepotism#Spoils_system" title="Nepotism">mutual benefit</a> is the catalyst, then one can not expect anything else.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span id="Can't_shear_The_Cavalier?"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Can.27t_shear_The_Cavalier.3F">Can't shear The Cavalier?</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Can't shear The Cavalier?">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg/300px-Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="235" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg/450px-Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg/600px-Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2486" data-file-height="1949" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Silvio_Berlusconi_09072008.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>I surrender!</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Italians need someone like him because he is just like them. Everybody has a mistress. Everybody cheats on taxes. Everybody does something illegal because it’s impossible to live legally. Also, we love <a href="/wiki/Authoritarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Authoritarian">authoritarians</a>. We need a strong man. If not Mussolini, well, then someone like <a href="/wiki/Benito_Mussolini" title="Benito Mussolini">Mussolini</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—A Berlusconi-employed journalist cited by Michael Wolff<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[14]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Everybody knows that the dice are loaded<br /> <p>Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed<br /> Everybody knows the war is over<br /> Everybody knows the good guys lost<br /> Everybody knows the fight was fixed<br /> The poor stay poor, the rich get rich<br /> That's how it goes<br /> </p> Everybody knows</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows"<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[15]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>He re-united the right under his banner while the left was shattered into a thousand pieces. He built a house of cards to justify his crimes and avoid prison.<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[note 1]</a></sup> </p> <ul><li>He was at one point the richest man in Italy, though we still don't know how and by whose investments he became so successful. He still controlled one of the worst broadcast panoramas in all of Italy: Mediaset, <i>technically</i> owned by his son.</li></ul> <dl><dd>The opposition had no chance against him alone because his ability to reach the electorate was vastly superior to theirs.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[16]</a></sup> He owned 3 of the 7 most-viewed TV channels, with 3 of those being state-owned, so in effect when he was running the government he controlled 6 out of the 7. There was a lot of subtle <a href="/wiki/Advertising" title="Advertising">advertising</a> on his channels (reality TV mostly); he perpetuated the idea that <a href="/wiki/Name_it_and_claim_it" title="Name it and claim it">anyone can become a star</a>, which is the subject of a documentary about his reign, <i>Videocracy</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[17]</a></sup></dd></dl> <ul><li>In addition, he controlled two newspapers, <i>Libero</i> and <i>Il Giornale</i>, which fully supported him and printed all kinds of defamations.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[18]</a></sup> <i>Il Giornale</i> is run by his somehow-sleazier brother, Paolo.</li></ul> <ul><li>His membership with the <a href="/wiki/Freemason" title="Freemason">Masonic</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due" class="extiw" title="wp:Propaganda Due" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Propaganda Due"><i>Propaganda Due</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>. One can't imagine how much dirt was discovered about other candidates pre-election, and yet magically he appeared like <a href="/wiki/Jesus_Christ_Superstar" title="Jesus Christ Superstar">Jesus Christ Superstar</a>, without a whisper about his past (and there was a lot to cover). He even hosted a <a href="/wiki/Organized_crime" title="Organized crime">mob hitman</a> in his villa for years,<sup id="cite_ref-day_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-day-20">[19]</a></sup> either as a mandatory favor to someone or, according to others, for Berlusconi's own safety. Mangano "tended the stables", but he was put there as Berlusconi's bodyguard.</li> <li>He saved AC Milan from bankruptcy and, in his tenure as owner, won five European Cup/Champions Leagues including the only back-to-back winners for over 25 years (his appropriation of the football club's chant of "Forza Italia" for his own political purposes). In 2012, he bought Balotelli, a football superstar—implying that if their dying team could experience rebirth, Italy could too. Some polls reported that signing Balotelli got him 400,000 votes.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[20]</a></sup></li></ul> <ul><li>According to Alexander Stille, Berlusconi crafted an image for himself as an idealized Italian everyman. Young men admired him for being a clever fox. Old people knew he was rich and was therefore wrongly assumed that he was resistant to bribery. A successful businessman should be a good steward of the economy. Even his age was an asset,<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[21]</a></sup> as the median age in Italy was then about 50.</li></ul> <ul><li>The problem was that the average Italian <i>is</i> like Berlusconi. The average Italian will not pay taxes if they can avoid it and will vote for the party that offers them material gain in the short term. This is due mainly to historical causes (<a href="/wiki/Machiavelli" class="mw-redirect" title="Machiavelli">Machiavelli</a>, the Borgia crime family,<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[22]</a></sup> etc.), and it's a reaction to the in-your-face corruption they are confronted with every day. Berlusconi used educated Italians to exploit loopholes to survive,<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[23]</a></sup> because <i>così fan tutte</i> (everyone does it).<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[24]</a></sup></li></ul> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_(2008-10-13).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_%282008-10-13%29.jpg/300px-Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_%282008-10-13%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="195" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/09/Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_%282008-10-13%29.jpg/450px-Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_%282008-10-13%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_%282008-10-13%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="514" data-file-height="334" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Bush_and_Berlusconi_share_toast_(2008-10-13).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Drinking buddies.</div></div></div> <ul><li>It was always somebody else's fault. His past governments were always raising expenditures to buy consensus, creating huge budget issues, while he would only marginally raise <a href="/wiki/Taxes" class="mw-redirect" title="Taxes">taxes</a> to compensate and blame someone else in the process.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[25]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[26]</a></sup> The discourse was always about him and how to remove obstacles that were making it difficult for him to make their lives as good as his already was. Obstacles being: opposition parties, immigrants,<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[27]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Elitism" title="Elitism">"elites"</a> (not including himself of course), free press<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[28]</a></sup> (He complained that his enemies <a href="/wiki/Hostile_media_effect" class="mw-redirect" title="Hostile media effect">enjoyed a "media monopoly"</a>.), and generally anybody who didn't agree with him,<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">[29]</a></sup> didn't find his jokes funny,<sup id="cite_ref-nazi_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nazi-31">[30]</a></sup> didn't find him handsome, etc. Moreover, he managed to convince many that <a href="/wiki/Judicial_activism" title="Judicial activism">the judiciary was not impartial</a> and that <a href="/wiki/Persecution_complex" title="Persecution complex">he was being persecuted for political reasons</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-day_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-day-20">[19]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">[31]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[32]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[33]</a></sup> This allowed many voters to dismiss his trials as part of the political battle. Berlusconi's bogus claim was that the sex scandals against him were started either by people jealous of his success or jilted women he rejected.</li> <li>He called himself 'liberal'. Of course, <b>it was never "liberal" in the context of American politics</b>, and what he called "liberal" may have been a <a href="/wiki/Classical_liberalism" title="Classical liberalism">classic version</a> or a form of <a href="/wiki/Liberal_conservatism" title="Liberal conservatism">conservatism</a>. He played on the fear of the <a href="/wiki/Communism" title="Communism">Communist Party</a> (as if they still had one) who were coming for your money and to take your home away from you. He used the clever strategy of referring to his party as "us moderates" and everyone else as <a href="/wiki/Red-baiting" title="Red-baiting">"communists.</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35">[34]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36">[35]</a></sup></li></ul> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg/275px-Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="157" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg/413px-Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg/550px-Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg 2x" data-file-width="795" data-file-height="455" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Berlusconi_anni_80.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>He really was the proto-Trump.</div></div></div> <ul><li>Italians didn't vote for him. Forza Italia polled at 20%, and 25% abstained, which left just 15% of the electorate. The problem was an election law — written by him, of course<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37">[36]</a></sup> — which split the opposition into many different parties.</li> <li>Berlusconi made up for being a douchebag by giving out tax reductions. He promised to repeal a much-loathed property tax imposed by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Monti" class="extiw" title="wp:Mario Monti" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mario Monti">Mario Monti</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> government. Unlikely as it may sound, this was a powerful move since most Italians are homeowners. He even went so far as to offer them reimbursement of all property tax (<a href="/wiki/Euro" title="Euro">€</a>5 billion) paid in 2012. All this in a country with a public debt of around €2.5 trillion. He pulled stunts like the tax reimbursement letter, promising to pay them out of his own pocket<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[37]</a></sup> — which was just electoral <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">bullshit</a> but led lots of clueless seniors into believing they were miraculously getting their tax money back thanks to him.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39">[38]</a></sup> Crowds of people lined up at post offices to demand their "refund forms", even though no such forms existed. It was also written in such a way that implied one had to have voted for Berlusconi to be eligible, making it look like a bribe.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40">[39]</a></sup></li> <li>Berlusconi knew the tricks to get media attention.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41">[40]</a></sup> The media and public obsession with the guy kept growing uglier as time went on, and the debates for and against were so low and cheap that everyone forgot how to <a href="/wiki/Critical_thinking" title="Critical thinking">think critically</a>. The culprit was not so much the media but the opposition parties themselves that failed to present people with a solid alternative — or when they did (with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romano_Prodi" class="extiw" title="wp:Romano Prodi" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Romano Prodi">Romano Prodi</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>) it didn't last long because the debate was focused entirely around Berlusconi and his supporters until they become deaf even to <a href="/wiki/Reasoning" title="Reasoning">reasoned</a> arguments. In the end, Italy only got rid of Berlusconi because <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> helped… a lot.</li></ul> <ul><li>Berlusconi said Mussolini <a href="/wiki/Alt-right_glossary#Did_nothing_wrong" title="Alt-right glossary">did good</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-mussolini_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mussolini-42">[41]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-exile_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-exile-43">[42]</a></sup> Then he suggested that the <a href="/wiki/Schizofascism" class="mw-redirect" title="Schizofascism">EU was run by Nazis</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-nazi_31-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nazi-31">[30]</a></sup> Berlusconi on the other hand had numerous similarities with Mussolini,<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:82-83</sup> including promoting <a href="/wiki/The_Great_Replacement" title="The Great Replacement">The Great Replacement</a> <a href="/wiki/Conspiracy_theory" title="Conspiracy theory">conspiracy theory</a><sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:81</sup> and appropriating Mussolini's slogan ("thank goodness for Mussolini" became "thank goodness we have Silvio").<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:115</sup></li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Slime_trail">Slime trail</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Slime trail">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:001VillaSMartino.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/001VillaSMartino.JPG/250px-001VillaSMartino.JPG" decoding="async" width="250" height="182" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/001VillaSMartino.JPG/500px-001VillaSMartino.JPG 1.5x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="583" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:001VillaSMartino.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Berlusconi's villa.</div></div></div> <p>Apart from the fact that he was still present in the political arena after leaving office (though much weakened), the ruins he left are still there. David Lane's book, <i>Berlusconi's Shadow</i>, highlights, among other Berlusconisms, acquiescence to <a href="/wiki/Mafia" class="mw-redirect" title="Mafia">organized crime</a>, official corruption, and a willingness to use the authority of the <a href="/wiki/State" title="State">state</a> to soften restrictions on <a href="/wiki/Corporate" class="mw-redirect" title="Corporate">corporate</a> wrongdoing.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">[43]</a></sup> Women saw their role in society go back about 30 or 50 years.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45">[44]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46">[45]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">[46]</a></sup> </p><p>Berlusconi also left behind a system of taxes so unworkable that Italians are leaving the country just because of it.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48">[47]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49">[48]</a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Ironic" class="mw-redirect" title="Ironic">Ironic</a>, given that the Florentines invented banking. </p><p>Berlusconi did make some cosmetic reforms to Italy: harsher prison terms for Mafiosos, a boost in infrastructure investment, more work flexibility, a ban on <a href="/wiki/Tobacco_smoking" title="Tobacco smoking">smoking</a> inside public spaces, and so on. His public spending on <a href="/wiki/Gambling" title="Gambling">gambling</a> licenses were enormous<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">[49]</a></sup> and unsupported by taxes, as he lowered them. At the same time, his <a href="/wiki/John_Maynard_Keynes" title="John Maynard Keynes">Keynesian</a> approach to the economy acted as a sleep-inducing agent during the debt crisis. </p><p>He destroyed Italian academia in order to make <a href="/wiki/Left-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Left-wing">left-wing</a> people unemployed, fueling radicalization on both fronts.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51">[50]</a></sup> But it's O.K. because all one really need for teaching is a smock.<sup>[<i>No, not <a href="/wiki/The_Onion" title="The Onion">The Onion</a></i>]</sup> All that <i>and</i> consistently high youth unemployment<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">[51]</a></sup> (unless one counts pimping out one's daughters).<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">[52]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54">[53]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Tangerine_sex_machine">Tangerine sex machine</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Tangerine sex machine">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>He's the sort of guy who, if you told him to go fuck himself, would give it a shot.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Frankie Boyle, <i>Mock The Week</i><sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">[54]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>It's better to like beautiful girls than to be <a href="/wiki/Homosexuality" title="Homosexuality">gay</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Berlusconi on his sex scandals.<sup id="cite_ref-quotes_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-quotes-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>What <a href="/wiki/Sex" title="Sex">sex</a> did go on was with mostly young women: some of them <a href="/wiki/Prostitution" title="Prostitution">hired</a>, some of them groupies, and some of them looking to move up in the world,<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56">[55]</a></sup> i.e. servicing him and his wrinkled old cronies. </p><p>Berlusconi had frequent sex parties, frequently sexually exploited women,<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup> and was named as a person involved in "commercial sexual exploitation of a Moroccan child" (i.e., <a href="/wiki/Statutory_rape" class="mw-redirect" title="Statutory rape">statutory rape</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:134-138</sup><sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">[56]</a></sup> His deep involvement in international <a href="/wiki/Sex_trafficking" class="mw-redirect" title="Sex trafficking">sex trafficking</a> even led to one of Berlusconi's chief sex traffickers, Nicole Minetti, being promoted by him and briefly becoming a regional deputy, leading to Berlusconi's government being called "whore-ocracy" (<i>mignottocrazia</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:137</sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Knight_in_shining_Teflon">Knight in shining Teflon</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Knight in shining Teflon">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I am without doubt the person who's been the <a href="/wiki/Persecution_complex" title="Persecution complex">most persecuted in the entire history of the world and the history of man</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Berlusconi on his many conflicts with the Italian legal system.<sup id="cite_ref-quotes_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-quotes-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Berlusconi stood trial for mob collusion,<sup id="cite_ref-day_20-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-day-20">[19]</a></sup> false <a href="/wiki/Accounting" title="Accounting">accounting</a>, tax fraud, bribery of cops/witnesses/judges/senators, embezzlement, <a href="/wiki/Drug" title="Drug">drug</a> trafficking, wiretapping, abuse of office, and may or may not have bailed an underage <a href="/wiki/Prostitution" title="Prostitution">hooker</a> named "Ruby the Heart Stealer" out of prison. According to his own statements, he spent <a href="/wiki/United_States_dollar" title="United States dollar">$</a>300 million in legal fees. Now that he's dead, the legal industry in Italy might collapse.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58">[57]</a></sup> </p><p>He was found guilty in 1 out of 32 cases, with many cases stopped due to amnesty or change of laws — and he himself changed them.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59">[58]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">[59]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">[60]</a></sup> </p><p>In 2013, Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prison,<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62">[61]</a></sup> which was overturned on appeal,<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63">[62]</a></sup> and he was banned from holding public office. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Il_Douche">Il Douche</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Il Douche">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Berlusconi_navi.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Berlusconi_navi.jpg/165px-Berlusconi_navi.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="227" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Berlusconi_navi.jpg/248px-Berlusconi_navi.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Berlusconi_navi.jpg/330px-Berlusconi_navi.jpg 2x" data-file-width="400" data-file-height="551" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Berlusconi_navi.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Berlusconio performing on a cruise ship in the 1950s. (Can we be sure it's him? He's not groping anybody in this picture.)</div></div></div> <p>"Bunga-bunga" started as a joke between him and <a href="/wiki/Muammar_al-Gaddafi" class="mw-redirect" title="Muammar al-Gaddafi">Colonel Gadaffi</a>, whom he counted as a friend.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64">[63]</a></sup> Basically, it was people sitting around <a href="/wiki/Alcohol" title="Alcohol">drinking</a> and snorting <a href="/wiki/Cocaine" title="Cocaine">coke</a> while he banged on his keyboard and sang. But they were classy dinners!<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65">[64]</a></sup> </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Mussolini" class="extiw" title="wp:Alessandra Mussolini" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Alessandra Mussolini">Alessandra Mussolini</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> the granddaughter of the original, is a member of his party. She rode into power on his coattails<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66">[65]</a></sup> and became something of an international celebrity: hot chick on a motorcycle, etc. She once claimed that "<a href="/wiki/Fascism" title="Fascism">fascists</a> are better than <a href="/wiki/Homosexuality" title="Homosexuality">faggots</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67">[66]</a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin" title="Vladimir Putin">Vladimir Putin</a> provided Berlusconi with a little of that political leverage that he lost. Berlusconi provided him with the best bitches, parties, and food. It's understandable why the two were friends.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68">[67]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69">[68]</a></sup> Berlusconi's deep <a href="/wiki/Authoritarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Authoritarian">authoritarian</a> bromance with Putin was even parodied in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dario_Fo" class="extiw" title="wp:Dario Fo" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Dario Fo">Dario Fo</span></a>'s<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> play <i>The Two-Headed Anomaly</i>, at the end of which, <a href="/wiki/Fun:Brain_in_a_vat" title="Fun:Brain in a vat">Putin's brain was transplanted in Berlusconi</a> in the Rome premiere but Berlusconi's brain was transplanted into Putin in the Moscow production.<sup id="cite_ref-ghiat_4-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ghiat-4">[4]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:1-3</sup> </p><p>Berlusconi bred even more extremist figures. Many of his disillusioned voters probably went on to vote for <a href="/wiki/Northern_League" class="mw-redirect" title="Northern League">Northern League</a> or the <a href="/wiki/Five_Star_Movement" class="mw-redirect" title="Five Star Movement">Five Star Movement</a> (MS5):<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70">[69]</a></sup> populists with no feasible plan and contempt for basic manners and basic education, coupled with a strongman attitude. Salvini's Northern League party is a leak of <a href="/wiki/Marine_Le_Pen" title="Marine Le Pen">Le Pen's</a> worst policies: all statism and sovereignty, and other stuff that was typical of the Roman fascists. <a href="/wiki/Beppe_Grillo" title="Beppe Grillo">Beppe Grillo</a> is head of the MS5, who believe in <a href="/wiki/Chemtrails" title="Chemtrails">chemtrails</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mermaid" title="Mermaid">mermaids</a>. </p> <div class="center"><div class="thumb tnone"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg/250px-Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="167" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg/375px-Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="334" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Putin_Erdogan_Berlusconi_5.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Authoritarian bro fest: Putin, <a href="/wiki/Erdogan" class="mw-redirect" title="Erdogan">Erdogan</a>, Berlusconi. Let's swap <a href="/wiki/Brain" title="Brain">brains</a>!</div></div></div></div> <h3><span id="Look_who's_back,_back_again"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Look_who.27s_back.2C_back_again">Look who's back, back again</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Look who's back, back again">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The centre-right Coalition was born when Salvini was ahead of Forza Italia in the polls. After a couple of months, the situation was already upside down. Berlusconi aimed to redo <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre-right_coalition_(Italy)" class="extiw" title="wp:Centre-right coalition (Italy)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Centre-right coalition (Italy)">the maneuver of 1994</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> with Meloni/Salvini in place of Pier Ferdinando Casini/Umberto Bossi. Berlusconi could conceivably have taken power again, together with his allies.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71">[70]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72">[71]</a></sup> </p><p>Every word of his campaign was practically a buzzphrase. A vow to deport 600,000 immigrants if elected; the usual call from a man of iron to Take Back Control/Make Italy Great Again; the promise of <a href="/wiki/Welfare" class="mw-redirect" title="Welfare">welfare</a> benefits (wonder what he planned to gut to make that happen);<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73">[72]</a></sup> a new <a href="/wiki/Flat_tax" title="Flat tax">flat tax</a> that did not have to finance itself thanks to the incredible Italian entrepreneurial spirit;<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-74">[73]</a></sup> Salvini cloaking his own fascism with fine words, and Berlusconi distancing himself from racial violence, qualifying them as people who instead seek <a href="/wiki/Chaos" title="Chaos">chaos</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-75">[74]</a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(Italy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Democratic Party (Italy)">Democratic Party</a> inherited the problem from his unconscionable administration,<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-76">[75]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-77">[76]</a></sup> and then <i>stop the boats</i> was the ladder they used to reelect Forza Italia, who didn't do it when they were in government:<sup id="cite_ref-78" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-78">[77]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-80">[note 2]</a></sup> When the US and <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> and <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a> were playing <i>Lords of War</i> in <a href="/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a>, Berlusconi joined in the bombing<sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-81">[79]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-82">[80]</a></sup> and signed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Regulation" class="extiw" title="wp:Dublin Regulation" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Dublin Regulation">EU refugee pact.</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> It did not take a genius to guess that the migrants would arrive there first, rather than France or <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-83">[81]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span id="Berlusconi_demonstrates_his_"technique""></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Berlusconi_demonstrates_his_.22technique.22">Berlusconi demonstrates his "technique"</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Berlusconi demonstrates his "technique"">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <center><div class="thumb embedvideo autoResize" style="width: 648px;"><div class="embedvideo autoResize" style=""><div class="embedvideowrap" style="width: 640px;"><iframe title="Play video" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/81vQje8bWmo?" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div></div></div></center> <p>Ok, so that's actually from a low-budget German comedy film entitled <i>Bye Bye Berlusconi</i> made in 2006.<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-84">[82]</a></sup> The odd part wasn't that Italians were punk'd, so much as they <i>weren't surprised at all</i>; they just thought it was him being himself. </p><p>It's worth noting that he never called <a href="/wiki/Angela_Merkel" title="Angela Merkel">Angela Merkel</a> an "unfuckable lard arse"; that's an apocryphal quote. It is still widely-circulated, and he had to issue a denial on <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a> <i>Newsnight</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-85">[83]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Top_quotes">Top quotes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Top quotes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:227px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG/225px-Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG" decoding="async" width="225" height="300" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG/338px-Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG/450px-Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2304" data-file-height="3072" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Kotipizza_Berlusconi.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotipizza#Pizza_Berlusconi" class="extiw" title="wp:Kotipizza" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Kotipizza#Pizza_Berlusconi">Pizza Berlusconi</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, with smoked reindeer as a topping. Really.</div></div></div> <p>He's every Italian's embarrassing uncle! </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Another reason to invest in Italy is that we have beautiful secretaries.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<sup id="cite_ref-86" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-86">[84]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>As always, I work without interruption and if occasionally I happen to look a beautiful girl in the face, it's better to like beautiful girls than to be <a href="/wiki/Gay" class="mw-redirect" title="Gay">gay</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—To a meeting of the motorcycle industry in Milan.<sup id="cite_ref-87" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-87">[85]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I am taller than <a href="/wiki/Putin" class="mw-redirect" title="Putin">Putin</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sarkozy" class="mw-redirect" title="Sarkozy">Sarkozy</a>… I don’t understand why all the caricaturists portray me as a dwarf, whereas the others are allowed a normal height.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—No, you aren't.<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-88">[86]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>They should see it like a weekend of camping.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—On earthquake victims who were living in tents after their homes had been destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-89">[87]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>…handsome, young and also suntanned.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—On <a href="/wiki/Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama">Barack Obama</a>, ffs.<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-90">[88]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Mussolini never killed anyone, Mussolini sent people on holiday as exile.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—In "the context of <a href="/wiki/Fatwa_envy" title="Fatwa envy">a comparison with Saddam Hussein.</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-exile_43-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-exile-43">[42]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>…Mussolini, in so many other aspects, did good.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—On <a href="/wiki/Holocaust" title="Holocaust">Holocaust</a> Memorial Day.<sup id="cite_ref-mussolini_42-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mussolini-42">[41]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>According to a survey, when asked if they would like to have sex with me, 30 per cent said, 'Yes,' while the other 70 per cent replied, 'What, again?'.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—The numbers don't lie.<sup id="cite_ref-91" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-91">[89]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>…I shall put you forward for the role of [a Kapo guard], you would be perfect… for the Germans, <a href="/wiki/Concentration_camps" class="mw-redirect" title="Concentration camps">concentration camps</a> never existed.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—To <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Schulz" class="extiw" title="wp:Martin Schulz" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Martin Schulz">Martin Schulz</span></a>.<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> President of the <a href="/wiki/EU" class="mw-redirect" title="EU">European</a> Parliament.<sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-92">[90]</a></sup> Berlusconi later excused the quote as having been meant to allude to the American TV comedy, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogan%27s_Heroes" class="extiw" title="wp:Hogan's Heroes" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Hogan's Heroes"><i>Hogan's Heroes</i></span></a>.<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I had to use all my playboy tactics, even if they have not been used for some time.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Trying to convince <a href="/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> not to host the European Food Safety Authority.<sup id="cite_ref-93" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-93">[91]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I'm the most persecuted man in history.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Oh <i>really</i>, Silvio. We thought you were just plain nuts.<sup id="cite_ref-94" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-94">[92]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I am the best president in 150 years of Italian history. Nobody has achieved more than I did, thus I have every reason to make this quote.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Note that Italy has only had a President since 1946.<sup id="cite_ref-95" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-95">[93]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I said to Sali [Berisha], we'd make exceptions for anyone bringing over beautiful girls. You know, I'm single now.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Silvio welcomes <a href="/wiki/Albanian" class="mw-redirect" title="Albanian">Albanians</a>&NBSP;— but only the pretty ones.<sup id="cite_ref-96" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-96">[94]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>When we went to the reception room and I did not see a bidet… I said 'I want to teach these African motherfuckers that foreplay is also important.'</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Diplomacy which even Metternich could not match.<sup id="cite_ref-97" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-97">[95]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Jair_Bolsonaro" title="Jair Bolsonaro">Jair Bolsonaro</a> — You thought we were kidding. Even <a href="/wiki/Latin_America" title="Latin America">Latin America</a> couldn't pass this one up.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jaime_Rodriguez" class="mw-redirect" title="Jaime Rodriguez">Jaime Rodriguez</a> - Another Latin American conservative who shares similarities with Berlusconi.</li> <li>The brothers <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Ford" class="extiw" title="wp:Rob Ford" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Rob Ford">Rob Ford</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Ford" class="extiw" title="wp:Doug Ford" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Doug Ford">Doug Ford</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> — Sometimes <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">those countries</a> even have two.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a> — Because every country needs one.</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Palmer" class="extiw" title="wp:Clive Palmer" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Clive Palmer">Clive Palmer</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> — No, really, <i>every</i> country needs one.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Donald Trump</a> — You really thought <i><a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">America</a></i> was <a href="/wiki/American_exceptionalism" title="American exceptionalism">immune</a>?</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Zhirinovsky" class="mw-redirect" title="Vladimir Zhirinovsky">Vladimir Zhirinovsky</a> — Seriously, they're frigging <i>everywhere</i>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jacob_Zuma" title="Jacob Zuma">Jacob Zuma</a> — To the yin must come the yang, to the <a href="/wiki/Nelson_Mandela" title="Nelson Mandela">Nelson</a> must come a Silvio.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/4ebc0cbb69bedd283f000009/silvio-berlusconi-economist-cover.png">This cover shows how highly <i>The Economist</i> thinks of him.</a></li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Videos">Videos</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Videos">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq2Vjj7Gr9U">Brooker on Berlusconi</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8NtEXnc4jY">What Merkozy thought of him</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMX3EgnI6xg">His greatest hits</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">The previous government <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_referendum,_1995" class="extiw" title="wp:Italian referendum, 1995" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Italian referendum, 1995">made noises</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> about breaking up his empire. They feared he had too much power.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-80">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Wait, whose name was the current immigration law? Let us think… ah yes, the Bossi Law.<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-79">[78]</a></sup></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Sources">Sources</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Sources">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li>David Lane. 2004. <i>Berlusconi's Shadow: Crime, Justice and the Pursuit of Power</i>. Penguin.</li> <li>Alexender Stille. 2006, 2007. <i>The Sack of Rome: Media + Money + Celebrity = Power = Silvio Berlusconi</i>. Penguin. pp. 14-15, 20-23.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-quotes-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-quotes_1-0">1.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-quotes_1-1">1.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-quotes_1-2">1.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15642201">In quotes: Italy's Silvio Berlusconi in his own words</a>. <i>BBC News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/06/06/basta-bunga-bunga">Basta Bunga Bunga</a> by Ariel Levy (May 30, 2011) <i>The New Yorker</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ansa.it/english/news/politics/2018/02/20/dont-give-in-to-psycho-dwarf-grillo-3_3d4f7fcf-8723-4256-a083-27dbe6704e17.html">Don't give in to 'psycho-dwarf' - Grillo (3)</a> ( 20 February 2018, 15:42) <i>ANSA English</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ghiat-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-0">4.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-1">4.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-2">4.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-3">4.3</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-4">4.4</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-5">4.5</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-6">4.6</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ghiat_4-7">4.7</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present</i> by Ruth Ben-Ghiat (2021) W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0393868419.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trials_and_allegations_involving_Silvio_Berlusconi" class="extiw" title="wp:Trials and allegations involving Silvio Berlusconi" rel="nofollow">Trials and allegations involving Silvio Berlusconi</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240530200427/https://www.transfermarkt.us/silvio-berlusconi/erfolge/trainer/22018">Silvio Berlusconi</a> <i>Transfer Markt</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">[The Brilliant Dylan Moran On Belief, Science, Politics, And Fruit Cameras] by Imran A Khan (April 20, 2015) <i>The Bearded One</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"The Phenomenology of Mike Bongiorno" In: <i>Misreadings</i> by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver (1993) Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0224030698. Pages 156-164.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180629160625/http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE5875V320090908">Italian TV host Bongiorno, Berlusconi ally, dies</a> (9/8/09 at 7:59pm GMT) <i>Reuters</i> (archived from June 29, 2018).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/profile-italys-arch-seducer-silvio-berlusconi-italians-wanted-a-new-party-he-sold-them-one-1367392.html">Profile: Italy's arch seducer: Silvio Berlusconi. Italians wanted a new party; he sold them one</a> (1 April 1994, 11:02 PM BST) <i>The Independent</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ft.com/content/782c8fce-7165-11de-a821-00144feabdc0">Berlusconi accused over tax amnesty</a> by Guy Dinmore (15 July 2009) <i>Financial Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-berlusconi-dellutri-idUSBREA480U220140509">Italy court upholds mafia conviction against Berlusconi adviser</a> by Steve Scherer (9 May 2014, 4:11 PM)) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20171023180233/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-bossi/founder-of-italys-northern-league-found-guilty-in-fraud-case-idUKKBN19V1WI">Founder of Italy's Northern League found guilty in fraud case</a> (July 10, 2017 / 8:06 AM) Reuters (archived from October 13, 2017).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2009/09/wolff200909">All Broads Lead to Rome</a> by Michael Wolff (8/10/09 at 12:00 am) <i>Vanity Fair</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.leonardcohen.com/video/everybody-knows">Everybody Knows</a> <i>Leonard Cohen</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-referendum-berlusconi-idUSKCN12J1LQ">"Italy's Berlusconi returns to fray to sink PM Renzi's referendum"</a> by Gavin Jones (10/19/16 at 9:25am EDT) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Videocracy_(film)" class="extiw" title="wp:Videocracy (film)" rel="nofollow"><i>Videocracy</i></a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/germany-infuriated-by-fourth-reich-headline-in-berlusconi-newspaper-2012-8">Germany Infuriated By 'Fourth Reich' Headline In Berlusconi Newspaper</a> by Roy Greenslade (8/712 at4:37 AM) <i>Business Insider</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-day-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-day_20-0">19.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-day_20-1">19.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-day_20-2">19.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/silvio-and-the-cosa-nostra-berlusconis-links-with-italian-organised-crime-confirmed-9358790.html">Silvio Berlusconi's links with Italian organised crime confirmed</a> by Michael Day (12 May 2014, 6:08pm BST) <i><a href="/wiki/The_Independent" title="The Independent">The Independent</a></i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-italy-vote-balotelli-idUSBRE90T14420130130">Will "bad boy" Balotelli's return help his boss Berlusconi?</a> by Phillip Pullella (1/30/13 at 5:43pm GMT) Reuters.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/world/europe/berlusconi-italy-election.html">Berlusconi Is Back. Again. This Time, as Italy’s ‘Nonno’</a> by Jason Horowitz (29 January 2018) <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Borgia" class="extiw" title="wp:House of Borgia" rel="nofollow">House of Borgia</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-election-berlusconi-constructio/italys-berlusconi-suggests-amnesty-for-necessary-illegal-building-idUSKBN1FR2KH">Italy's Berlusconi suggested amnesty for 'necessary' illegal buildings</a> (7 February 2018, 10:51 AM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/26/decadence-and-democracy-in-italy/italians-may-not-forgive-berlusconi">Italians May Not Forgive Berlusconi</a> by Alexander Stille (February 10, 2011, 11:34 AM) <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/23/business/worldbusiness/vexed-by-rivalries-and-deficits-italys-economy.html">Vexed by Rivalries and Deficits, Italy's Economy Minister Quits</a> by Eric Sylvers (23 September 2005) <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jul/29/euro.italy">The euro has screwed everybody — Berlusconi</a> (19 July 2005, 9:19 AM EDT) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/silvio-plays-race-card-on-day-one/2008/04/16/1208025282813.html">Illegals an army of evil, says Berlusconi</a> by Malcolm Moore (17 April 2008) <i>The Age</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090907004837/http://www1.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/CultureAndMedia/?id=3.0.3731963028">Italy: Berlusconi blasts media 'lies'</a> (4 Sept. 2009) <i>Adnkronos International</i> (archived from September 9, 2009).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/oct/24/merkel-sarkozy-italy-berlusconi">Merkozy smirk at EU crisis summit boosts Berlusconi</a> by Tom Kington (24 October 2011, 5:57 AM EDT) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-nazi-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-nazi_31-0">30.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-nazi_31-1">30.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/1434870/Berlusconi-apologises-for-Nazi-gaffe.html">Berlusconi apologises for Nazi gaffe</a> by Kate Connolly and David Hayworth (7/4/03 at 1:02AM BST) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-32">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/oct/07/silvio-berlusconi-immunity-law-uncontitutional">Italian court rules Berlusconi's immunity law unconstitutional</a> by John Hooper (7 October 2009, 3:26 PM EDT) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/silvio-berlusconi/9790161/Silvio-Berlusconi-laments-communist-judges-making-him-pay-divorce-settlement.html">Silvio Berlusconi laments 'communist' judges making him pay divorce settlement</a> by Nick Squires (9 January 2013, 11:11AM GMT) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.reuters.com/commentaries/2009/10/08/third-person-spells-trouble-in-politicians/">Third person spells trouble in politicians</a> by Paul Taylor (8 October 2009) <i>Reuters</i>. And he talked about himself in the third person!</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-35">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.economist.com/node/1763981">"Unfit to Lead Europe"</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Economist" title="The Economist">The Economist</a></i> 4.8.03.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-36">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.economist.com/node/12076765">"The Economist wins Berlusconi lawsuit"</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Economist" title="The Economist">The Economist</a></i> 9.5.08.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-37">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"Berlusconi under fire as he pushes more election reforms" by Tony Barber (12/11/05 at 7:02 pm) <i>Financial Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-38">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-22/berlusconi-backs-eu4-billion-tax-refund-pledge-with-his-fortune">Berlusconi Backs EU4 Billion Tax Refund Pledge With His Fortune</a> by Andrew Frye (2/22/13 at12:36 PM PST) <i>Bloomberg</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-39">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21521877">Italy election: Berlusconi tax letter causes outrage</a> (updated 2/20/13 at 2:36pm) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-40">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130224012650/http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/english/35419/Left-wing-opponent-files-complaint-on-Berlusconi-IMU-letter.html">Left Wing Opponent Files Complaint on Berlusconi IMU Letter</a> (20/02/2013) <i>Gazzetta del Sud</i> (archived from February 24, 2013).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-41">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/16/silvio-berlusconi-says-emmanuel-macron-nice-lad-good-looking/">Silvio Berlusconi says Emmanuel Macron is 'a nice lad - with a good looking mum'</a> by Chaiara Palazzo (16 May 2017, 6:25am) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. Are we still paying attention to this geriatric plastic surgery victim?</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-mussolini-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mussolini_42-0">41.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-mussolini_42-1">41.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/world/europe/berlusconi-praises-mussolini-as-good-leader.html">Berlusconi Praises Mussolini as Good Leader</a> (January 23, 2013) <i>Associated Press</i> via <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-exile-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-exile_43-0">42.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-exile_43-1">42.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/sep/12/italy.pressandpublishing">Mussolini wasn't that bad, says Berlusconi</a> by John Hooper (12 September 2003, 2:57am EDT) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-44">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Berlusconi's Shadow: Crime, Justice and the Pursuit of Power</i> by David Lane (2005) ‎ Penguin Books. ISBN 0141017708.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-45">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.newsweek.com/italian-women-we-are-treated-prosciutto-66593">Italian Women: 'We Are Treated Like Prosciutto'</a> by Barbie Nadeau (17 April 2011, 10:00 AM) <i>Newsweek</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-46">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-women-idUSTRE81D0W420120214">Italian women hope for workplace changes post-Berlusconi</a> by Sophia Hepnstall (14 February 2012, 9:07am EST) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-47">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.businessinsider.com/berlusconi-julia-gillard-helle-thorning-schmidt-2011-11">AGAIN? Silvio Berlusconi Caught Checking Out Australia's Female Prime Minister</a> by Adam Taylor (4 November 2011, 8:31 AM) <i>Business Insider</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-48">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-complicated-tax-system-in-italy-buoys-berlusconi-a-926692.html">How Italy's Tangled Taxes Help Berlusconi</a> by Christopher Alessi (10/8/13 at 2:13 PM) <i>Der Spiegel</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-49">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/eurocrisispress/2013/10/08/the-demise-of-italy-and-the-rise-of-chaos/">The Demise of Italy and the Rise of Chaos</a> by Roberto Orsi (10.8.13) <i>London School of Economics</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-50">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/italys-billion-dollar-gambling-epidemic">Italy’s Billion-Dollar Gambling Epidemic</a> by Barbie Latza Nadeau (Updated Jul. 12, 2017 1:44AM EDT; Published Jan. 28, 2013 4:45AM EST) <i>Daily Beast</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-51">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/oct/21/schools-italy">Shock to the system</a> by John Hooper (10.20.08) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-52">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-21369139">Italy youth unemployment becomes major election issue</a> by Alan Johnston (9 February 2013) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-53">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14940557">Eight charged with supplying prostitutes to Berlusconi</a> (16 September 2011) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-54">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-14960214">Italy scandal: Silvio Berlusconi in 'sex boast'</a> (17 September 2011) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-55">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkqSP0f5BnQ">BBC Mock the Week - About Berlusconi</a> (Oct 3, 2009) <i>YouTube</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-56">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/silvio-berlusconi/9654107/Silvio-Berlusconis-party-picks-Argentinian-showgirl-as-Italian-Senate-candidate.html">Silvio Berlusconi's party picks Argentinian showgirl as Italian Senate candidate</a> by Josephine McKenna (4 Nov 2012, 2:38PM GMT) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-57">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/RdbQm">Silvio Berlusconi named on US government report on people trafficking: Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, has been named in a US government report on people trafficking as a result of his alleged relationship with 'Ruby the Heart Stealer'.</a> by Nick Pisa (2:39PM GMT 30 Oct 2011) <i>The Telegraph</i> (archived from 5 May 2013 12:16:58 UTC).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-58">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScDp7kyHXsw">Berlusconi's Freudian slip: "I paid a lot for judges"</a> (Oct 10, 2009) <i>YouTube</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-59">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"Move to toughen Italy's law on false accounting fails" by Tony Barber (3/4/05 at 2:00 am) <i>Financial Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-60">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/6538660/Silvio-Berlusconi-accused-of-changing-laws-to-his-advantage.html">Silvio Berlusconi accused of changing laws to his advantage</a> by Nick Squires (11/10/09 at 4:58PM GMT) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-61">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/world/europe/14italy.html">Automatic Immunity for Berlusconi Revoked</a> by Elisabetta Povoledo & Gaia Pianigiani (1.13.11) <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-62">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/world/europe/milan-court-sentences-berlusconi-to-seven-years.html">Berlusconi Is Sentenced to Seven Years in Sex Case, but Can Still Appeal Verdict</a> by Rachael Donadio & Elisabetta Povoledo (7.24.13) <i>The New York Times</i>. Where's the corkscrew?</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-63">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dw.com/en/ex-italian-pm-silvio-berlusconi-to-face-new-trial-over-corruption-charges/a-37316728">Ex-Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi to face new trial over corruption charges</a> (1.28.16) <i>Deutsche Welle</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-64">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/libya-berlusconi-gaddafi-kill-478320">Silvio Berlusconi 'Ordered Italy's Secret Services to Kill Muammar Gaddafi'</a> by Umberto Bacchi (updated 1 July 2014, 9:31 PM BST) <i>International Business Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-65">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-21/berlusconi-defends-27elegant27-dinner-parties/3964160">Berlusconi defends 'elegant dinner parties'</a> by Lisa Millar (20 Apr 2012, 1:47pm) <i>ABC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-66">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGWC8z75pLk">Alessandra Mussolini: 'Berlusconi is forever'</a> (Oct 2, 2013) <i>Channel 4 News</i> via <i>YouTube</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-67">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2006/03/10/mussolinis-grand-daughter-fascists-better-than-faggots/">Mussolini’s grand daughter: 'Fascists better than faggots'</a> (10 March 2006) <i>Pink News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-68">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/19/was-putin-s-midnight-visit-to-berlusconi-about-bunga-bunga.html">Was Putin’s Midnight Visit to Berlusconi About Bunga Bunga?</a> by Barie Natza Nadeau (10.19.14 11:22 AM ET) <i>The Daily Beast</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-69">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11758227/Berlusconi-says-Vladimir-Putin-wants-him-to-become-Russias-economy-minister.html">Berlusconi says Vladimir Putin wants him to become Russia's economy minister</a> by Alice Philipson (23 Jul 2015, 2:06PM BST) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. Feel a bit sorry for the Russians, they have corruption problems as it is.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-70">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lastampa.it/2016/11/25/esteri/lastampa-in-english/italian-pm-matteo-renzi-if-the-no-side-wins-berlusconi-will-be-negotiating-reforms-with-grillo-not-me-iExCUJCNJt5t02BP4dqUlM/pagina.html">Italian PM Matteo Renzi: 'If ‘No’ wins, Berlusconi will be negotiating reforms with Grillo, not me'</a> by Nadia Ferrigo (Updated 11/25/16 at 7:29pm) <i>La Stampa</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-71">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-election-2017-berlusconi-lega-nord-marriage-italian-right-wing-style/">Marriage Italian (right-wing) style</a> by Anna Momigliano (Updated 23 December 2017, 5:40 PM CET) <i>Politico</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-72">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-election-tajani/berlusconi-says-eus-tajani-would-be-wonderful-choice-for-italy-pm-idUSKBN1FE0TL">Berlusconi says EU's Tajani would be 'wonderful choice' for Italy PM</a> (25 January 2018, 2:24 AM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-73">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/28/berlusconi-woes-voters-tax-breaks-pet-owners-basic-income-italians/">Berlusconi woos voters with tax breaks for pet owners and a basic income for all Italians</a> by John Phillips (28 December, 2017, 5:34PM) <i>Daily Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-74">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-election-right-brunetta/berlusconi-ally-proposes-23-percent-flat-tax-to-stimulate-italy-idUSKBN1FM1T7">Berlusconi ally proposes 23 percent flat tax to stimulate Italy</a> by Gavin Jones (2 February 201, 8:19 AM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-75">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/in-italian-elections-berlusconi-takes-a-cue-from-trump-bets-big-on-bigotry">In Italian Elections, Berlusconi Takes a Cue From Trump, Bets Big on Bigotry</a> by Barbie Latza Naudeau (5 February 2018, 1:16 PM ET) <i>The Daily Beast</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-76"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-76">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-migrants-italy-rescues/italy-rescues-more-than-3500-migrants-renzi-asks-for-help-idUSKBN0EB0KV20140531">Italy rescues more than 3,500 migrants, Renzi asks for help</a> (31 May 2014, 11:17 AM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-77">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-italy/pm-says-italy-cannot-handle-rate-of-migrant-arrivals-idUSKCN12P2LH">PM says Italy cannot handle rate of migrant arrivals</a> (23 October 2016, 1:25 PM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-78">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2993718.stm">Italy in 'fire on migrants' row</a> (16 June, 2003, 5:48 GMT 18:48 UK) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-79">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-migrants-law/italy-northern-league-founder-dismisses-criticism-of-immigration-law-idUKBRE99G14E20131017">Italy Northern League founder dismisses criticism of immigration law</a> by Paolo Biondi (October 17, 201312:22 PM PDT) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-81">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13188951">"Libya: Berlusconi backs Nato strikes by Italy jets"</a> (25 April 2011) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-82">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya/italys-berlusconi-exposes-nato-rifts-over-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110707">Italy's Berlusconi exposes NATO rifts over Libya</a> by Lamine Chikhi (6 July 2011, 10:35 PM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-83">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-asylum-insight-idUSKBN0OQ0EU20150610">Migrants race through Italy to dodge EU asylum rules</a> by Steve Scherer (10 June 2015, 2:30 AM) <i>Reuters</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-84">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://wonkette.com/163992/silvio-berlusconi-did-not-hump-that-particular-traffic-cop">Silvio Berlusconi Did Not Hump That Particular Traffic Cop</a> by Alex Pareene (Mar 30, 2006) <i>Wonkette</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-85"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-85">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=188&v=SlsX3BegCkE">Silvio Berlusconi - exclusive interview - Newsnight</a> (May 20, 2014) <i>YouTube</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-86"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-86">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3137406.stm">Berlusconi vaunts Italy's secretaries</a> (24 September 2003, 10:30 GMT) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-87"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-87">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/11/berlusconis-new-flap-better-to-like-beautiful-girls-than-be-gay/1">Berlusconi's new flap: 'Better to like beautiful girls than to be gay'</a> by Michael Winter (November 2, 2010) <i>USA Today</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-88"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-88">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/opinion/sunday/frank-bruni-la-dolce-donald-trump.html">La Dolce Donald Trump</a> by Frank Bruni (July 18, 2015) <i>The New York Times</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-89"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-89">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/08/italy-earthquake-berlusconi">Berlusconi: Italy earthquake victims should view experience as camping weekend</a> by John Hooper (April 8, 2009) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-90">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/3392769/Silvio-Berlusconi-hails-handsome-and-suntanned-Barack-Obama.html">Silvio Berlusconi hails 'handsome and suntanned' Barack Obama</a> by Nick Squires (November 6, 2008) <i>The Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-91"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-91">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150626183746/http://gawker.com/5787535/berlusconi-thinks-30-of-italian-women-want-his-body">Berlusconi Thinks 30% of Italian Women Want His Body</a> by Jeff Neumann (31 March 2011, 7:02 AM) <i>Gawker</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-92">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27172045">Berlusconi comments on WW2 death camps spark anger</a> (27 April 2014) <i>BBC News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-93">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7715016.stm">Berlusconi says Obama is 'tanned'</a> (November 8, 2008) <i>BBC News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-94"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-94">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8300184.stm">Berlusconi 'most persecuted man'</a> (October 9, 2009) <i>BBC News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-95"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-95">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mens-en-samenleving.infonu.nl/politiek/63541-het-einde-van-het-berlusconisme.html">Het einde van het Berlusconisme?</a> (11 November 2010) <i>InfoNu.nl</i> .</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-96">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/7223365/Silvio-Berlusconi-says-immigrants-not-welcome-but-beautiful-girls-can-stay.html">Silvio Berlusconi says immigrants not welcome but 'beautiful girls' can stay</a> by Nick Squires (13 February 2010, 7:00 AM GMT) <i>Telegraph</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-97">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/cracking-oral-sex-jokes-power-pervert-berlusconi-mounts-a-comeback-while-italy-laughs-at-weinstein-victims">Cracking Oral Sex Jokes, Power Pervert Berlusconi Mounts a Comeback</a> by Barbie Latza Nadeaa (15 October 2017, 9:00 PM ET) <i>The Daily Beast</i>.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <hr />    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&oldid=2722650">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&oldid=2722650</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Bronze-level_articles" title="Category:Bronze-level articles">Bronze-level articles</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Politics" title="Category:Politics">Politics</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Anti-immigration" title="Category:Anti-immigration">Anti-immigration</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Authoritarianism" title="Category:Authoritarianism">Authoritarianism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Billionaires" title="Category:Billionaires">Billionaires</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Business" title="Category:Business">Business</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Chickenhawks" title="Category:Chickenhawks">Chickenhawks</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Conservative_deceit" title="Category:Conservative deceit">Conservative deceit</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Convicted_felons" title="Category:Convicted felons">Convicted felons</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Denialists" title="Category:Denialists">Denialists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:European_politicians" title="Category:European politicians">European politicians</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Fascists" title="Category:Fascists">Fascists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Government_incompetence" title="Category:Government incompetence">Government incompetence</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Great_Replacement_conspiracy_theorists" title="Category:Great Replacement conspiracy theorists">Great Replacement conspiracy theorists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Holocaust_denialists" title="Category:Holocaust denialists">Holocaust denialists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Homophobes" title="Category:Homophobes">Homophobes</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Islamophobes" title="Category:Islamophobes">Islamophobes</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Italy" title="Category:Italy">Italy</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Liberal_conservatism" title="Category:Liberal conservatism">Liberal conservatism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Machismo" title="Category:Machismo">Machismo</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Musicians" title="Category:Musicians">Musicians</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Perennial_candidates" title="Category:Perennial candidates">Perennial candidates</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Publishers" title="Category:Publishers">Publishers</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Racists" title="Category:Racists">Racists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Right-wing_activists" title="Category:Right-wing activists">Right-wing activists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Rape" title="Category:Rape">Rape</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Sexists" title="Category:Sexists">Sexists</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Vatniks" title="Category:Vatniks">Vatniks</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden category: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_DynamicPageList_parser_function" title="Category:Pages using DynamicPageList parser function">Pages using DynamicPageList parser function</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-navigation"> <h2>Navigation menu</h2> <div id="mw-head">  <nav id="p-personal" class="vector-menu" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-personal-label"> <span>Personal tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="pt-anonuserpage">Not logged in</li><li id="pt-anontalk"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n">Talk</a></li><li id="pt-anoncontribs"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y">Contributions</a></li><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Silvio+Berlusconi" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory">Create account</a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Silvio+Berlusconi" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o">Log in</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="left-navigation">  <nav id="p-namespaces" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-namespaces-label"> <span>Namespaces</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Page</a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Silvio_Berlusconi" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Talk</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-variants" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" /> <h3 id="p-variants-label"> <span>Variants</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation">  <nav id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-views-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-views-label"> <span>Views</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-view" class="collapsible selected"><a href="/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi">Read</a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e">Edit</a></li><li id="ca-history" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">Fossil record</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" /> <h3 id="p-cactions-label"> <span>More</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="p-search" role="search"> <h3 > <label for="searchInput">Search</label> </h3> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"> <div id="simpleSearch"> <input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search RationalWiki" title="Search RationalWiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/> <input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-panel"> <div id="p-logo" role="banner"> <a title="Visit the main page" class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page"></a> </div>  <nav id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal portal-first" aria-labelledby="p-navigation-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-navigation-label"> <span>Navigation</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li><li id="n-randompage"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random mainspace article [x]" accesskey="x">Random page</a></li><li id="n-New-pages"><a href="/wiki/Special:NewPages">New pages</a></li><li id="n-All-logs"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log">All logs</a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="RTFM">Help</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-support" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-support-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-support-label"> <span>Support</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Donate"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Site_support">Donate</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-community" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-community-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-community-label"> <span>Community</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Saloon-bar"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Saloon_bar">Saloon bar</a></li><li id="n-To-do-list"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:To_do_list">To do list</a></li><li id="n-What-is-going-on.3F"><a href="/wiki/WIGO">What is going on?</a></li><li id="n-Best-of-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Contents">Best of RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-About-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki">About RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-Technical-support"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Technical_support">Technical support</a></li><li id="n-Mod-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:All_things_in_moderation">Mod noticeboard</a></li><li id="n-RMF-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:RationalMedia_Foundation">RMF noticeboard</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-Social media" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-Social media-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-Social media-label"> <span>Social media</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/RationalWiki" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></li><li id="n-Mastodon"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@rationalwiki" rel="nofollow">Mastodon</a></li><li id="n-Facebook"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rationalwiki/226614404019306" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></li><li id="n-Discord"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Discord">Discord</a></li><li id="n-Reddit"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Reddit">Reddit</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-tb" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-tb-label"> <span>Tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Silvio_Berlusconi" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Silvio_Berlusconi" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="javascript:print();" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&oldid=2722650" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Silvio_Berlusconi&action=info" title="More information about this page">Page information</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" role="contentinfo" > <ul id="footer-info" > <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 5 March 2025, at 21:58.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Unless explicitly noted otherwise, all content licensed as indicated by <a name="Copyright" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights">RationalWiki:Copyrights</a>. <br> For concerns on copyright infringement please see: <a name="Copyright infringement" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyright_violations">RationalWiki:Copyright violations</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" > <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Privacy_policy" title="RationalWiki:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:About" class="mw-redirect" title="RationalWiki:About">About RationalWiki</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:General_disclaimer" title="RationalWiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img src="/w/88x31.png" alt="CC-BY-SA 3.0, or any later version" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </footer> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.793","walltime":"2.500","ppvisitednodes":{"value":3306,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":44536,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":14211,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":10,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":47914,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 138.446 1 -total"," 31.76% 43.976 1 Template:Politics"," 30.17% 41.775 1 Template:Navsidebar"," 26.52% 36.719 5 Template:Navsidebar2"," 25.10% 34.744 3 Template:Randomarticles"," 19.74% 27.334 2 Template:Reflist"," 11.49% 15.901 21 Template:Cquote"," 4.66% 6.453 1 Template:Bronze"," 3.30% 4.567 15 Template:Wpl"," 2.14% 2.966 1 Template:Efn"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"apache5","timestamp":"20250329090455","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":2619,"wgHostname":"apache5"});});</script></body></html>