![]() In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart problem after fainting, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January 2007. Right: Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug)īesides his reputation for 'bunga bunga' parties, Berlusconi was temporarily barred from public office after a conviction for tax fraud in 2013, and has been accused of several cases of embezzlement.Īnalysts believe such a divisive personality will find it hard to muster the broad support needed to elect a president, but Berlusconi has proved nothing if not persistent - both in his romantic conquests and in his drive to overcome adversity.Īside from his miraculous return to public office after numerous scandals, the media mogul has also battled a string of health issues in the past two decades. Though Berlusconi's penchant for younger girlfriends is evident, the 85-year-old has been the subject of several sex scandals with prostitutes, and is still on trial for bribing witnesses in an underage prostitution case (left: Italian escort Patrizia D'Addario. Italy will choose a new head of state early next year, and with no official candidates yet to be announced, Berlusconi has launched the so-called 'Operation Squirrel' in an attempt to overcome a string of scandals and become president. The former prime minister's overt affection on social media is said to be part of a presidential campaign in which Berlusconi has already set about harassing parliamentarians to get them on side like 'a squirrel collecting nuts'. And Berlusconi’s legacy is one of division rather than progressive change.Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has flaunted his relationship with his girlfriend - 53 years his junior - on social media in one final charm offensive for the Italian presidency.īerlusconi, 85, seemingly undeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, posted a photo on Facebook in which he is gazing into the eyes of his 32-year-old lover Marta Fascina, an MP in his Forza Italia party.įascina is Berlusconi's latest romantic conquest after he broke off his previous relationship with Francesca Pascale in 2020, who at the ripe age of 34 was simply too old for him. The party is now a pale shadow of its former self, having won just 8 per cent in the 2022 election, compared with 30 per cent of its heyday. His claim to have established a mainstream conservative political movement in Forza Italia! also looks to be in doubt. He encouraged self-interest, greed and, of course, a lax attitude to paying taxes. ![]() ![]() But the castes and corruption that have held it back were still present after his three premierships. He openly admired Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin, however.īerlusconi promised to modernise Italy’s economy. He once described former US president Barack Obama as “suntanned” and was heard on a wiretap referring to ex-German chancellor Angela Merkel as an “unf***able lardarse”. His gaffes in the diplomatic sphere showed that despite his political and business skill, he was ignorant and vulgar. He always did far better than the polls suggested it appeared the public were embarrassed to say they would vote for him -but they did anyway. Evidence that people secretly admired Berlusconi came in election results.
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