#Marta fascina tv#

The tenure of the man dubbed 'Il Cavaliere' (The Knight) divided Italians, as much as over his policies - including his controversial decision to join the US-led invasion of Iraq - as his entire approach to life. He was forced to quit as debt-laden Italy - the eurozone's third largest economy - came under intense pressure during the financial crisis. He served until 2006, and returned again as prime minister between 20, making him the longest-serving premier in Italy's post-war history.īerlusconi used his image of a self-made man, his talent for self-promotion and outspoken style to charm millions of Italians © Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP/File He lasted as prime minister for only nine months, but bounced back with another election win in 2001 after a populist campaign promising jobs and economic growth, signing a 'Contract with Italians' live on television.

#Marta fascina tv#

Pitching himself as a modern Italian success story, and backed by his TV stations and newspapers, he secured his first election victory in 1994 with his new movement, Forza Italia (Go Italy!), named after a football chant. 'Contract with Italians'īerlusconi burst onto the political scene in the early 1990s, after building up a media and real estate business, where he was viewed as a breath of fresh air after a period of corruption and scandal. He stayed 45 days and on leaving, declared: 'I won again!'īut three weeks later he was admitted again for what doctors said were scheduled checks, and a few days later, he died. In April, doctors revealed he was suffering from leukaemia after he was admitted to hospital for a lung infection. He spent much of his life embroiled in legal action, and the cases around his notorious 'Bunga Bunga' sex parties, attended by young girls including underage escorts, were only wrapped up in February 2023.ĭespite remaining president of his Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's rightwing coalition, he had largely retired from public view in recent years as he suffered increasing health problems.īut he still maintained his pride in his appearance and was always smartly dressed, his slicked-back hair never showing the slightest trace of grey, his face fixed in time by years of plastic surgery.īerlusconi was hospitalised for 11 days in September 2020 after contracting coronavirus, describing it as 'perhaps the most difficult ordeal of my life'. To his critics, however, the right-winger was a tax-evading playboy who used his vast media empire to further his political career, and then exploited his power to protect his business interests. Long before Donald Trump parlayed business and reality television stardom into a White House bid, Berlusconi charmed millions of Italians by presenting himself as a self-made man who enjoyed life and spoke his mind, even to the extent of insulting fellow leaders. He wielded huge influence through his television and newspaper interests - he effectively invented commercial TV in Italy - his ownership of AC Milan football club, and his sheer wealth, as Italy's richest person for a decade. The larger-than-life character, who once compared himself to Jesus, was a kind of Trump before Trump.