Matteo Tiratelli: In the circus of Italian politics, Silvio Berlusconi – cruise ship crooner, billionaire media tycoon, convicted tax evader and Italy's longest-serving prime minister – was the ringmaster.
Berlusconi, who died on Monday aged 86, cut through the moralism and pretended innocence of the rest of Italy's political class by appealing to people's worst instincts. He told the Italian bourgeoisie that it was okay to be self-interested; to lie; to hire workers off the books; to move your money to Switzerland. He told Italian men that it was okay to indulge in public misogyny; to "screw around" with very young women; to always see yourself as the victim. He told a generation of global leaders that it was okay to use offices of state for personal gain – in fact, that you could win elections by doing so. | |
