Italy bids farewell to Silvio Berlusconi with state funeral
Italy is preparing to say goodbye to the former head of government on Wednesday in a state funeral expected to be attended by thousands, but few foreign dignitaries.
June 13, 2023 in Milan.
AFP
The official funeral for the billionaire, who died Monday of leukemia at the age of 86, will begin at 3:00 p.m. in Milan Cathedral. The ceremony was to be broadcast on giant screens placed in the Lombard capital’s famous square and in front of the cathedral.
President Sergio Mattarella, head of government Giorgia Meloni and his two deputy prime ministers, Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani – the number two of his Forza Italia party – will attend. The European Commission will be represented in Rome by its Economic Commissioner, Italian Paolo Gentiloni, a former chief executive.
The state funeral, mandated by protocol, would mark a day of national mourning, however, a first for the former prime minister that was not to the taste of all Italians.
“A state funeral was planned, that’s right, but national mourning for a separatist like Silvio Berlusconi seems to me an inappropriate choice,” revealed Rosi Bindi, a former left-wing minister in the Prodi II government. (2006–2008) ) on public radio.
“less respect”
Andrea Grisanti, a senator from the Democratic Party (PD, center-left), also voiced her opposition. In a tax evasion case, he recalled that in 2013 the final sentence of the “cavalier” was four years in prison – reduced to one year by amnesty. His Mediaset empire.
The journey of this eternal spirit, whose political death has been wrongly declared several times, joins the last thirty years of Italian history. He was also one of the richest people on the peninsula with a fortune estimated by Forbes at €6.4 billion in early April.
Love it or hate it, the lover of younger women has been involved in countless cases involving controversial receptions, including the Cal Girls. Abroad, he is best known for the string of scandals he was involved in, his famous blunders, his repeated trials and his diplomatic stunts.
His passing sparked reactions around the world: a “true friend” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “an important figure in contemporary Italy” to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, via the White House, the UN and the sports world. The father of five children from two marriages, he was a grandfather many times over.
AFP
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