Georgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister:
- Silvio Berlusconi was above all a fighter. He was a man who was not afraid to stand up for his beliefs, and it was his courage and determination that made him one of the most influential people in Italian history.
Matteo Salvini, Italian Deputy Prime Minister:
- Silvio Berlusconi was a great Italian. I have lost a great friend.
Leaders and members of the center-right coalition – Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi of the Forza Italia party and Matteo Salvini of La Liga – perform at the Quirinal Palace on October 21, 2022 in Rome, Italy. Photo: Getty Images
Matteo Renzi, former Italian Prime Minister, founder and leader of the Italia Viva party:
- Silvio Berlusconi entered the history of this country. Many loved him, many hated him: everyone must admit today that his influence on political life but also economic, sports and television was unprecedented.
Guido Crosseto, Minister of Defense of Italy:
- Berlusconi’s death left a great void, because he was great. An era is over, an era is closing.
Football Club “Milan”:
- Thank you for everything, Mr. President! AC Milan is deeply saddened by the passing of the unforgettable Silvio Berlusconi and expresses its condolences to his family, colleagues and closest friends.
AC Milan players celebrate with President Silvio Berlusconi after winning the European Cup final between Steaua Bucharest and AC Milan at Camp Nou on May 24, 1989 in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: Getty Images
Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid head coach, former AC Milan player and coach:
- The sadness of today does not erase the happy times spent together.
Marine Le Pen, president of the National Rally group in the French Parliament:
- Atypical character, with an extraordinary career and a brilliant career, Silvio Berlusconi has undoubtedly inspired Italian political life. Italy in mourning, I offer you my condolences.
Jordan Bardella, President of the “National Rally” of France, MEP:
- By bursting into Italian political life with his frankness and his unique style, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi marked an era in his country. All my condolences to the relatives of our former MEP colleague “Il Cavaliere” (“The Knight”).
Eric Ciotti, President of the Republican Party of France:
- A true monument of politics in Italy and a statesman whom he served with all his might, he was an ardent defender of the friendship between our two peoples.
Italian edition of Leggo:
- “Knight” did not survive: on March 30, he was released from the same hospital, where he then returned at the beginning of April, then was released on May 19. But even today there has been further deterioration and subsequent death. This morning, all the people closest to him came to his bed: his brother Paolo and his children, Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara and Eleonora. All arrived within minutes.
Italian newspaper Domani:
– Growing up in the Isola district of Milan, he graduated from a religious institute and obtained a law degree from the University of Milan. After holding various positions as a singer in a piano bar, entertainer on cruise ships, traveling salesman and real estate agent, Berlusconi became a building contractor in the early 1960s, thanks in part to a loan from the Banca Rasini where his father worked. These were good years and Berlusconi won many successes. In 1977, the President of the Republic Giovanni Leone named him “The Knight of the Lavoro” for his construction works. Journalist Gianni Brera would turn “Knight” years later into his most used nickname for Berlusconi.
From the 2006 biography of Berlusconi by Alexander Stille:
- His style and rhetoric was similar to the gatherings of a military leader, politician, athletic trainer all rolled into one.
Bloomberg:
- Many voters identified with Berlusconi, convinced that his success story would be passed on to them. Heralded repeatedly by commentators and political rivals after heavy electoral defeats and scandals in his professional and personal life, Berlusconi has time and again found ways to bounce back.
Maurizio Cotta, professor of political science at the University of Siena:
- Berlusconi understood certain aspects of the Italian psyche better than anyone. He knew their (Italians’) weaknesses – their fear of discipline, of the state, of losing their home.
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