Italy stopped yesterday at three o’clock in the afternoon, when the coffin of Silvio Berlusconi entered the cathedral of Milan to be dismissed with the highest honors, next to his children and the highest political representatives of the country and the world of media and of football It is the ceremony that the tycoon, a figure surrounded by controversy until his last days, wanted: a state funeral. That is to say, among other things, paid for by the Government. A possibility to which all those who have been heads of the executive are entitled, and Berlusconi was so three times.
Most who had been in this situation had not chosen this option. There was some criticism of the choice of format. But above all to the fact that the Government of Giorgia Meloni declared national mourning and flew the flags at half-mast. Giuseppe Conte, leader of the 5 Star Movement (M5E), a party founded against the foundations of Berlusconism, stayed at home. Yes, Elly Schlein, the new leader of the Democratic Party (PD), the main opposition, was there. The former left-wing minister Rosy Bindi regretted that an “inappropriate sanctification” was made of the figure of the Cavaliere. The chancellor of Siena’s university for foreigners, Tomaso Montanari, refused to comply with the order to lower the flags, saying his school would lose all “educational and moral credibility” if it did so.
The funeral began with chants at the cathedral doors from fans of Milan, the team he presided over and with which he won five Champions Leagues until he sold it in 2017 in one of the most painful decisions of his life . “We all walk alongside the soul of Berlusconi”, said a RAI commentator as the coffin entered the cathedral escorted by six carabinieri in full dress and followed by the five children of Silvio Berlusconi, Marina, Pier Silvio, Barbara, Eleonora and Luigi Berlusconi. Outside, thousands of supporters chanted slogans against communism, following the mass on giant screens installed by Mediaset. One presenter got emotional, and at least three people passed out from the heat.
The children had wanted to publicly say goodbye to their father with a message in the main newspapers of the country which read: “Sweet father, thank you for life, thank you for love. You will always live within us.” A step behind them walked Marta Fascina, the 33-year-old deputy who was his last partner, crying inconsolably. He sat in the front row next to Berlusconi’s firstborn and right eye, his daughter Marina, key to managing the huge business empire – valued at 6,000 million euros – and politician of the Cavaliere. After them was his second ex-wife, Veronica Lario, with the grandchildren.
The cathedral of Milan brought together the country’s highest authorities. Starting with the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who was Berlusconi’s minister and in whom many see his natural political heir. Now he is worried about the fate of, in the face of the risk that the right-wing formation will not survive its founder and the coalition that has governed Italy since October will lose strength. It depends a lot on how many will be able to retain the tycoon’s number two in the party, Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, also Minister of Foreign Affairs. Berlusconi never appointed a political dolphin and these days many look to former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who was also in the cathedral, whom Caiman held in high esteem. He has already rejected that he should be the “royal baby”.
Most major European countries, including Spain, sent ambassadors to Rome as representatives. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delegated to the Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni, who had also been the Italian Prime Minister. Nor did the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, or the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, want to miss it.
