Berlusconi and I

I first came across Silvio Berlusconi in the late 1980s, when I was living in Milan and working on the history of that city. Then, he was ‘simply’ a larger than life Football President (of AC Milan) and TV entrepreneur. I dedicated a whole chapter to him in my subsequent book about Milan. Then, in 1994, he ‘took the field’ and became a politician. Incredibly, he won the elections just months later. It was one of the most audacious political acts of the Twentieth Century.

Soon, I was writing about Berlusconi as a politician, his dodgy financial connections, his attacks on the judiciary, his private life, the conflict of interests between his huge business empire and his political activities. In 1994 Silvio won a big vote in Parliament just as AC Milan crushed Barcelona 4-0 in the champions league final, with Fabio Capello as manager. It was a perfect example of the way he connected his media power to his political power.

The 1994 government lasted just 9 months, but soon Silvio was back, winning another election in 2001 and yet another in 2008. He seemed indestructible, despite all the scandals, the girls, the mafia, the laws he tried to pass in his favour, the corruption allegations and the hostility of the rest of the world (with the notable exception of Tony Blair and Vladimir Putin, who seemed to adore him).

I even helped to organise a demonstration against Silvio in London, outside the Italian embassy, which ended with us all signing the anti-fascist song, Bella Ciao, in Italian. By then, I had written a history of Italian football. Guess who got the biggest entry in the index?

Now, finally, Silvio seems to be on the way out. Of course, this is a good thing for Italy, for the world, for democracy and for feminism. But I won’t believe his is gone until I see it and, in a strange way, I think I will miss him a little. After all, he has dominated my life for years, and provided me with the opportunity to be angry, exasperated and indignant on so many occasions. Bye-bye Berlusconi. Now it is time to write about the ‘Berlusconi era’. Lets hope that era is over, but don’t bet on it.