Silvio Berlusconi 'quietly campaigning' to be Italy's next president
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been tipped to
make one more run to be Italy's next president.
The 85-year-old media tycoon, infamous for his 'bunga bunga'
sex parties, remains Italy's longest serving post war leader, having been in
office three times.
Despite regular brushes with the law - including being
convicted of tax fraud in 2013 - and a number of health concerns, he has
previously been referred to as 'the immortal' for his longevity in politics.
And now, those within his centre-right Forza Italia party,
which he led for more than two decades, are tipping him to make one final run
for the top job.
Antonio Tajani, the deputy leader of the party told the
Sunday Telegraph: 'It would be a dream.
'A lot of us have asked him [to run]. When you bring up the
subject with him, he just smiles.'
Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been tipped to
make one more run to be Italy's next president
Now self-referred to as the elder statesman within Italy's
Right-wing bloc, Berlusconi has not officially entered the race but is
reportedly campaigning behind the scenes.
The right-wing bloc, which consists of Forza Italia, Matteo
Salvini's Northern League and Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy are expected
to back him if he were to officially enter the race.
A former crooner turned property and media magnate,
Berlusconi was Italian prime minister on three occasions between 1994 and 2011.
Silvio Berlusconi's political career and scandals
The former owner of AC Milan, who made his media fortune in
the 1960s, entered politics in early 1994 and served three separate terms as
the Italian prime minister up to 2011.
He has been embroiled in countless investigations over the
course of his career and has been convicted of tax fraud, but has also been
accused of many other crimes including embezzlement, bribery, abuse of office
and child prostitution.
Despite the investigations, Berlusconi was elected back into
parliament in 2019, further prolonging his decades-long career in Italian
politics.
Berlusconi has also had a string of health issues in the
past two decades.
In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart
problem after fainting, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January
2007.
He later had major heart surgery in 2016 and has also
survived prostate cancer, which he revealed in 2000 after having endured the
disease for three years.
At the time he described his cancer battle as 'a nightmare
lasting months', but said his battle with coronavirus last September had been
the 'most dangerous challenge' of his life.
The former Prime Minister was previously convicted of paying
£6 million to underage Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug, also known as
'Ruby the heart-stealer' for sexual services between February and May 2010, but
was later found not guilty on appeal.
However, he was then put on trial again on suspicion he had
bribed defence witnesses, with one trial ending in an acquittal in October and
two others are still pending.
No stranger to controversy, Berlusconi, who once infamously
called former US president Barack Obama 'suntanned', survived a public scandal
over the 'bunga bunga' sex parties at his private villa where women would strip
after there were allegations that some of the women present were underage.
The Forza Italia party has steadily lost popularity with
voters in recent years as Berlusconi battled legal problems linked to his media
business and the sex parties.
After being convicted of tax fraud in 2013, he had to
surrender his Senate seat. He is currently a legislator in the European
Parliament.
The flamboyant billionaire underwent open heart surgery in
2016 and has been in and out of hospital all this year due to complications
relating to a coronavirus infection which saw him hospitalised for 11 days last
September.
Despite this, his fans insist his bid for the presidency is
serious.
Mr Tajani described Berlusconi as 'an extraordinary captain
of industry, a great man of sport… and a great political leader', before
adding: 'Why should he retire? He will always be the founding father of the
centre-Right.'
The former owner of AC Milan, who made his media fortune in
the 1960s, entered politics in early 1994 and served three separate terms as
the Italian prime minister.
He has been embroiled in countless investigations over the
course of his career and has been convicted of tax fraud, but has also been
accused of many other crimes including embezzlement, bribery, abuse of office
and child prostitution.
Despite the investigations, Berlusconi was elected back into
parliament in 2019, further prolonging his decades-long career in Italian
politics.
Berlusconi has also had a string of health issues in the
past two decades.
In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart
problem after fainting, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January
2007.
He later had major heart surgery in 2016 and has also
survived prostate cancer, which he revealed in 2000 after having endured the
disease for three years.
At the time he described his cancer battle as 'a nightmare
lasting months', but said his battle with coronavirus last September had been
the 'most dangerous challenge' of his life.
The former Prime Minister was previously convicted of paying
£6 million to underage Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug, also known as
'Ruby the heart-stealer' for sexual services between February and May 2010, but
was later found not guilty on appeal.
However, he was then put on trial again on suspicion he had
bribed defence witnesses, with one trial ending in an acquittal in October,
while two others are still pending.
The 85-year-old media tycoon, infamous for his 'bunga bunga'
sex parties, remains Italy's longest serving post war leader, having been in
office three times. Pictured (right) alongside Moamer Kadhafi in 2010
The flamboyant billionaire underwent open heart surgery in
2016 and has been in and out of hospital all this year due to complications
relating to a coronavirus infection which saw him hospitalised for 11 days last
September. Pictured: Berlusconi addresses the media after leaving hospital in
Milan after testing positive for coronavirus
If he were to become president, he would be the first to
lead office while on trial.
Gianfranco Rotondi, a veteran Forza Italia MP and a former
minister under Berlusconi's last government said his former boss has a '50-50
chance to make it' in voting which starts around January 20.
Lorenzo Castellani, a political historian at Rome's Luiss
university, said he predicted Berlusconi's attempt to fade, but expected him to
be 'one of the kingmakers' in the presidential race.
The frontrunner in January's elections is currently Mario
Draghi, the current prime minister, while sitting president Sergio Mattarella
has also been mentioned as a credible option, despite saying he wants to
retire.
Italian presidents are elected by approximately 1,000
national and regional lawmakers in a secret ballot.
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