The 86 year old Silvio Berlusconi, who served as Italian prime minister from 1994 to 2005, from 2006 to 2008, and from 2008 to 2011, has leukemia and had just been diagnosed with a lung infection.
Even though Berlusconi personally had no involvement in the government and his Forza Italia party is a component of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition, the death of Berlusconi is likely to cause political instability in Italy in the coming months.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a millionaire businessman who built the country’s greatest media organization before revolutionizing politics, passed away on Monday at the age of 86.
Two members of the Italian government expressed their sorrow over his demise, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini referring to him in a statement as “a great man and a great Italian.”
Guido Crosetto, the Italian defense minister, said on Twitter that Berlusconi’s passing marked the end of an era.
“I cherished him greatly. Silvio, good-bye,” Crosetto remarked.
The future of his corporate empire is also dubious. Even though his eldest daughter Marina is anticipated to play a significant role in his MFE (MFEB.MI) company after his passing, he never publicly said who will assume full control of it.
He passed away at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where he had been treated for a lung infection brought on by chronic myelomonocytic leukemia for six weeks in the spring before being readmitted.
After being found guilty of tax fraud in late 2012, Berlusconi completed part-time community service at a Milanese residential facility to complete his year-long sentence.
In time for the 2018 general elections, where Forza Italia campaigned in partnership with the League and Brothers of Italy but fell short of the requisite 40% to govern, his ban on running for office was overturned.
