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89-485: The award was originally conceived by Massimo Moratti to reward the best European football club managers. While the award was initially assigned by journalists, from the 1993–94 season it started to be awarded by manager themselves to the colleagues considered to have performed the best throughout the previous season. From 1994–95 to 2005-06, the Golden Bench was awarded to the best Serie A or Serie B manager and

178-462: A Milan court ordered Fininvest to pay 560 million euros in damages to Compagnie Industriali Riunite in a long-running legal dispute. On 5 August 2016, Fininvest announced the signing of a preliminary agreement to sell all of their shares of AC Milan to Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co.Ltd. The deal was scheduled to be finalised by the end of 2016. On 13 April 2017, Berlusconi sold Milan to Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux for

267-506: A controversial figure who divided public opinion and political analysts. Supporters emphasised his leadership skills and charismatic power, his fiscal policy based on tax reduction, and his ability to maintain strong and close foreign relations with both the United States and Russia. In general, critics address his performance as a politician and the ethics of his government practices in relation to his business holdings. Issues with

356-659: A cruise ship crooner . In later life, he wrote AC Milan 's anthem with the Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis and Forza Italia's anthem with the opera director Renato Serio . With the Neapolitan singer Mariano Apicella, he wrote two Neapolitan song albums: Meglio 'na canzone in 2003 and L'ultimo amore in 2006. In 1965, Berlusconi married Carla Elvira Dall'Oglio, and they had two children: Maria Elvira , better known as Marina (born 1966), and Pier Silvio (born 1969). By 1980, Berlusconi had established

445-408: A law that previously restricted nationwide broadcasting to RAI, which had ordered these private networks to cease transmitting. After political turmoil in 1985, the decree was approved definitively; for some years, Berlusconi's three channels remained in legal limbo and were not allowed to broadcast news and political commentary. They were elevated to the status of full national TV channels in 1990 by

534-490: A leader because of his turbulent private life. Berlusconi was born in 1936 in Milan , where he was raised in a middle-class family. His father, Luigi Berlusconi, was a bank employee, and his mother, Rosa Bossi, a housewife. He was the first of three children; he had a sister, Maria Francesca Antonietta, and a brother, Paolo . After completing his secondary school education at a Salesian college, Berlusconi studied law at

623-468: A little over a month until his replacement by a technocratic government headed by Lamberto Dini . Dini had been a key minister in the Berlusconi cabinet, and Berlusconi said the only way he would support a technocratic government would be if Dini headed it. In the end, Dini was supported by most of the opposition parties, but not by Forza Italia and Lega Nord. In 1996, Berlusconi and his coalition lost

712-555: A major demonstration of the centre-right in Rome against the Prodi II Cabinet , Berlusconi proposed the foundation of a Freedom Party, arguing that the people and voters of the different political movements aligned to the demonstration were all part of a people of freedom. On 18 November 2007, after claiming the collection of more than 7 million signatures (including that of Umberto Bossi ) demanding that then President of

801-404: A margin of 9% of the vote: 46.5% (344 seats) to 37.5% (246 seats). Berlusconi capitalised on discontent over the nation's stagnating economy and the unpopularity of Prodi's government. His declared top priorities were to remove piles of rubbish from the streets of Naples and to improve the state of the Italian economy, which had under-performed the rest of the eurozone for years. He also said he

890-666: A member of the Chamber of Deputies, the country's lower house , he became a member of the Senate following the 2013 Italian general election . On 1 August 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud by the Supreme Court of Cassation . His four-year prison sentence was confirmed, and he was banned from holding public office for two years. Aged 76, he was exempted from direct imprisonment, and instead served his sentence by doing unpaid community service . Three years of his sentence

979-698: A net worth of US$ 6.8 billion in June 2023, Berlusconi was the third-wealthiest person in Italy at the time of his death. Berlusconi rose into the financial elite of Italy in the late 1960s. He was the controlling shareholder of Mediaset and owned the Italian football club AC Milan from 1986 to 2017. He was nicknamed Il Cavaliere ('The Knight') for his Order of Merit for Labour ; he voluntarily resigned from this order in March 2014. In 2018, Forbes ranked him as

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1068-436: A relationship with the actress Veronica Lario (born Miriam Bartolini), with whom he subsequently had three children: Barbara (born 1984), Eleonora (born 1986), and Luigi (born 1988). He was divorced from Dall'Oglio in 1985, and married Lario in 1990. By this time, Berlusconi was a well-known entrepreneur, and his wedding was a notable social event. One of his best men was Bettino Craxi , a former prime minister and leader of

1157-427: A single Golden Bench is awarded to the best Serie C manager. In the 2013–14 edition, the award was opened to Italian's women football, celebrating the best women's Serie A and Serie B coaches. In the 2016–17 edition, the award was also opened to the best coaches in men's and women's Italian futsal . Massimo Moratti Massimo Moratti (born 16 May 1945) is an Italian billionaire petroleum businessman,

1246-482: A then world-record €48 million purchase of striker Christian Vieri , and has purchased numerous others, including Roberto Carlos , Hernán Crespo , Adriano , Iván Zamorano , Maicon , Roberto Baggio , Zlatan Ibrahimović , Luís Figo , Patrick Vieira , Samuel Eto'o , Alvaro Recoba and Wesley Sneijder . However, criticism also been levelled against Moratti, as he fired coaches frequently. Except keeping Giuseppe Baresi and Daniele Bernazzani as backroom staff in

1335-623: A total of €830 million after a 31-year reign. Berlusconi rapidly rose to the forefront of Italian politics in January 1994, forming a new party called Forza Italia . He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the first time and appointed as prime minister following the 1994 Italian general election , when Forza Italia gained a majority in the Chamber of Deputies less than three months after having been launched. His cabinet collapsed after nine months due to internal disagreements among

1424-479: A vote nonetheless won by Berlusconi by 314 to 311. In May 2011, PdL suffered a big blow in local elections. Particularly painful was the loss of Milan , Berlusconi's hometown and party stronghold. In response to this and to conflicts within party ranks, Angelino Alfano , the Justice minister, was chosen as national secretary in charge of reorganising and renewing the party. The appointment of 40-year-old Alfano,

1513-409: A year would not be taxed). Secondly, he promised to halve the unemployment rate. Thirdly, he committed to financing and developing a massive new public works programme. Fourthly, he promised to raise the minimum monthly pension rate to 516 euros. Fifthly, he would reduce crime by introducing police officers to patrol all local zones and areas in Italy's major cities. Opposition parties claim Berlusconi

1602-449: A year. The conflict between Fini and Berlusconi was covered live on television. At the end of the day, a resolution proposed by Berlusconi's loyalists was put before the assembly and approved by a landslide margin. On 29 July 2010, the party executive released a document in which Fini was described as "incompatible" with the political line of the PdL and unable to perform his job of President of

1691-400: Is necessary to amend the Italian constitution without a qualified two-thirds parliamentary majority. The referendum was held on 25–26 June 2006 and resulted in the rejection of the constitutional reform, with 61.3% of voters casting ballots against it. Operating under a new electoral law written unilaterally by the governing parties with strong criticism from the parliamentary opposition ,

1780-472: Is said to have spent around €1.5 billion of his personal fortune in the transfer market, and was famous for signing numerous football superstars such as Ronaldo in 1997. He was Inter's honorary chairman, and also a United Nations goodwill ambassador . In 2013, he was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame . Moratti is the fourth son of industrialist Angelo Moratti , who was

1869-574: The 1994 US elections . This was considered to be a creative masterstroke in his 2001 bid for prime ministership. Berlusconi committed in this contract to improving several aspects of the Italian economy and life, and promised to not stand for re-election in 2006 if he failed to honour at least four of these five promises. Firstly, he undertook to simplify the complex Italian national tax system by introducing just two income tax rates (33% for those earning over 100,000 euros , and 23% for anyone earning less than that figure: anyone earning less than 11,000 euros

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1958-670: The European debt crisis , the resignation of Berlusconi as prime minister came on 16 November 2011. Berlusconi led the People of Freedom and its right-wing allies in the campaign for the 2013 Italian general election . Although he initially planned to run for a fifth term as prime minister, as part of the agreement with the Lega Nord , he would instead plan to lead the coalition without becoming prime minister. Berlusconi's centre-right coalition gained 29% of votes, ranking second, after

2047-763: The Italian Social-Democratic Party , the Italian Republican Party and the Italian Liberal Party , lost much of their electoral strength almost overnight due to a large number of judicial investigations concerning the financial corruption of many of their foremost members in the Mani Pulite affair. This led to a general expectation that upcoming elections would be won by the Democratic Party of

2136-542: The Italian Socialist Party . In May 2009, Lario announced that she was to file for divorce. On 28 December 2012, Berlusconi was ordered to pay Lario $ 48 million a year in a divorce settlement, but could keep the $ 100 million house they lived in with their three children. Berlusconi's business career began in construction in the 1970s, when he built Milano Due , a development of 4,000 residential apartments east of Milan . The residential centre

2225-784: The National Alliance ( Alleanza Nazionale ), heir to the Italian Social Movement , in central and southern regions. In a pragmatic move, he did not ally with the latter in the North because Lega Nord disliked them. Consequently, Forza Italia was allied with two parties that were not allied with each other. Berlusconi launched a massive campaign of electoral advertisements on his three TV networks and prepared his top advertising salesmen with seminars and screen tests, of whom 50 were subsequently elected despite an absence of legislative experience. He subsequently won

2314-639: The Pentapartito , who were shocked and confused by Mani Pulite scandals, that Forza Italia offered both a fresh uniqueness and the continuation of the pro-Western free-market policies followed by Italy since the end of World War II . Shortly after he decided to enter the political arena, investigators into the Mani Pulite affair were said to be close to issuing warrants for the arrest of Berlusconi and senior executives of his business group. During his political career, Berlusconi repeatedly stated that

2403-489: The Soviet Union , an issue on which the coalition parties themselves initially had significantly different opinions. Lega Nord insisted on a federalist reform ( devolution of more power to the regions) as a condition for remaining in the coalition. The National Alliance party pushed for a strong premiership (more powers to the prime minister). Difficulties in negotiating an agreement caused some internal unrest in

2492-461: The University of Milan , graduating with honours in 1961, with a thesis on the legal aspects of advertising. He was not required to serve the standard one-year stint in the Italian army which was compulsory at the time. During his university studies, he played upright bass in a group formed with the now Mediaset Chairman and amateur pianist Fedele Confalonieri and occasionally performed as

2581-475: The majority bonus system . This electoral law, approved shortly before the election by Berlusconi's coalition in an attempt to improve their chances of winning the election, led to the coalition's defeat and gave Prodi the chance to form a new cabinet. Prodi's coalition government consisted of a large number of smaller parties. If only one of these nine parties that formed The Union withdrew its support to Prodi, his government would have collapsed. This situation

2670-473: The national conservative National Alliance (AN) and President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies , became a vocal critic of the leadership of Berlusconi. Fini departed from party's majority line on several issues but, most of all, he was a proponent of a more structured party organisation. His criticism was aimed at the leadership style of Berlusconi, who tends to rely on his personal charisma to lead

2759-405: The 15th anniversary of Berlusconi's first electoral victory. While Forza Italia had never held a formal party congress to formulate its rules, procedures, and democratic balloting for candidates and issues, (since 1994 three party conventions of Forza Italia have been held, all of them resolving to support Berlusconi and reelecting him by acclamation) on 27 March 2009, at the foundation congress of

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2848-597: The 18 years of his leadership, Inter clinched five Scudetti/Serie A in a row from 2006 to 2010 (equalling the then-all-time record), four Coppa Italia titles (2005, 2006, 2010, 2011), four Supercoppa Italiana titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010), one UEFA Champions League (2010), one FIFA Club World Cup (2010) and one UEFA Cup (1998). Inter won the Scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in

2937-463: The 190th-richest man in the world, with a net worth of US$ 8 billion. In 2009, Forbes ranked him 12th in the list of the World's Most Powerful People due to his domination of Italian politics throughout more than fifteen years at the head of the centre-right coalition . Berlusconi was prime minister for nine years in total, making him the longest serving post-war prime minister of Italy, and

3026-514: The 2009–2010 season, becoming the first Italian team that managed to achieve the Treble . Moratti is said to have spent around €1.5 billion of his personal fortune in the transfer market in his time as chairman. His most famous signing was that of Ronaldo from Barcelona in the summer of 1997, at a time when he was widely considered the best player in the world. Later, in July 1999, Moratti sanctioned

3115-593: The April 2006 general election was held. The results of this election handed Romano Prodi 's centre-left coalition, known as The Union (Berlusconi's opposition), a very thin majority: 49.8% against 49.7% for the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms in the Lower House , and a two-senator lead in the Senate (158 senators for The Union and 156 for the House of Freedoms). The Court of Cassation subsequently validated

3204-459: The Berlusconi government in 2003, but they were mostly overcome and the law including devolution of powers to the regions, Federal Senate, and strong premiership, was passed by the Senate in April 2004; it was slightly modified by the Chamber of Deputies in October 2004, and again in October 2005, and finally approved by the Senate on 16 November 2005, with a narrow majority. Approval in a referendum

3293-412: The Chamber of Deputies in a neutral way. Berlusconi asked Fini to step down, and the executive proposed the suspension from party membership of three MPs who had harshly criticised Berlusconi and accused some party members of criminal offences. As response, Fini and his followers formed their own groups in both chambers under the name of Future and Freedom (FLI). It was soon clear that FLI would leave

3382-454: The Left , the heirs to the former Italian Communist Party , and their Alliance of Progressives coalition unless an alternative arose. On 26 January 1994, Berlusconi announced his decision to enter politics, in his own words to "enter the field", presenting his own political party, Forza Italia , on a platform focused on defeating communists . His political aim was to convince the voters of

3471-603: The Mammì law, named after Oscar Mammì . In 1987, it bought out home video distributor Domovideo, in a seesaw contest with Vincenzo Romagnoli . In 1995, Berlusconi sold a portion of his media holdings, first to the German media group Kirch Group (now bankrupt) and then by public offer. In 1999, Berlusconi expanded his media interests by forming a partnership with Kirch called the Epsilon MediaGroup . On 9 July 2011,

3560-457: The Mani Pulite investigations were led by communist prosecutors who wanted to establish a Soviet -style government in Italy. To win the March 1994 general election, Berlusconi formed two separate electoral alliances: Pole of Freedoms ( Polo delle Libertà ) with Lega Nord (Northern League) in northern Italian districts, and another, the Pole of Good Government ( Polo del Buon Governo ), with

3649-564: The PdL and become an independent party. On 7 November, during a convention in Bastia Umbra , Fini asked Berlusconi to step down from his post of prime minister and proposed a new government including the Union of the Centre (UdC). A few days later, the four FLI members of the government resigned. On 14 December, FLI voted against Berlusconi in a vote of confidence in the Chamber of Deputies,

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3738-610: The PdL joint list, allied with Lega Nord of Bossi and the Movement for Autonomy of Raffaele Lombardo . In the snap elections held on 13–14 April 2008, this coalition won against Walter Veltroni 's centre-left coalition in both houses of the Italian Parliament . In the 315-member Senate of the Republic, Berlusconi's coalition won 174 seats to Veltroni's 134. In the lower house , Berlusconi's conservative bloc led by

3827-464: The PdL political movement the statute of the new party was subject to a vote of approval. On 5,820 voting delegates, 5,811 voted in favour, 4 against and 5 abstained. During that political congress Berlusconi was elected as chairman of the PdL by a show of hands. According to the official minutes of the congress the result favoured Berlusconi, with 100 per cent of the delegates voting for him. Between 2009 and 2010, Gianfranco Fini , former leader of

3916-556: The Republic Giorgio Napolitano call a fresh election, Berlusconi announced from the running board of a car in a crowded Piazza San Babila in Milan that Forza Italia would soon merge or transform into The People of Freedom , also known as the PdL ( Il Popolo della Libertà ). Berlusconi also stated that this new political movement could include the participation of other parties. Both supporters and critics of

4005-682: The Saras Group, engaged in the refining of petroleum, where he is presently CEO. Moratti is also the owner of Sarlux, headquartered in Cagliari , which focuses on the production of electricity from waste oil . Married to the environmental activist Emilia Moratti (née Bossi), the couple have five children. In September 2009, Sauro Gori announced that Moratti had been appointed a United Nations goodwill ambassador . In May 2011, Moratti supported Giuliano Pisapia 's bid to become mayor of Milan against his sister-in-law Letizia . His call for 'change'

4094-467: The Sarroch refinery from terms of energy, the Saras Group has entered into the production of electricity and is expanding its production of alternative energy sources, particularly in the field of wind energy, through its subsidiaries Sarlux and Sardeolica, the latter of which is controlled indirectly through the company Eolici Ulassai. From 1995 until 2013, Moratti was the chairman of Internazionale . He

4183-442: The Senate after winning a seat in the 2022 Italian general election , then died the following year from complications of chronic leukaemia , and was given a state funeral . Berlusconi was known for his populist political style and brash personality. In his long tenure, he was often accused of being an authoritarian leader and a strongman . At the height of his power, Berlusconi was the richest person in Italy, owned three of

4272-494: The Silver Bench to the best Serie C1 or Serie C2 managers. From the 2006–07 season, the Golden Bench is awarded to the best Serie A manager and the Silver Bench to the best Serie B manager. A new category was therefore added to reward managers from the third (Serie C1/Prima Divisione) and fourth (Serie C2/Seconda Divisione) tier of the Italian football league system . After the third and fourth tiers were unified in 2015,

4361-709: The centre-left coalition Italy Common Good led by Pier Luigi Bersani . Subsequently, Berlusconi's allies supported the Letta Cabinet headed by Enrico Letta of the Democratic Party , together with the centrist Civic Choice of former prime minister Mario Monti . Berlusconi was criticised for his electoral coalitions with right-wing populist parties (Lega Nord and the National Alliance ) and for apologetic remarks about Mussolini; he also officially apologised for Italy's actions in Libya during colonial rule . While in power, Berlusconi maintained ownership of Mediaset ,

4450-569: The chairman of Football Club Internazionale Milano during the team's "Golden Age" from 1955 to 1968. Born in the family villa in the Bosco Chiesanuova , close to Verona , he graduated from Libera Università Internazionale degli Studi Sociali Guido Carli with a master's degree in political science . Letizia Moratti , his sister-in-law, was the Mayor of Milan from 2006 until 2011. On his father's death, Moratti inherited his shares in

4539-472: The club as the honorary chairman. In June 2016, Moratti's Internazionale Holding S.r.l. sold all its stake in Inter Milan to Erick Thohir 's Nusantara Sports Ventures HK Limited for €60 million (and re-sold to Zhang Jindong 's Suning Holdings Group ). As of 2018, Moratti's wife, Milly Moratti, remained in the advisory board of Inter. However, Moratti himself, was no longer the honorary chairman of

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4628-458: The club. Other members of the Moratti family, Angelomario Moratti, Carlotta Moratti, Giovanni Moratti, remained as members of the board of a subsidiary of the club, Inter Futura. Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( / ˌ b ɛər l ʊ ˈ s k oʊ n i / BAIR -luu- SKOH -nee , Italian: [ˈsilvjo berluˈskoːni] ; 29 September 1936 – 12 June 2023)

4717-432: The coalition parties, and he was succeeded as prime minister by Lamberto Dini . In the 1996 Italian general election , Berlusconi was defeated by the centre-left candidate Romano Prodi . In the 2001 Italian general election , he was again the centre-right candidate for prime minister and won against the centre-left candidate Francesco Rutelli . Berlusconi then formed his second and third cabinets, until 2006. Berlusconi

4806-648: The coalition receiving 49.6% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies and 42.5% for the Senate of the Republic . On the television interview programme Porta a Porta , during the last days of the electoral campaign, Berlusconi created a powerful impression on the public by undertaking to sign the Contratto con gli Italiani ( Contract with the Italians ), an idea copied by his advisor Luigi Crespi from Newt Gingrich 's Contract with America introduced six weeks before

4895-475: The elections and were replaced by a centre-left government led by Romano Prodi . In 2001, Berlusconi ran again, as leader of the right-wing coalition House of Freedoms ( La Casa delle Libertà ), which included the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , Lega Nord , the National Alliance , and other parties. Berlusconi's success in the May 2001 general election led to him becoming prime minister once more, with

4984-493: The elections, with Forza Italia garnering 21% of the popular vote, more than any other single party. One of the most significant promises that he made to secure victory was that his government would create "one million more jobs". He was appointed prime minister in 1994, but his term in office was short because of the inherent contradictions in his coalition: the League, a regional party with a strong electoral base in northern Italy,

5073-468: The fact that many of its MPs had switched to Forza Italia, allegedly lured by promises of more prestigious portfolios. In 1998, various articles attacking Berlusconi were published by Lega Nord's official newspaper La Padania , with titles such as "La Fininvest è nata da Cosa Nostra" ('Fininvest [Berlusconi's principal company] was founded by the Mafia'). Berlusconi remained as caretaker prime minister for

5162-507: The first team or in the youth system, as well as Marco Branca as one of the directors, the team had changed from Rafael Benítez , Leonardo , Gasperini and Ranieri in just two seasons. Roberto Mancini and José Mourinho were the only two trophy winning and longest serving coaches in recent years. Before Mancini, Moratti employed more than ten short-lived coaches, including Roy Hodgson , Marcello Lippi , Marco Tardelli , Héctor Cúper and Alberto Zaccheroni . The next day after Ranieri

5251-409: The five years leading up to 1983, he earned some 113 billion Italian lire (€58.3 million). The funding sources are still unknown because of a complex system of holding companies , despite investigations conducted by various prosecutors . Fininvest soon expanded into a country-wide network of local TV stations which had similar programming, forming, in effect, a single national network. At

5340-487: The following year. TeleMilano was one of the first Italian private television channels and later evolved into Canale 5 , the first national private TV station. After buying two further channels, Berlusconi relocated the station to central Milan in 1977 and began broadcasting over the airwaves. In 1975, Berlusconi founded his first media group, Fininvest. In 1978 he joined the Propaganda Due masonic lodge . In

5429-408: The former include accusations of having mismanaged the state budget and of increasing the Italian government debt . The second criticism concerns his vigorous pursuit of his personal interests while in office, including benefitting from his own companies' growth due to policies promoted by his governments, having vast conflicts of interest due to ownership of a media empire, and being blackmailed as

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5518-533: The former owner of Inter Milan and chairman of the Saras Group , founded in 1962 by his father, industrialist Angelo Moratti . The main production site of the Saras Group is the Sarroch refinery located on the island of Sardinia , one of Europe's only six supersites, with a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day, representing 15% of refining capacity in Italy. In recent years, initially to enable independence of

5607-468: The goals of the agreement, and said his Government provided un miracolo continuo (a continuous miracle) that made all 'earlier governments pale' (by comparison). He attributed the widespread failure to recognise these achievements to a campaign of mystification and vilification in the print media, asserting that 85% of newspapers were opposed to him. Luca Ricolfi, an independent analyst, held that Berlusconi had managed to deliver only one promise out of five,

5696-403: The largest media company in Italy, and was criticised for his dominance of the Italian media. His leadership was also undermined by sex scandals . Berlusconi entered politics in 1994, reportedly admitting to Indro Montanelli and Enzo Biagi that he was forced to do so to avoid imprisonment. He served as prime minister of Italy from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. His career

5785-519: The main TV channels of the country, and indirectly controlled RAI through his own government. He was the owner of Italy's biggest publishing company, several newspapers and magazines, and one of the largest football clubs in Europe. At the time of his death, The Guardian wrote that Berlusconi "gathered himself more power than was ever wielded by one individual in a Western democracy". Berlusconi remained

5874-480: The new party called Berlusconi's announcement "the running board revolution" (Italian: la rivoluzione del predellino ). After the sudden fall of the Prodi II Cabinet on 24 January, the break-up of The Union , and the subsequent political crisis, which paved the way for a fresh general election in April 2008, Berlusconi, Gianfranco Fini and other party leaders finally agreed on 8 February 2008 to form

5963-519: The one concerning minimum pension rates. According to Ricolfi, the other four promises were not honoured, in particular the undertakings on tax simplification and crime reduction. The House of Freedoms did not do as well in the 2003 local elections as it did in the 2001 national elections. In common with many other European governing groups, in the 2004 elections to the European Parliament , gained 43.37% support. Forza Italia's support

6052-471: The party from the centre and supports a less structured form of party, a movement-party that organises itself only at election times. On 15 April 2010, an association named Generation Italy was launched to better represent Fini's views within the party and push for a different form of party organisation. On 22 April 2010 the National Committee of the PdL convened in Rome for the first time in

6141-408: The regions ( Lombardy and Veneto ) up for re-election. Three parties, Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , National Alliance and New Italian Socialist Party , threatened to withdraw from the Berlusconi government. Berlusconi after some hesitation, then presented to the president of Italy a request for the dissolution of his government on 20 April. On 23 April, he formed a new government with

6230-543: The run-up to the 2006 general election, there had been talk among some of the coalition members of the House of Freedoms about a possible merger into a "united party of moderates and reformers". Forza Italia , the National Alliance of Gianfranco Fini , and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats of Pier Ferdinando Casini all seemed interested in the project. Soon after the election, Casini started to distance his party from its historical allies. On 2 December 2006, during

6319-551: The same allies, reshuffling ministers and amending the government programme. A key point demanded by the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and to a lesser extent by the National Alliance for their continued support was that the strong focus on tax reduction be reduced. A key point in the Berlusconi government's programme was a planned reform of the Italian constitution , which Berlusconi considered to be inspired by

6408-444: The state maintained prohibitions on live broadcasting and private news channels. Berlusconi was the first to successfully bypass these restrictions by distributing simultaneously pre-recorded broadcasts across multiple local stations, effectively creating the impression of a national live television network. In 1980, Berlusconi founded Italy's first private national network, Canale 5 , followed shortly thereafter by Italia 1 , which

6497-539: The third-longest-serving since Italian unification , after Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Giolitti . He was the leader of the centre-right party Forza Italia from 1994 to 2009, and its successor party The People of Freedom from 2009 to 2013. He led the revived Forza Italia from 2013 to 2023. Berlusconi was the senior G8 leader from 2009 until 2011, and he held the record for hosting G8 summits (having hosted three summits in Italy). After serving nearly 19 years as

6586-472: The time, laws permitted only the national broadcaster RAI to operate throughout the country, and this was seen as an effort to circumvent the state monopoly . Prior to 1974, Italian television was entirely under state ownership. Despite the landmark 1976 ruling by the Constitutional Court of Italy (decision no. 202/1976), which allowed private entities to operate local television stations ,

6675-407: The voting procedures and determined that the election process was constitutional. According to the new electoral rules, The Union, nicknamed "The Soviet Union" by Berlusconi, with a margin of only 25,224 votes (out of over 38 million voters) won 348 seats (compared to 281 for the House of Freedoms) in the lower house given to whichever coalition of parties was awarded more votes as a result of

6764-529: Was also reduced from 29.5% to 21.0% (in the 1999 European elections Forza Italia had 25.2%). As an outcome of these results, the other coalition parties, whose electoral results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for greater influence on the government's political line. In the regional elections on 3–4 April 2005, centre-left candidates for regional presidencies won in 11 out of 13 regions where control of local governments and presidencies were at stake. Berlusconi's coalition held only two of

6853-558: Was also the result of the new electoral system. Centrist parties such as the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats immediately conceded The Union's victory, while other parties, such as Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the Northern League, refused to accept its validity, right up until 2 May 2006, when Berlusconi submitted his resignation to then President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi . In

6942-449: Was an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1994 to 2013; a member of the Senate of the Republic from 2022 until his death in 2023, and previously from March to November 2013; and a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2019 to 2022, and previously from 1999 to 2001. With

7031-454: Was assisted by his connections to Bettino Craxi , secretary-general of the Italian Socialist Party and also the prime minister of Italy at that time, whose government passed, on 20 October 1984, an emergency decree legalising the nationwide transmissions made by Berlusconi's television stations. This was in response to judgements on 16 October 1984, in Turin , Pescara , and Rome , enforcing

7120-492: Was at that time fluctuating between federalist and separatist positions and the National Alliance was a nationalist party that had yet to renounce neo-fascism at the time. In December 1994, following the leaking to the press of news of a fresh investigation by Milan magistrates, Umberto Bossi , leader of the Lega Nord , left the coalition claiming that the electoral pact had not been respected. This in turn forced Berlusconi to resign from office. Lega Nord also resented

7209-451: Was automatically pardoned under Italian law; because he had been sentenced to gross imprisonment for more than two years, he was banned from holding legislative office for six years and expelled from the Senate. Berlusconi pledged to stay leader of Forza Italia throughout his custodial sentence and public office ban. After his ban ended, Berlusconi ran for and was elected as an MEP at the 2019 European Parliament election . He returned to

7298-456: Was bought from the Rusconi family in 1982, and Rete 4 , which was bought from Mondadori in 1984. He then launched three international sister networks: La Cinq (1986), Tele 5 (1988), and Telecinco (1989). La Cinq and Tele 5 ceased operations in 1992 and were later replaced by La Cinquième and DSF , respectively. Berlusconi created the first and only Italian commercial TV empire. He

7387-593: Was built by Edilnord, a Berlusconi-owned company associated with the Fininvest group. Works began on the project in 1970 and was completed in 1979. The profits from this venture provided the seed money for his advertising agency. Berlusconi first entered the media world in the 1970s, buying from Giacomo Properzj and Alceo Moretti a small cable television company, TeleMilano, to service units built on his Segrate properties. It began transmitting in September of

7476-444: Was dismissed, chief scout of the first team Giovanni Battista Lanfranchi was fired and replaced by the former technical commission of Udinese , Valentino Angeloni. Lanfranchi had served for Inter for 13 years in different positions. In November 2013, International Sports Capital took control of 70% of the club. Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir , a part-owner of that company, was elected chairman of Inter, but Moratti remained with

7565-483: Was not able to achieve the goals he promised in his Contratto con gli Italiani . Some of his partners in government, especially the National Alliance and the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats , admitted the Government fell short of the promises made in the agreement, attributing the failure to an unforeseeable downturn in global economic conditions. Berlusconi himself consistently asserted that he achieved all

7654-518: Was open to working with the opposition, and pledged to fight tax avoidance and tax evasion , reform the judicial system and reduce public debt. He intended to reduce the number of cabinet ministers to 12. Berlusconi and his ministers ( Berlusconi IV Cabinet ) were sworn in on 8 May 2008. On 21 November 2008, the National Council of Forza Italia dissolved Forza Italia and established the PdL, whose inauguration took place on 27 March 2009,

7743-408: Was perceived as an extension of his rivalry with A.C. Milan 's president, Silvio Berlusconi , from football to the political sphere. In April 2020, he was ranked by Forbes at number 1513 in the world's billionaires list, with a net worth of $ 1.4 billion. Moratti took over as chairman of Inter from Ernesto Pellegrini in 1995, during a period where many considered Inter to be underachievers. During

7832-469: Was racked with controversies and trials ; among these was his failure to honour his promise to sell his personal assets in Mediaset , the largest television broadcaster in Italy, to dispel any perceived conflicts of interest . In the early 1990s, the five governing parties known as the Pentapartito , including Christian Democracy ( Italian : Democrazia Cristiana ), the Italian Socialist Party ,

7921-477: Was the leader of the centre-right coalition in the 2006 Italian general election , which he lost by a very narrow margin, his opponent again being Prodi. He was re-elected in the 2008 Italian general election following the collapse of the Second Prodi government and sworn in for the third time as prime minister on 8 May 2008. After losing his majority in parliament amid growing fiscal problems related to

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