Silvio Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi {{audio|It-Silvio_Berlusconi.ogg|listen}} (born September 29, 1936 in Milan) is the current Prime Minister of Italy and is the leader of the Forza Italia political movement, a party which was established for his entry into politics.

Political career

In the early 1990s, the two largest Italian majority Parties, the Christian Democrats (Democrazia Cristiana) and the Socialist Party (Partito Socialista Italiano) lost much of their electoral strength due to a large number of judicial accusations of corruption for their foremost members (see the Mani Pulite affair). This led to the expectation that elections would be won by the Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra), (the former Communist Party (Partito Comunista Italiano) and the main opposition party) unless there was a strong alternative: Berlusconi decided to enter politics on a platform centered on the defeat of communism.

Related Topics:
Democrazia Cristiana - Partito Socialista Italiano - Mani Pulite - Partito Democratico della Sinistra - Partito Comunista Italiano

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Berlusconi founded Forza Italia only two months before the 1994 elections; he formed two separate electoral alliances, with Lega Nord (Northern League) in northern Italy colleges, and with Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance) in the center and south; he launched a massive campaign of electoral spots on his three TV networks and he won the elections, with Forza Italia ranking first party with 21% of popular vote. He was appointed Prime Minister in 1994, but his term in office was short because of the inherent contradictions in his coalition, between Lega Nord, a regional party with a strong electoral base in northern Italy, which was at that time oscillating between federalist and separatist positions, and Alleanza Nazionale, a nationalist party which only then started dropping references to fascist ideology and symbols.

Related Topics:
Forza Italia - Lega Nord - Alleanza Nazionale - 1994 - Federalist - Separatist - Nationalist - Fascist

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From the beginning, Italian public opinion was divided: from the left, the new entry of Berlusconi was seen as an attempt, by a star of the old policy corruption system to bring it on despite of all the accusations and evidences. From the right, Berlusconi was hailed as the "new man" that would have saved the country from the communist horde, bringing the public bureaucracy to new efficiency and reforming the state top to bottom. Others have claimed that his entry was rather designed to help him avoid the bankruptcy of his companies due to large amounts of debt http://www.uwgb.edu/galta/333/bios98/berlusc.htm.

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In December 1994, Lega Nord left the coalition claiming that the electoral pact had not been respected, forcing Berlusconi to resign from office and moving the majority's weight to the centre-left side. The coalition of opposition parties (now including Lega Nord) then replaced him. In 1996, the ad-interim coalition formed by Lega Nord and centre-left was replaced, after a new election, by a centre-leftist government (without Lega Nord) led by Romano Prodi. http://www.forza-italia.it/notizie/int_2817.htm

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In 2001 Berlusconi again ran as leader of the centre-right coalition Casa delle Libertà (House of Freedoms) which includes Alleanza Nazionale, UDC (Christian Democrats), Lega Nord and other parties. His success in this election led to him becoming Prime Minister once more, with the coalition receiving 45.4% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies (Italian's Lower House), and 42.5% for the Senate-House (Italian's Upper House).

Related Topics:
Casa delle Libertà - Chamber of Deputies - Senate-House

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Casa delle Libertà has done less well in the 2003 local elections in comparison with the 2001 national elections, and, in common with many other European governing groups, in the 2004 elections of the European Parliament, gaining 43.37% support. Forza Italia's support 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 electorals results were more satisfactory, asked Berlusconi and Forza Italia for more influence in the government's political line.

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In the last local elections (April 3 & 4, 2005), the opposition The Union (formerly known as Olive Tree) won easily 12 of 14 regions where there was a vote; Berlusconi's coalition held in only two regions (Lombardy and Veneto). Two parties (UDC and NPSI) left the Berlusconi government. Berlusconi thus presented to the President of the Republic the dissolution of his government on April 20 2005, after much hesitation. On April 23 he formed a new government with the same allies, but with some changes in the ministers and in the program. A key point required by UDC (and to a minor extent by AN) was to reduce the focus on tax reduction the government had had, because this was considered incompatible with Italy's financial situation.

Related Topics:
April 3 - 4 - 2005 - The Union - Olive Tree - Lombardy - Veneto - UDC - NPSI - President of the Republic - April 20 - April 23 - AN

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There have been harsh criticisms on Berlusconi's choices: the ministry of Health, previously occupied by Girolamo Sirchia, a famous doctor, has been given to Francesco Storace, who, only a few weeks earlier, lost the regional elections in Latium. Another controversial move was the nomination of Giulio Tremonti as Vice-Prime Minister. Tremonti had been the Minister of Economy just few years earlier, but was forced to resign. He is strongly supported by Lega Nord, but opposed by UDC and AN.

Related Topics:
Health - Latium - Giulio Tremonti - Economy

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