Taking leave
Putin, Orban, Netanyahu – reactions to Berlusconi’s death
Fond of each other: Silvio Berlusconi (l) and Vladimir Putin. photo
© Telenews/ANSA/EPA/dpa
For Putin, Silvio Berlusconi was a “real friend”. “The great fighter is gone!” Viktor Orban wrote.
After the death of Silvio Berlusconi, expressions of sympathy also reached Italy from abroad. Above all, rather authoritarian and right-wing conservative heads of state and government personally expressed their regret at the death of the 86-year-old.
“For me, Silvio was a dear person, a real friend,” Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin wrote in a telegram of condolence. He praised the former Italian Prime Minister, with whom he remained in contact even after the attack on Ukraine, for his foresight, balanced decisions, humor and joie de vivre, as he wrote. Berlusconi’s death was an “irreplaceable loss and a deep misfortune”.
“The great fighter is gone!” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote on his Facebook page. The right-wing populist was one of Berlusconi’s early admirers, with whom he was a personal friend. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was “deeply saddened” and offered his condolences to Berlusconi’s family and the Italian people. “Silvio was a great friend of Israel and always stood by us. Rest in peace, my friend.”
More sober expressions of condolences
Other condolences were more sober. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted that Berlusconi “led Italy through a period of political transition and has continued to shape his beloved country ever since.”
A UK government spokesman in London said: “Silvio Berlusconi has been a major influence on Italian politics for several decades and our thoughts are with the Italian people and their family.”
The deputy spokesman for the federal government, Wolfgang Büchner, said in Berlin: “We express our condolences to the Italian people and the Italian government.”
Martin Schulz, former SPD chancellor candidate and before that President of the European Parliament, told the t-online portal that every death is sad and regrettable. “My opinion on Berlusconi’s political record and the associated dangers is otherwise well known,” he said. The social democrat had often criticized the right-wing conservative Italian. A scandal broke out when Berlusconi jokingly suggested that the Germans be cast for the role of a concentration camp guard in a film in the European Parliament in 2003.
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz sent her condolences to Berlusconi’s family. Speaking to journalists in Luxembourg, the left-wing politician said: “But please understand that (…) the political project that Mr. Berlusconi has advocated for such a long time does not arouse my sympathy.”
reactions from sport
Berlusconi’s death caused reactions that went beyond politics. Gianni Infantino, the President of the World Football Association FIFA, wrote on Instagram about the former owner and President of the top club AC Milan: “I will remember him as someone who dreamed in our beloved sport and then turned the ideas into reality .” Berlusconi had won the Champions League five times with Milan in more than three decades.