Silvio Berlusconi’s bad break-up with Vladimir Putin throws light on Italy-Russia ties
- Berlusconi, who’s been out of office for over a decade but remains influential, was a close friend of Putin and once gave him a duvet cover bearing their images
- Much of Italy’s coalition government, which includes Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, has long pursued a ‘special relationship’ with Moscow
The former premier’s unwillingness to speak ill of Putin is echoed by other leading Italian politicians, while in the media, there are concerns that pro-Russian sentiment has warped into propaganda.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi is committed to Nato and the EU, strongly backing sanctions against Moscow, and at his urging a majority of Italy’s MPs approved sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself.
But much of Draghi’s coalition government – Berlusconi’s Forza Italia, Matteo Salvini’s League and the once anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) – has long pursued a “special relationship” with Moscow.
Italy used to have the largest Communist Party in the West, and many businesses invested in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, while Russians in turn sought opportunities here.
Barely a month before the February 24 invasion, Putin spent two hours addressing top Italian executives at a virtual meeting.
They were two autocrats who mutually reinforced their image: power, physical prowess, bravado, glitz
Berlusconi, 85, has been out of office for more than a decade but remains influential both in politics and through his media interests, as founder of the Mediaset empire.