State Funeral and Day of National Mourning for Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi died Monday at the age of 86. Berlusconi was being treated for chronic leukemia.  His funeral was held today.

Reuters reports:

Italy bade farewell to four-times prime minister Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday at a funeral befitting the business tycoon’s colourful life, with mourners bellowing football chants and politicians arguing over a day of national mourning.

Crowds waving the flags of the AC Milan soccer club Berlusconi used to own chanted “Silvio, Silvio” as his coffin was carried inside Milan’s gothic cathedral, flanked by ceremonially dressed Carabinieri police with plumed helmets.

Inside were some 2,300 mourners, including the women, politicians and businessmen who had accompanied the 86-year-old during his rise to power and riches.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shared a video message describing Berlusconi’s impact on Italy and the world stage.

“Silvio Berlusconi was above all a fighter. He was never afraid to defend his firm beliefs, and it was precisely that courage, that determination, that made him one of the most influential men in Italian history, allowing him to make real breakthroughs in the worlds of politics, communication and business.”

“With him, Italy learnt that it should never let limits be imposed on it, it learnt that it should never give up.
With him, we fought, won, lost many battles, and it is also for him that we will deliver on the objectives that, together, we had set ourselves.”

The New York Times shared, “Though he spent 30 years opposing Mr. Berlusconi ‘on a political level’ in ‘harsh conflict,’ the former prime minister Massimo D’Alema said in a note that Mr. Berlusconi had made an ‘indisputable contribution’ toward creating a new conservative bloc in Italy, ‘linked to the European democratic system.’

Final farewell to Silvio Berlusconi. He was a great statesman and a true friend. Our life is emptier without you. God bless you! pic.twitter.com/VjtSMM9Evo

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