Forza Italia: Berlusconi declares love and values

Status: 09/24/2022 3:14 PM

Berlusconi wants to be president of the Senate – and he has joined the right-wing alliance with Forza Italia. He is deliberately tamed, even praising the European Union and democracy. But after the election, its impact is likely to be minimal.

Written by Lisa Weiss, ARD Studio Rome

Where is Silvio Berlusconi? You can already ask yourself this question in the Italian election campaign, because although he is the frontrunner of his “Forza Italia” party, you rarely see the 85-year-old at campaign events.

But if he wasn’t on stage, Berlusconi can now be found on TikTok. The former prime minister, known for his bunga bunga parties with underage prostitutes, says he wants to connect with young people there.

And voter catch from the center-left coalition’s biggest candidate, Enrico Letta. Election Day, as he calls them there, is the day when ‘you as citizens care the most to vote for ‘Forza Italia’ and also for him – because ‘not only is it more beautiful than Letta’, but I also ‘chased your love all your life.’ And then he wishes Each voter has “tenderness, health and love”.

Berlusconi’s goal in this election is to become president of the Senate. That would make him Vice President of Italy. The odds for that are not so bad, because his “Forza Italia” party has entered into an alliance with the post-fascists of “Fratelli d’Italia” and the right-wing Lega – the center-right coalition has a good chance of Italy after the elections that govern.

Support from the European Parliament

But what does Forza Italia want to achieve? That Italian citizens be able to directly elect the president in the future, for example. He should also get more power. In addition, Berlusconi’s party wants a minimum pension of 1,000 euros and a minimum wage of 1,000 euros for young employees.

On the main energy issue in the election campaign, Berlusconi’s deputy Antonio Tajani called for a national energy plan focusing on renewable energies. In the long term, Italy also has to invest in nuclear power, he says.

In the field of immigration, “Forza Italia” seems more moderate than the right-wing allies – the party has repeatedly committed itself to the European Union and its institutions.

By the way, Berlusconi also received support from the European Parliament, from the CSU politician Manfred Weber – the head of the European People’s Party there, a coalition of Christian democratic and conservative parties. “Forza Italia” can bring stability to Italy because it has the most experience in the party alliance – this is how Weber justified his support for Berlusconi in his appearance in Rome.

Eight percent in the initial polls

Webber was heavily criticized for recommending Berlusconi, who has been accused countless times of corruption, fraud and accounting fraud and was found guilty once convicted. In addition, “Forza Italia” wants to form an alliance with “Fratelli d’Italia”, among others. Its president, Giorgia Meloni, has never distanced himself from fascism.

Berlusconi says he wants to prevent Italy from sliding too far to the right – he has already threatened to leave the alliance if the other two partners take an anti-democratic stance after the election.

Berlusconi insists that they are Europeans, liberals and Christians – “we are the defenders of Western values” and: “Europe is not Urban, it is the Europe of the European People’s Party”.

But Forza Italia did not even reach eight percent in the latest opinion polls published before the elections. So it may be difficult for Berlusconi to really influence the partners of the right-wing coalition.

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