The End of Il Cavaliere
Like the cat with nine lives, the Cavaliere had a thick skin. Although he was gradually withdrawing from politics, he knew how to use his considerable influence to weigh on Italian political life as a figure of authority.
Like the cat with nine lives, the Cavaliere had a thick skin. Although he was gradually withdrawing from politics, he knew how to use his considerable influence to weigh on Italian political life as a figure of authority.
The raid has affected the EPP’s tense office politics amid a larger pushback against plans to take the group to the Right ahead of the 2024 elections.
The Forza Italia leader has suffered from a series of health problems in recent years, but his brother Paolo insisted “he’ll make it this time too.”
Some EPP lawmakers have threatened to boycott an upcoming center-right gathering in Naples if Berlusconi attends.
It remains uncertain how Berlusconi’s controversial statements will affect the unity of Italy’s center-right governing coalition.
If the forecast is correct, the conservative, anti-establishment coalition could secure 245 out of 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 127 of 200 seats in the Senate, garnering a comfortable majority in both legislatures.
If elections were held today, nearly half of Italy’s electorate would cast their ballots for one of Italy’s three center-right coalition parties.
At this time, no coalition has endorsed a candidate. While the current Prime Minister Mario Draghi is the favourite for the presidential election, his potential election would cause as many problems as it would solve.
The choice of the Italian president is the result of complicated negotiations between the different parties. For many years, the position has remained in the hands of the centre-left, but the right-wing, which nowadays has a relative majority, may be able to win the vote for the first time since the demise of the Christian democracy in the 1990s.
Silvio Berlusconi likes to recall that he once made a promise to his mother that one day he would become President of the Italian Republic.
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