Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacted to the death of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, declaring, “For him, we will bring home the goals that we set together.”
“Silvio Berlusconi was, above all, a fighter. He was a man who was never afraid to stand up for his beliefs,” Meloni said in a video posted to her social media accounts on Monday.
Watch Below:
A Dio, Silvio. pic.twitter.com/hWiSNPCeia
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) June 12, 2023
“And it was precisely that courage and determination that made him one of the most influential men in Italy, that allowed him to be the first to have his own breakthroughs in the communication policy of the business world,” Meloni continued.
“With him in Italy, you learned that he should never have limits imposed on him, you learned that he was to never give up,” the Italian Prime Minsiter added.
Meloni concluded her statement by declaring, “With him, we have fought, won, lost, many battles. And for him, we will bring home the goals that we set together. Goodbye, Silvio.”
Populist former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini also reacted to the news, calling Berlusconi “one of the greatest ever, in all fields, from all points of view, without equal.”
“But above all today I lose a great friend,” Salvini continued. “I’m broken, and I rarely cry. Today is one of those days.”
“I keep as a precious gift the value of your friendship, your advice, your generosity, your respect, your genius, your rare and affectionate reproaches immediately followed by compliments,” he added.
Oggi ci saluta un GRANDE ITALIANO.
Uno dei più grandi di sempre, in tutti i campi, da tutti i punti di vista, senza eguali.
Ma soprattutto oggi perdo un grande amico.
Sono distrutto e piango raramente, oggi è uno di quei giorni.
Conservo come un dono prezioso il valore della tua… pic.twitter.com/4n4TOefl4c— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) June 12, 2023
“You have done so much for Italy and for the Italians,” Salvini said. “You leave a void that is difficult to fill.”
“Starting today, we will dedicate all our efforts to continue the thousand roads that you first saw and traced,” he added.
Salvini concluded by stating, “The greatest legacy you leave on this earth, which is your wonderful family and your loved ones, will be worth a thousand more lives.”
Berlusconi, a three-time Italian Prime Minister and media mogul, passed away at the age of 86 on Monday at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where he had been hospitalized since last Friday for chronic leukemia.
The former Prime Minister begun his career in construction, later getting involved in sports and media and creating Italy’s first commercial TV empire. He was also the founder of the center-right Forza Italia political party.
Berlusconi, known affectionately as “Il Cavaliere” (the Knight), is survived by his brother Paolo, his five children Pier Silvio, Barbara, Marina, Luigi, and Eleonora, and ten grandchildren.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.