March 28, 1994: The Rise of Silvio Berlusconi

March 28, 1994: Media mogul Silvio Berlusconi leads his party, Forza Italia, to victory in the Italian parliamentary elections, making him the next Prime Minister.

He was born in Milan on September 29, 1936, while Benito Mussolini was Italy's Fascist dictator. He graduated from law school, and got a job singing on a cruise ship. He had a daughter and a son with his 1st wife, 2 daughters and a son with a mistress, and 2 daughters and a son with his 2nd wife.

Like Donald Trump, he was involved in construction and real estate before going into politics. Unlike Trump, he didn't need his father's money to make money: He actually was a good businessman. Also unlike Trump, he knew he was going bald, and didn't try to hide it.

He went into the media business, turning a small cable-TV network into the national network Canal 5 (pronounced "Can-AL SIN-kwa"). His fortune was aided by Bettino Craxi, leader of the Italian Socialist Party, Prime Minister from 1983 to 1987, and the best man at Berlusconi's 2nd wedding.

From 1986 to 2017, Berlusconi owned A.C. Milan. One of the top soccer teams in Italy, and his favorite team, he made it one of the best in the world. Under his ownership, they won the UEFA Champions League (Europe's top club competition) 5 times, and Serie A (the Italian national league) 8 times, but the Coppa Italia (Italy's version of the FA Cup) only once. He also wrote the team's anthem with Italian music producer and pop singer Tony Renis.

His ownership of the Rossoneri -- named for their shirts of red and black stripes -- posed a problem for some fans. Milan traditionally have a left-of-center fanbase (as opposed to their fellow occupants of the San Siro Stadium, Internazionale Milano, or "Inter," whose fans tend more to the right), but while the fans loved him for building one of the greatest teams in the world, many of them despised him for his politics.

Because, as it so often is for such men, having unlimited money, any woman you want, and a measure of influence over your country is not enough. Silvio Berlusconi wanted power. He formed a conservative political party, Forza Italia -- meaning "Force" or "Strength" for Italy. Still thinking of himself as an entertainer, he wrote the party's anthem with opera director Renato Serio.

Representing the district of Lazio 1, in the national capital of Rome, he ran for the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the national legislature, because he had to have a seat in it in order to be Prime Minister, and led Forza Italia into the national election of March 27 and 28, 1994. He ran as a reform candidate, an anti-Communist candidate, and as a unifier for the Pentapartito, the 5 parties that had, between them, governed Italy on and off since the fall of Fascism and the end of World War II. His reform message went far in the wake of the 1992 Tangentopoli ("Bribe City") scandal. Hundreds of Italian political figures were arrested, and 12 are known to have committed suicide rather than face prison.

Forming what he called "the Pole of Freedoms," a coalition between Forza Italia, the Christian Democratic Centre, the National Alliance and the neo-Fascist Lega Nord (Northern League), and running countless campaign commercials on the networks he owned, Berlusconi's movement won 366 seats in the Chamber, enough for a majority, and enough to make him the Prime Minister, the most conservative head of government in Italy since... well, since Mussolini.

Berlusconi took office on May 11, 1994, and began his reforms quickly. But the scandal that had allowed him to take power soon enveloped him, too. Apparently, he had done the campaign-contribution version of placing bets on every horse. The self-righteous Lega Nord backed out, and on January 17, 1995, the Berlusconi government fell.

On March 6, a center-left coalition called The Olive Tree was founded, and it bided its time while the caretaker government straightened things out and called a new election for April 21, 1996. The Olive Tree won it, making Romano Prodi the Prime Minister. It was able to hold office for 5 years, until another election had to be called. By that point, Berlusconi had been able to shore up his support, and won the election of May 13, 2001, returning as Prime Minister.

Italian governments are like Italian soccer team managers: They rarely stay in power for very long. A full 5 years is an eternity, and in the ensuing 5 years, Berlusconi continued to anger pretty much anybody who wasn't, as we would say in America, a staunch conservative. On April 10, 2006, Italians went to the polls again. It was close, and Prodi claimed victory, his coalition having won 341 seats to Berlusconi's 281, although the Senate race was very close, Prodi leading 158-156.

Berlusconi never conceded, things remained a mess, and Prodi lost a vote of no confidence. He was replaced as leader of the center-left coalition by former Mayor Walter Veltroni of Rome. He couldn't match Berlusconi for message or charisma, and, on April 14, 2008, Berlusconi became Prime Minister for a 3rd time.

But the scandals piled up. Berlusconi was already the most-loved and the most-hated man in the country. Pier Luigi Bersani, a Cabinet minister under Prodi and Veltroni, built a new center-left coalition, Italy Common Good, and, on February 25, 2013, ended Berlusconi's last run for Prime Minister. He moved from the Chamber of Deputies to the Senate, where he was allowed to be Party Leader, but not Prime Minister.

Five months later, on August 1, Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud, but his sentence was commuted to community service due to his age. He was expelled from the Senate, although managed to win a seat in the European Parliament in 2019. In 2017, he sold AC Milan. Italy is scheduled to hold an election on September 25, 2022, and Berlusconi is attempting to regain his Senate seat. He will be 4 days short of his 86th birthday.

UPDATE: The election was won by Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy), a far-right coalition that includes Forza Italia and Lega Nord. In spite of its masculine-sounding name, its leader is a woman, Giorgia Meloni. On October 22, 2022, she was sworn in as the 1st female Prime Minister of Italy. She is one of many female leaders who has proven that electing women to run governments is no guarantee of progress: She has surpassed Berlusconi as the farthest-right Italian leader since Mussolini.

Berlusconi did win his Senate seat back. But he did not enjoy it for long: He died on June 12, 2023, of leukemia.

Electing a corrupt right-wing businessman as your head of government, just because he's very rich and charismatic, and panders to the people who like a show, including sports. How could a supposedly modern country be so stupid? Wait a minute…

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March 28, 1994 was a Monday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 2 games in the NBA. The Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 126-93 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Denver Nuggets, 111-97 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 3 games played in the NHL:

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Florida Panthers, 5-4 at the Miami Arena.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Murray Craven scored the winning goal with 1:03 left in overtime.