I won't back down and I'll do what my country needs.' However, Berlusconi's name has been put forward repeatedly in the media, and he has not tried to dampen speculation that he wants the job.Īsked about his presidential prospects at a conference in October, he said, referring to himself in the third person: 'I think Silvio Berlusconi can be useful to the country. Yet despite all of the above, Berlusconi is ploughing ahead with his unofficial campaigning, presenting himself as an experienced elder statesman of European politics.Ĭandidates for president do not usually declare themselves in advance of the election in parliament.
Though he has not yet officially announced his presidential candidacy, there is already outrage in Italy at the prospect of the disgraced, scandal-ridden former PM becoming head of state (pictured: a protest against Berlusconi's candidacy to the presidency of the Italian republic in Rome on January 4, 2022) He later had major heart surgery in 2016 and has also survived prostate cancer, which he revealed in 2000 after having endured the disease for three years.Īt the time he described his cancer ordeal as 'a nightmare lasting months', but said his battle with coronavirus last September had been the 'most dangerous challenge' of his life. In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart problem after fainting, and underwent heart surgery in a US hospital in January 2007. Right: Moroccan prostitute Karima El Mahroug)īesides his reputation for 'bunga bunga' parties, Berlusconi was temporarily barred from public office after a conviction for tax fraud in 2013, and has been accused of several cases of embezzlement.Īnalysts believe such a divisive personality will find it hard to muster the broad support needed to elect a president, but Berlusconi has proved nothing if not persistent - both in his romantic conquests and in his drive to overcome adversity.Īside from his miraculous return to public office after numerous scandals, the media mogul has also battled a string of health issues in the past two decades.
#Marta fascina trial#
Though Berlusconi's penchant for younger girlfriends is evident, the 85-year-old has been the subject of several sex scandals with prostitutes, and is still on trial for bribing witnesses in an underage prostitution case (left: Italian escort Patrizia D'Addario.
Italy will choose a new head of state early next year, and with no official candidates yet to be announced, Berlusconi has launched the so-called 'Operation Squirrel' in an attempt to overcome a string of scandals and become president. The former prime minister's overt affection on social media is said to be part of a presidential campaign in which Berlusconi has already set about harassing parliamentarians to get them on side like 'a squirrel collecting nuts'. Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has flaunted his relationship with his girlfriend - 53 years his junior - on social media in one final charm offensive for the Italian presidency.īerlusconi, 85, seemingly undeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, posted a photo on Facebook in which he is gazing into the eyes of his 32-year-old lover Marta Fascina, an MP in his Forza Italia party.įascina is Berlusconi's latest romantic conquest after he broke off his previous relationship with Francesca Pascale in 2020, who at the ripe age of 34 was simply too old for him.
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