Farewell to Silvio Berlusconi, the “visionary” entrepreneur who changed Italy

When he got into politics saying, he was “getting into the field”, in 1994, he made history in Italy, making a mark on the Italian, European and International political events over the last 30 years, ì defining a "before" and an “after" Berlusconi. He represented the “self made man” of “rampant” capitalism since the 1960s, a “visionary” entrepreneur at Fininvest since the 1970s, from Brugherio to Milano 3 in Segrate, publisher who built his fortune focusing on the explosive power of television, “father” of commercial TV in Italy Mediaset, and the TV stations Canale 5, Italia Uno and Rete 4 in the 1980s. He was President of the Milan football club and “for everyone”. And, we must not forget the companies Mondadori and Mediolanum, before founding the political party, Forza Italia, and the Second Republic. His undisputed leadership in the political party and on the political scene as Prime Minister for the longest term, has had an unprecedented impact on Italian economic life, as well as on sports and the media, changing the way of communicating every aspect of the our country, in the eyes of Italians and the world. The “Cavaliere”, who had signed a “contract” with the Italian people, has now passed away and the era of “Berlusconism” has come to an end - that coincided with the rise of Italian wine on the markets, which he was passionate about and never failed to offer and give to world leaders. He was also passionate about Made in Italy agriculture and agri-food as a driving sector of Italian society and economy - his vision of modernization of our country, projected to the future, is the legacy that is recognized by political opponents and public opinion. The is the last, unanimous farewell to the former Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who passed away yesterday at the age of 86, at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. He was a “mirror”, for better or for worse, of our country over the last few decades.
In the wine world, the last time that Silvio Berlusconi “got down on the field”, was when he defended Italian wine as “an Italian excellence and standard-bearer of our Nation around the world”. As MEP of the European People’s Party, he was the first party leader to express his opinion on the most important events, such as the vote on amendments to the “EU Cancer Plan”. But, he also stood up for Italy’s symbolic products, like bringing back the real Florentine steak with the bone to the tables, that EU regulations on marketing of meat, had always blocked. Going back to wine, his "allow me" prompted Primitivo of Manduria to personalize the label on its wine, “Evviva Silvio” to celebrate his birthday.
“He was a “ visionary ”, a hard worker and loved life. He has characterized our lives over the past 50 years”, the director of WineNews, Alessandro Regoli, said, “he was a prominent personality, respected even by his opponents. I have always preferred the incredible and volcanic entrepreneur to the politician, as I got to tell him when I saw him, only once, in Taormina, during our journeys around Italian wine territories, as a guest in March 2008 at the Confagricoltura Forum. And, he said to me, “I only drink wine”, just before he started, in his congenial way, to illustrate the main provisions of the Berlusconi government at the beginning of the millennium, for Italian agriculture, more than for any other sector. However, we will also always remember him for the unsuccessful purchase of an Estate, in 2003, in one of the top Italian wine territories, Montalcino, of an ancient Castle surrounded by Brunello vineyards - to which, over his long career , he compared himself, saying, “because it has improved over the years” - so, we would also have been able to tell about Berlusconi, wine producer”.