Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi dies aged 86

Former Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi has died at the of 86, according to Italian media.

Berlusconi led the right wing Forza Italia party, which is currently in coalition with the party of current Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.

Berlusconi died at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, according to local media reports. He had previously been treated for a lung infection and suffered from a form of leukaemia.

Berlusconi led a political life filled with controversy and scandal, and was at the top of Italian politics for nearly 30 years after first coming into office in 1994.

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera has paid tribute to Berlusconi, writing (translated): "Berlusconi was a phenomenon, a will to power certainly, but also a historic necessity. Together the fruit of Italian evil and at the same time his attempt to cure that."

Topics: Politics

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