By Editor-June 11th, 2023.Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s flamboyant media mogul and politician, has died aged 86, reports the BBC.
He was prime minister four times – each time it seemed his political career was over, he managed to bounce back
Nine years after he was banned from public office for tax fraud, he was back in parliament, elected to Italy’s Senate before he turned 86 in September 2022
It was often his private life – his fondness for surrounding himself with young women, and the ensuing scandals – that made global headlines
He died in hospital in Milan, after being treated for a lung infection and leukaemia
His funeral will be held in Milan Cathedral on Wednesday, the diocese confirmed
Berlusconi was former owner of AC Milan football club – ex-captain Paolo Maldini says “thank you for everything, president”
One expression that gained notoriety because of its association with Silvio Berlusconi was bunga bunga.
Chief among the sex scandals that surrounded him was the saga of the notorious “bunga bunga” parties held at his Arcore villa near Milan.
The phrase came to light during a trial at which Berlusconi was accused of paying a Moroccan belly dancer and suspected prostitute for sexual services while she was under the age of 18, but the verdict was overturned on appeal.
Karima El Mahroug told prosecutors in Milan that the events, which resembled orgies, involved Berlusconi and numerous young women stripping off and performing a ritual known as the “bunga bunga”.
For her part, Mahroug said she had never worked as a prostitute and denied any sexual relationship with Berlusconi, saying he was just a lonely man who paid to be in the company of young women.
In a biography of Berlusconi published in 2015, the ex-prime minister was quoted as saying the phrase “bunga bunga” originally came from a joke told to him by the Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi. The two men enjoyed a close friendship before Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011.
Wherever the expression came from, the “bunga bunga” parties proved to be a lasting stain on Berlusconi’s reputation. It was not until February 2023 that he was finally cleared of bribing witnesses to lie about the events.
