“The most controversial figure in European politics”

The former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was a man who could combine business and public activities like no other, as the BBC wrote in its rundown.

Four times he was Prime Minister and each time it seemed as if his political career was over – yet each time he managed to come back. After nine years of being barred from public office for tax fraud, he was again elected to the Italian Senate shortly before his eighty-sixth birthday the previous September.

“Berlusconi was a media mogul, football club owner and billionaire businessman who never shied away from politics – and helped shape Italy’s image for decades,” the newspaper wrote.

The scandals surrounding the 86-year-old have become as much a part of Berlusconi’s legend as his work in politics, media and sports, according to Agence France-Presse. He has often portrayed himself as an innocent victim of left-wing judges with a political agenda.

The Guardian writes that one of the most controversial figures in European politics has now left us. During his political career, he was charged more than 30 times with various crimes – but rarely brought to trial because Berlusconi sometimes made sure to change the law.

“He was skilled not only in the art of surviving a scandal, but also in emerging from it with increasing popularity.”