Italian politics will be duller without Silvio Berlusconi

There’s an irony in the timing of Silvio Berlusconi’s death at the age of 86, coming on the same weekend that saw the (at least temporary) exit from politics of Boris Johnson. For in many respects, the Cavaliere (‘Knight’) as he was universally known in Italy, was an even more flamboyant role model for our former prime minister.

Berlusconi, who led four Italian governments, blurred the lines between showbusiness and politics until they became all but invisible – in much the same way Boris Johnson has in Britain.

True, Boris may not yet be as wealthy as the billionaire Berlusconi, who was Italy’s third richest man. Boris’s short reign at the political summit was far briefer than his Italian counterpart’s three decades at the top. But for sheer chutzpah, jaw-dropping scandals and polarisation of opinion the two men were as alike as peas in a pod.

Berlusconi survived many more scandals, sexual and financial, than Boris, and he changed Italian politics in ways at least as profound as Brexit has changed Britain.