Berlusconi’s testosterone politics have been overtaken by women in Italy
Source: The Washington Post
The death of Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire playboy who for decades dominated the boys’ club of Italian politics, comes at a moment that would have been difficult to envision during his testosterone-charged era: Italian women have inherited the country’s political earth.
The 86-year-old media tycoon, who ruled Italy longer than any prime minister since Benito Mussolini, died Monday in Milan, leaving a legacy as a formidable politician, ruthless businessman and bulwark of old-school male chauvinism. On the campaign trail in 2008, he told women they should “cook” for his party’s male representatives. He once said a female reporter’s handshake was too firm for her to find a husband. He turned “bunga bunga” into a household term.
Click here to read the full article published by The Washington Post on 12 June 2023.
The death of Silvio Berlusconi, the billionaire playboy who for decades dominated the boys’ club of Italian politics, comes at a moment that would have been difficult to envision during his testosterone-charged era: Italian women have inherited the country’s political earth.
The 86-year-old media tycoon, who ruled Italy longer than any prime minister since Benito Mussolini, died Monday in Milan, leaving a legacy as a formidable politician, ruthless businessman and bulwark of old-school male chauvinism. On the campaign trail in 2008, he told women they should “cook” for his party’s male representatives. He once said a female reporter’s handshake was too firm for her to find a husband. He turned “bunga bunga” into a household term.
Click here to read the full article published by The Washington Post on 12 June 2023.