Berlusconi already became a symbol of Italy in his lifetime. Not just that full of money, influence and testosterone, but mostly Italian charm. Masses associated him with private extravagances, bunga-bunga, a conviction for taxation fraud, but he was besides known for his success in business and the function of the head of government, organization leader, MP, MEP. No wonder the thought of naming 1 of the airports of the capital Lombardy after the erstwhile Prime Minister began to circulate immediately after his death in 2023. Initially, Berlusconi's supporters, claiming to cut him out of public space, stopped Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala, saying that according to the regulations given the name, it is essential to wait 10 years after the death of the individual you want to honor. erstwhile it turned out that the law afraid only streets, squares and avenues, Gabriele Albertini, mayor of Milan from 1997 to 2006, suggested that Berlusconi be named Linate Airport (located closer to the centre of Milan than Malpensa, but serving mainly home and short global flights). The stake was won by Roberto Formigoni: – Malpensa Airport would be more appropriate, due to the fact that ... Berlusconi and I created modern Malpensa, he as Prime Minister, I as president of Lombardy Region.
Joins the hero pantheon
Although the case is almost prejudged and Berlusconi will have his airport—like General de Gaulle in France, Adolfo Suárez in Spain, John F. Kennedy in the States, Pierre Elliott Trudeau in Canada, José Abelardo Quinones Gonzales in Peru—the media are skeptical of this idea. They find it hard to accept the fact that controversial politicians, the first populist of Europe, have joined the pantheon of figures specified as the mafia-fighting judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino (who are patrons of Palermo Airport), antifascist Sandro Pertini (airport in Turin), Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino Airport), Christopher Columbus (Genua), Marco Polo (Venice) or Galileo (Piza). diary Il Fatto Quotidiano considers "the sacrifice of 1 of Italy's most crucial airports to a convicted and repeatedly investigated and tried politician" to be "a provocation bordering discipline fiction". He besides recalled that Il Cavaliere died in the course of an investigation into complicity in the 1993 massacres. The massacres in Rome, Milan and Florence, according to the prosecutor's office, were intended to service to weaken the Ciampi government, which headed the country, and to make panic and fear among citizens in order to strengthen Berlusconi's political task and launch the Forza Italia group.
Giuseppe Bonomi, who managed the SEA airport strategy in Milan and Alitalia, is besides boycotting the Berlusconi initiative: – He should be dedicated to the Coliseum, not the airport. The giant action under the slogan "Malpensa belongs to all – NOT for Berlusconi Airport" was launched on change.org by young Democrats who collected over 121,000 signatures from 7 to 11 July. From various backgrounds there were suggestions of alternate names, from the ambassador killed in Congo (Luca Attanasio) to the first female pilot in Italy (Rosina Ferrario). The problem is that foreigners have barely heard of them.
