(ROME)
Silvio Berlusconi was given the very rare honour of a state funeral today (Wednesday) in the Duomo of his beloved Milan. Outside the cathedral, thousands gathered in the piazza to watch the service, presided over by the Archbishop of Milan Mario Delpini, on huge television screens.
Il Cavaliere (The Knight), as they called him, or Silvio Il Magnifico as I called him was no saint. But his belief in God was central to his revolutionary vision as the first populist of the modern era.
He was famous for telling jokes and one of the most famous was the proposal he made to God to resolve the perennial tensions in Heaven between santi, beati and angeli. After keeping him waiting for hours God eventually comes out of his office and tells Berlusconi: “I love your idea moltissimo about turning Heaven into a public company quoted on the stock exchange.” But He then adds: “Just one thing though: Why am I only Vice-President?”
