Ecco la seconda parte della biografia del nostro gran mogol (ma purtroppo non è quello di qui quo qua). Se non capite l'inglese andate a ripetizione dalla Gelmini. Vi dò solo un aiutino: "Propaganda Two group" vuol dire "Loggia massonica P2".
Launched Political Career
At this point, Berlusconi found himself increasingly hounded by
demands from all quarters that he break up his media empire for
violating virtually every anti–trust
law in the books. As these pressures increased through the first part
of the 1990s, he made a decision that some saw as foolish but that
others perceived as an effort to grab the power of the very forces
opposed to him: he announced that he would run for prime minister. In
typical aggressive fashion, Berlusconi handed over to close friends all
his positions at Fininvest and other companies to avoid political
conflicts of interest and immediately organized a political coalition
named Forza Italia (after the ubiquitous soccer chant meaning "Go
Italy"). He appointed himself as its leader.Allying the new grouping with a federalist party and the remains of a disbanded neo–fascist
group, he geared up his media companies to begin a television and print
blitz to advertise his candidacy. Several editors of his press concerns
resigned in protest at being told whom to endorse in the typically free–for–all run–up
to elections. Berlosconi pressed on, portraying himself as honest and
in touch with the concerns of young Italians while pledging to
eradicate corruption, lower taxes, increase personal choice, and
promote free–market
economics. In 1992, a national poll revealed that Italian teenagers
ranked Berlusconi ahead of Jesus Christ and the Italian president when
asked about the ten people they admired most. However, disaster struck
when the leader of the fascist group praised deceased Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini as the century's finest statesman. It was a testament
to the power of Berlusconi's personality that he was quickly able to
smooth over the outrage that instantly arose over the comment about the
hated leader.Berlusconi held up his lack of political experience as a virtue to
voters, telling them that his success as a businessman was excellent
preparation for him to transform the bloated, inefficient Italian
government into a lean, streamlined machine that would work for the
people and provide a fresh start for all, with sweeping tax cuts and
millions of new jobs. The media (much of which he ran, of course)
quickly dubbed Berlusconi "the Knight." Support for him built rapidly
despite virulent attacks by his detractors. The media and Berlusconi's
own personal flair prevailed, and the Freedom Pole won 43 percent of
the popular vote in March 1994 elections—enough
to enable him to form a government of which he was appointed prime
minister. However, despite his precautions, allegations of conflicts of
interest arose quickly, fueled by the fact that Berlusconi and his
family had retained 51 percent of Fininvest's interests. Coupled with
these suspicions, when one of the coalition's parties bailed out of the
union, Berlusconi's government collapsed after only nine months in
power. In the meantime, his carefully cultivated image as a politician
who was above the nation's traditional corruption began to crumble when
it was revealed that Berlusconi had in 1978 joined the sinister
Propaganda Two group. This was a secret Masonic lodge that had created
a powerful state within a state with strong influence on the secret
police, banks, the government, and the military.Undaunted by these obstacles, Berlusconi began selling off more and
more of his shares in his wide array of holdings, and in 1996—just two days before the April general election—he
officially declared that he no longer had a majority control in any
business. His past continued to haunt him, however, with further
allegations of corruption and misdeeds, and although he succeeded in
being elected as a member of Parliament representing his right–wing coalition, he was forced to abandon his bid for the premiership.
Appointed Premier Again Despite Lingering ChargesAs charges of misdeeds continued to pile up, Berlusconi alleged that left–wing
politicians had mounted a plot against him. He was convicted of several
financial crimes related to accounting and illegal political funding in
1997 and 1998. He managed to have these overturned on appeal, but those
charges were followed by allegations of bribery and other misdeeds in
1999. Nevertheless, he was reelected as a member of the European Union
Parliament in 1999 and remained opposition leader in his own country's
Parliament until 2001, when he was once again appointed prime minister
on May 13. Berlusconi and his House of Freedoms coalition had won the
popular vote by 18.5 million votes, propelled once again by his image
as a forceful, self–made
man who would at last straighten out the Italian government.
Nevertheless, plenty of people were outraged by Berlusconi's second
rise to power, and in 2002 hundreds of thousands of them staged a
massive protest to drive home their point—that his heavy involvement in the world of business made him incapable of being an impartial and fair national leader.The government was shaken to its core later in 2002 when a mammoth
corruption scandal came to light that involved some 6,000 politicians
and business leaders, including Berlusconi's brother Paolo and his
friend Craxi, and billions of dollars in graft. Meanwhile, Berlusconi
himself served as foreign minister in addition to his role as prime
minister for ten months in 2002. Berlusconi got a reprieve from the courts in 2003 when Parliament
passed a controversial law making the government's top officials,
including the prime minister, immune from prosecution. It looked for a
while like the legal challenges to his leadership were behind him, but
the Constitutional Court soon overturned the law. Meanwhile,
Berlusconi's firm decision to stand as an ally with the United States
in the war in Iraq had become extremely unpopular, and by 2003, a full
75 percent of Italians were opposed to his decision. In July 2003,
Berlusconi assumed the rotating six–month
presidency of the European Union, using that position to urge other
European countries to support the United States in the war.By 2004, Berlusconi and his government had enacted numerous bills
and laws aimed at reforming the nation's school and labor systems,
reduced taxes and other financial burdens on citizens, increased
government support of the unemployed, elderly, and disabled, and, not
surprisingly, loosened regulations on limits of private ownership of
media. However, critics from both Italy and elsewhere warned that
Berlusconi's liberal spending could soon have major negative impacts on
the country's long–term economic outlook. Nevertheless, the prime minister now had the honor of heading Italy's longest–running government ever.In 2004, Forbes magazine ranked Berlusconi as the 30th
wealthiest man in the world, up from 45th in 2002, and estimated his
personal fortune at $10 billion. He has been married twice, first to
Carla Dall'Ogglio, with whom he had two children, and then to actress
Veronica Lario, with whom he has three children. He released a CD in
2003 of Neopolitan love songs. The prime minister prefers to spend his
spare time at his 70–room villa in Sardinia named "Arcore," whose amenities include a private park, a movie theater, and walls of large–screen televisions.
Condividi e segnala 
