'Ending in the worst way': Italian ex-PM Berlusconi condemns Trump over US Capitol attack
Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi said on Friday that Donald Trump's time at the White House had ended in "the worst way".
Berlusconi said "it would be unjust and uncharitable" to deny Trump's "achievements" as US President.
However, Monday's mob attack by his supporters on the US Capitol "overshadows those achievements and will darken the historical memory of this
presidency," Berlusconi wrote in a letter to Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by Berlusconi's family company.
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"Trump's mandate is ending in the worst way," said Berlusconi, appearing to distance his own politics from Trump's by adding: "a right that attacks the Capitol will never be our right."
"This tragic episode, the American right, which reflects a widespread mood in American society, encouraged by irresponsible propaganda, is certainly not the Republican right that we have always appreciated," Berlusconi said.
The violence at the Capitol, the seat of the US parliament, on Wednesday left a police officer and four others dead.
Flags at the US Capitol building fly at half-mast on Friday. Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Berlusconi, 84, is a former real estate and media mogul who reinvented himself as a conservative politician, served three times as prime minister and continues to lead the centre-right Forza Italia party.
He remains a popular public figure in Italy despite being best known in Italy and abroad for sex scandals and a tax fraud conviction.
His political tactics are often seen as a trailblazing model for Trump's.
In November, Berlusconi commented that Trump's "very often too arrogant attitude" had been to blame for his election defeat.
The attack in Washington has also been condemned by Berlusconi's ally Matteo Salvini of the hard-right League party, long an outspoken backer of Trump.
"Violence is never a solution, never. Long live freedom and democracy, always and everywhere," Salvini tweeted.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte voiced concern about the attack on Wednesday, writing on Twitter that: "Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms."
I am following what is happening in #Washington with great concern. Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms. I am confident in the strength and robustness of the institutions of the United States. #CapitolHill
— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) January 6, 2021
However, Conte and other members of the current Italian government did not join some other European political leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel in directly criticising Trump and his supporters over the Capitol attack.
READ ALSO: 'We can't wait to work side by side': Italian PM sends congratulations to Joe Biden
"This tragic episode, the American right, which reflects a widespread mood in American society, encouraged by irresponsible propaganda, is certainly not the Republican right that we have always appreciated," Berlusconi said.
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Berlusconi said "it would be unjust and uncharitable" to deny Trump's "achievements" as US President.
READ ALSO:
- 'Once again, I got away with it!': Italy's Berlusconi leaves hospital after Covid treatment
- Berlusconi's back: Understanding the enduring popularity of Italy's 'immortal' former PM
He remains a popular public figure in Italy despite being best known in Italy and abroad for sex scandals and a tax fraud conviction.
His political tactics are often seen as a trailblazing model for Trump's.
In November, Berlusconi commented that Trump's "very often too arrogant attitude" had been to blame for his election defeat.
The attack in Washington has also been condemned by Berlusconi's ally Matteo Salvini of the hard-right League party, long an outspoken backer of Trump.
"Violence is never a solution, never. Long live freedom and democracy, always and everywhere," Salvini tweeted.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte voiced concern about the attack on Wednesday, writing on Twitter that: "Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms."
I am following what is happening in #Washington with great concern. Violence is incompatible with the exercise of democratic rights and freedoms. I am confident in the strength and robustness of the institutions of the United States. #CapitolHill
— Giuseppe Conte (@GiuseppeConteIT) January 6, 2021
However, Conte and other members of the current Italian government did not join some other European political leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel in directly criticising Trump and his supporters over the Capitol attack.
READ ALSO: 'We can't wait to work side by side': Italian PM sends congratulations to Joe Biden
"This tragic episode, the American right, which reflects a widespread mood in American society, encouraged by irresponsible propaganda, is certainly not the Republican right that we have always appreciated," Berlusconi said.
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