Milan airport to be renamed after controversial Berlusconi

Silvio Berlusconi

   ROME -- Milan’s Malpensa airport is set to be renamed in honour of former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, the Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini, said. 

  The idea was proposed by Gabriele Albertini in 2023 following the death of the three-time prime minister and convicted felon. Albertini, the former mayor of Milan, originally suggested that the Linate airport should be named after Berlusconi. 

  “If an airport were chosen, Malpensa would be more suitable, because whilst Linate has existed for one hundred years, the modern Malpensa airport was made by Berlusconi and me, he as Prime Minister, and me as regional President” Roberto Formigoni, the ex-governor of Lombardy who finished a 5 year sentence on corruption charges in November explained.

  Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, jokingly confirmed the decision  “Just today the ENAC board of directors approved the request to name the Malpensa airport after Silvio Berlusconi. And given that the Minister of Transport will have the final word, I really think the Minister of Transport will give the ok.” 

  The choice to rename an airport, however, is a deliberate one. Following Berlusconi’s funeral in 2023, Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala, was already facing pressure from Berlusconians to commemorate the Milan born politician; Italian law states that at least ten years must pass before naming a street, square, or avenue after a deceased person. This law does not, however, extend to airports. 

  The decision to rename one of Italy’s most important airports after Berlusconi has been met with backlash. At the time of his death in 2023, the politician was still under investigation for his complicity with the 1993 massacres, which saw bombs planted in Milan, Florence, and Rome kill ten people. Berlusconi was also convicted of tax fraud in late 2012, serving a 1 year sentence of part time community service, and temporary ban on running for office. 

  In 2023, Milan’s regional council voted on the renaming of the airport, with 28 in favour, and 18 against. 

 

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