Irish Examiner view: A rotten political legacy left behind

Following his death, former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi left behind a global template for pursuing populist right-wing politics 

It was not all just perma-tan and advanced dentistry that gave Berlusconi his popularity; he was charismatic and self-made. He made his political bow in 1993, and by the following year was prime minister for the first time. Picture: Dan Kitwood/PA

The death yesterday of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leaves his country not with a legacy of the tawdry ‘bunga bunga’ sex parties in his Milan mansion, or the corruption with which he was so often accused, but the creation of a global template for populist right-wing politics.

Although a most controversial figure throughout his political life, Berlusconi also mastered the art of political survival and, despite the maelstrom which has been Italian politics since the Second World War, he weathered enough storms to become his country’s longest-serving post-war leader.