Vodka, wine and “a beautiful letter”: what’s going on between Putin and Berlusconi? Multiple Weapons Found: Police Arrest Man Near Washington Capitol

According to Italian media reports, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has confirmed that he has received a birthday present from Kremlin boss Putin. It was about 20 bottles of vodka. He is quoted as saying that this happened after the “resumption” of relations between the two. Putin would have offered the Italian a bed before his wee hours.

Berlusconi turned 86 on September 29, four days after a right-wing coalition with his Forza Italia won the election. He is said to have told party members that “a very nice letter” from Putin had been added to the vodka boxes. The party initially denied this, but now audio recordings of a meeting with members of its Forza Italia party have become public.

“I knew him as a quiet man”

The Italian news agency La Presse writes that Berlusconi says in the clip that he has returned the favor to Putin with local Lambrusco wines. In the recordings, Berlusconi is said to have spoken directly about the Russian president. “I personally cannot give my opinion because if it is revealed to the press it will be a disaster. But I am very, very, very concerned. I have somewhat restored relations with President Putin. I knew him as a peaceful and reasonable person,” he says.

The new comments, especially about the respective gifts, were initially dismissed as “old stories” by his confidants, including potential future foreign minister Antonio Tajani. However, Berlusconi speaks in the recording, which the West has long joined, “because we are giving Ukraine weapons and money.”

Berlusconi has not yet commented on the publications. Instead, he wrote on Twitter that after a day’s work in the Senate, he had an ice cream cone with his partner and Forza Italia politician Marta Fascina.

The right-wing populist has officially condemned the war in Ukraine in the past, but said shortly before the election on the TV show “Porta a porta” that Putin had been pressured internally to do so. His ministers envisioned a change in Ukraine’s government and hoped to reach Kiev within a week and then leave the country.

This had come under heavy criticism from Berlusconi’s opponents in Italy. Center candidate Carlo Calenda called Berlusconi’s appearance “very tragic” and described the founder of Forza Italia as “something between Putin’s press spokesman and military adviser”. Former Social Democrat Prime Minister Enrico Letta tweeted: “There are no words to respond to.”

Mockings in the new coalition

The charismatic four-time prime minister’s party is a junior partner in a new governing coalition. The far-right Giorgia Meloni had prevailed in the elections at the end of September. Your post-fascist party Fratelli d’Italia is the strongest with about 25 percent. Lega and Forza Italia were both below nine percent.

In the election of the Senate president, Berlusconi showed that he wants to play a role in politics despite his second-rate position. At the inaugural session in Rome, the Italian parliament elected right-wing politician Ignazio La Russa as Senate president. He is a confidant of Giorgia Meloni. Berlusconi had asked his party members to abstain.

It is feared that Italy could move closer to Russia with the new government. Social Democrat Enrico Letta criticized that the legal alliance was maneuvering Italy into an increasingly obscure position vis-à-vis Russia.

He also referred to statements by the new Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Lorenzo Fontana of the long-standing pro-Russian right-wing Lega, who said in a TV interview on Tuesday evening: “We have to be careful with the sanctions: they can boomerang. The Russians were prepared, we in Europe were not.”

However, the formation of a government is not expected for a few weeks. After the election, Giorgia Meloni pledged his support to Ukraine to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Like Berlusconi, the head of the right-wing Lega, Matteo Salvini, has maintained good relations with Putin. (t-online, wan/con/sda)