“No intention”: Berlusconi’s children rule out political careers

Pier Silvio Berlusconi said on Wednesday that neither he nor his older sister Marina is considering following their late father, Silvio Berlusconi, into politics.

There has been speculation that one or both of the late former prime minister’s older children might enter the political arena to give fresh impetus to the centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party. The party is currently led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, 73.

Pier Silvio Berlusconi, chairman and chief executive of the MFE-MediaForEurope group, said this was not on the cards, even though the siblings are in regular contact with Tajani and support FI financially.

“Neither Marina nor I have any intention of entering politics,” Berlusconi, 57, said during a meeting with the press at Mediaset’s headquarters in Cologno.

“Complete, absolute alignment”

“We share an interest in keeping alive what my father created, an interest rooted in our roles as entrepreneurs, because we believe in the values my father always championed,” he said.

He said his sister had been put at the centre of developments within Forza Italia, but had simply spoken with people while keeping the party’s interests in mind. “Marina has been placed at the centre of developments within Forza Italia, but she has simply spoken with people while keeping in mind the interests of the party, one of my father’s greatest legacies, which can still have a future,” he said.

“Marina and I are in complete, absolute alignment,” he added.

Marina Berlusconi, 60, is chair of the family holding company Fininvest and head of Italy’s largest publishing group, Mondadori.