The opposition was great, but probably not great enough: the main airport of the Italian city of Milan now bears the name of the late former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Milan Malpensa Airport – also a hub for international air traffic – is now officially called Aeroporto Silvio Berlusconi. The decision was taken quickly by the right-wing government in Rome, whose backers include Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party. Right-wing Transport Minister Matteo Salvini was not deterred by much criticism from opponents.
There are more than 100,000 signatures against
According to his ministry, the head of the Lega party signed the resolution as announced – just days after Italy’s aviation authority Enac approved the plans. Many in Berlusconi’s hometown of Milan also oppose the new name for Italy’s second-largest airport, with more than 100,000 people signing a protest against it.
The mayor of the metropolis of 1.3 million inhabitants, the centre-left politician Beppe Sala, tried to prevent the project with a regulation according to which public buildings and squares could only be named ten years after the death of a well-known personality – without success.
Controversial politician honored
Berlusconi died last June at the age of 86. Since then, there has been disagreement between the different political camps about how he should be remembered. The construction and media entrepreneur was already one of the most controversial figures in Italian politics during his lifetime.
Berlusconi was born in Milan in 1936. In the 1990s, he founded his own party, Forza Italia, and entered politics. Despite a series of affairs and scandals, the right-wing populist served as prime minister four times, most recently until 2011. He also headed the football club AC Milan for many years. Forza Italia now governs Rome together with Salvini’s Lega party as part of a three-party right-wing coalition.
Source: Krone
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