Updated: Berlusconi always ‘respected’ Malta – Gonzi; Metsola says he ‘left his mark’

Former Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi said that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi always “respected” Malta and “understood its strategic position” in the Mediterranean.

Berlusconi died on Monday morning after he was hospitalised on Friday for the second time in months for treatment of chronic leukaemia.

Gonzi told The Malta Independent of how during his term as Prime Minister, he worked closely with Berlusconi at EU council meetings and whenever there was some form of crisis in the area.

The most notable crisis Gonzi said were, The Arab Spring in Libya and the migration issue which Gonzi described as always being a “major issue.”

Although Gonzi admitted that there were some “tough moments” when discussing these major issues with Berlusconi, Gonzi said: “To his credit, at the end of the day, he always understood Malta’s position and always understood that Malta and Italy should be on the same side of the argument.”

“Malta being so close to Italy, built a relationship with him and his political party, which was also part in parcel part of my political family – The European People’s Party (EPP). His participation, at the level, was always one that was constructive and one that was based on policies that are centre left,” Gonzi said.

Gonzi described him as being a major political figure in the last decades of Italian history, who was a “major player” for the “Forza Italia” political party.

Gonzi noted how he found Berlusconi to be an “easy person to deal with,” however, Gonzi noted that this might have been the case because he knew Italian, so they had no issue conversing.

“He always respected the island and understood the strategic position of Malta in the Mediterranean,” he said.

Berlusconi was a controversial figure, Gonzi said, especially because of his evident closeness to former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

However, he was always able to take centre stage in international events, such as when he brought President of Russia Vladimir Putin and former United States of America President George Bush together at a NATO summit in 2008, Gonzi recalled.

The Nationalist Party, in a statement signed by its foreign affairs spokesman Beppe Fenech Adami, said that Berlusconi always worked hard to improve bilateral relations between the two countries.

In a tweet, European Parliament president Roberta Metsola paid tribute to the “fighter” who led the centre-right and who was the protagonist of Italian and European politics for decades.

“Father, businessman, European MP, Prime Minister, Senator. He left his mark and will not be forgotten,” she wrote.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that Silvio Berlusconi left a mark on Italy and beyond. “My deepest condolences to his family and to the Italian people.”

In a tweet, Opposition Leader Bernard Grech said that Berlusconi was a “great friend of Malta”. He supported Malta’s bid to become a European Union member, Grech wrote.