Silvio Berlusconi's Final Manuscript: A Daughter's Remembrance

"I was there with him, in that room at San Raffaele in Milan, on the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, when (my father) wrote these lines. And I will never, ever forget it." Thus Marina Berlusconi in the foreword of the new book by Paolo Del Debbio, published this morning by Corriere della Sera. The book contains the last writing of Silvio Berlusconi. "I had visited him the previous evening - she remembers - I had seen him well. I returned the next day, unfortunately, I found another man. Abandoned in an armchair, very tired, gloomy, suffering. He was helped from the armchair to the table. He asked for paper and pen, bowed his head and began to write. I sat next to him and watched him work. At a certain point he stopped, looked up, stared into my eyes and said something that I will carry inside me until my last moment: 'You see, Marina, life is like this: you come, you do do do... and then you leave.'" "He finished the first page, passed it to me, I read - she continues - And my world fell apart. Because I realized that what he was writing was his ideal legacy, his testament, the synthesis of the convictions and values that had always accompanied him. He continued to write, and when he had finished, he asked to be taken back to bed. I stayed there petrified, pretending not to have understood what we both had understood very well." "Those four pages I have then read and reread dozens of times, I have turned them over in my hands for hours, for days, and every time I am breathless. They are a very private memory, but I believe it is right that they should not remain only a private memory. They contain nothing unpublished, but I like to share them with those who loved my father, with those who believed in him and continue to believe in his ideas." Here is the text of the last writing of Silvio Berlusconi made known by his daughter Marina Berlusconi in the foreword to the new book by Paolo Del Debbio. As the daughter herself reports, it was written in the room of San Raffaele in Milan on the afternoon of Saturday, June 10, two days before he died. It is in the form of questions and answers, and, as we learn, are questions that Berlusconi asks himself. Q: But, President, what party is Forza Italia? A: Forza Italia is the party of the heart, Forza Italia is the Party of love, for our children, for our grandchildren, for everyone. Forza Italia is the party that believes in God and in His love for all of us. Forza Italia is the party that helps those in need. It is the party that gives to those who do not have. Forza Italia is the party of the home that we should all have. Forza Italia is the party of the world without borders, of the world that loves, of the united and respectful world of all States. Forza Italia is the party of the world that loves peace, of the world that considers war the madness of madnesses, where others are killed who are not even known, Forza Italia is the party of the world without borders, of the States that help each other. Forza Italia is the party of freedom, of democracy, of Christianity, it is the party of dignity, of respect for all people, it is the party of the guarantee of fair justice, I repeat, Forza Italia is the party of freedom. Forza Italia is the party for me, for you, for all of us (...) Q: Oh, by the way, I forgot. But which party are you from? A: I am also from Forza Italia, the party that I founded, that I would like it to be so, convincing all the citizens of Italy and the world.