Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Silvio Berlusconi

Italian Politician, Prime Minister of Italy, Billionaire Media Tycoon, Controlling Shareholder of Mediaset, Owner of Italian Football Club A.C. Milan

"A formula for reform must be found capable of overcoming such embarrassment and a positive way of leading this institution to greater strength, to greater authority for resolving international problems and international crises must be found."

"A habit for me to come pay homage to the president in the Oval Office."

"Absolutely not in question."

"An AIDs patient asks his doctor whether the sand treatment prescribed him will do any good. 'No', the doctor replies, 'but you will get accustomed to living under the earth'."

"As prime minister, I have never had the feeling that I was in power."

"As far the government is concerned, we will not cover up anything."

"A hungry man is not a free man. Freedom from hunger is a fundamental right. Without this freedom, such fundamental right cannot exist."

"About the serious affront that he faced in the European Parliament."

"Avoid any further violent incidents."

"Activated all the necessary precautions to hinder the possibility of terrorist attacks to so called sensitive targets on our territory."

"An eventual bird flu epidemic."

"Barack Obama being young, handsome and sun-tanned is going to get along with you swimmingly."

"Because of my personal history, my professional skills and my business achievements, I am a man nobody can expect to compare himself with."

"Berlusconi's advice to Italians trying to escape poverty: "Do it my way and earn more money"."

"Both public and private television have been full of shows, opinion makers and people who attack Berlusconi or make satire about Berlusconi, often overstepping the threshold of truth and good taste,"

"Bush was not against the idea. He would have accepted it, had there been enough time [to persuade Saddam to step down]"

"By definition, as a Prime Minister I cannot be a liar."

"Churchill liberated us from the Nazis, Silvio Berlusconi is liberating us from communists."

"But it is not a question of me. Half of Italy was there. Aren't people worried about this?"

"Bush will keep up that policy that gives the United State the role of promoting freedom in the world."

"By fighting terrorism in all its forms."

"Companies should focus their export efforts on European markets and not look for miraculous cures in the Far East."

"Do it my way and earn more money."

"Creating a lot of fuss about nothing."

"Deeply shaken by today's tragedy."

"Defender and promoter of freedom and democracy."

"Elected by moderate voters who mandated these gentlemen to do the exact opposite of what they're now doing."

"Every citizen is equal to another [before the law], but I'm perhaps a little bit more equal than others, considering that 50% of Italians gave me the responsibility fo leading the country."

"Farce compared to U.S. primaries."

"Finally, a moment of joy."

"Foreign press is usually leftist and describes us differently from what we really are."

"Given that the fire came from an American source I called in the American ambassador,"

"Go and read the black book on communism and you'll find that under Mao's China they didn't eat babies but they boiled them to fertilize the fields."

"He expressed his own personal position which in many ways can be considered well-founded,"

"He is practicing the methods communism has always used to win power -- taking advantage of traveling companions whom history then defines as useful idiots."

"God save us from imbeciles... How can you take such a great compliment negatively?"

"Germany is our most important partner and we hope it will continue to be so... There are no particular difficulties or issues that have not been resolved yet."

"Freedom means having the right to freely educate your children, and freely means no obligation to send them in a public school, where teachers want to inculcate principles different from the principles that their parents want to inculcate them in a familiar context."

"He is already in Italy. I think he arrived overnight."

"I always win, I'm cursed to win."

"He must do what his conscience tells him."

"I am absolutely sure to be the most democratic man to ever become Prime Minister in Italy."

"I am certain that we need a solution completely separate from military intervention."

"I am proud for Milan and Inter. I also hope that later we can see an all-Italian final."

"I am the Jesus Christ of politics. I am a patient victim, I put up with everyone. I sacrifice myself for everyone."

"I am not a saint, you've all understood that."

"I am the subject of a direct threat. A suicide bomber in a stadium aiming for me."

"I am without doubt the person who's been the most persecuted in the entire history of the world and the history of man."

"I believe that all my problems with Angela Merkel started when it was reported that I had called her an un****able lard arse."

"I believe that at the end of 2006, our forces will be able to gradually replace the international forces."