Berlusconi honored at the state funeral: Thousands of people applauded when the coffin was brought into the cathedral

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was honored today at a state funeral organized in the Duomo Cathedral in Milan, while it is a day of mourning in Italy.

Thousands of people in front of the cathedral applauded in Italian custom as the coffin with Berlusconi's body covered in flowers was brought into the cathedral where the business and political elite, including the head of state, the prime minister and three former prime ministers, were present.

Most Italians identify Berlusconi, the media mogul, football entrepreneur and former prime minister for many years, as the most influential figure in Italy in decades.

But they are deeply divided over whether his influence was good or bad, to the extent that some even question whether he deserved such a funeral ceremony.

Berlusconi (86) died on Monday in a Milan hospital where he was being treated for chronic leukemia. His family held a private wake yesterday at one of his villas in Milan where he made millions as head of a media empire before entering politics in 1994.

Among the top foreign officials at the funeral were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Qatar's ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Prime Minister Đorđa Meloni, who gained her first ministerial experience in Berlusconi's coalition, also attended the funeral. He was also the leader of the right-wing League, Matteo Salvini, whose party has long been allied with Berlusconi's Forza Italia.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella and former Prime Ministers Matteo Renzi, Paolo Gentiloni and Mario Draghi also came, as did other politicians as a sign of respect for the political figure with whom many have argued.

Milan Archbishop Mario Delpini did not shy away from addressing Berlusconi's complicated legacy in his speech, saying he was a businessman who had successes and failures, a politician who won and lost, and a fame-seeker who had admirers and critics "those who applauded him and those who despised him".

"But in this moment of forgiveness and prayer, what can we say about Silvio Berlusconi? He was a man, a desire for life, a desire for love, a desire for joy. He is a man and now he meets God," said Delpini.

His political opponents question not only the decision of Prime Minister Đorđe Meloni's government to hold a state funeral, which is an honor for former prime ministers, but also the fact that a national day of mourning has been declared, which is rarely done.

"Berlusconi divided Italy, he insulted his opponents for 30 years, he criminalized judges and did not recognize the laws. What are we talking about," journalist Marco Travalho, a longtime Berlusconi critic and co-founder of the "Fato Quotidiano" newspaper, told local television yesterday.

Still, thousands of Italians filled the square in front of Milan's Duomo to watch the funeral on two huge video screens while carabinieri in full ceremonial uniform stood guard surrounded by wreaths. Family members, political allies and opponents were in the cathedral itself.

Barbara Cacharella of Berlusconi's Forza Italia said the protests over how to officially mark Berlusconi's death showed a lack of respect.

"A person must be respected in his own right. He is a person who represents the history of this country," she said outside the cathedral, adding that she believes "no one is without blemishes."

Berlusconi is widely recognized as a forerunner of the type of populist politics that later brought Donald Trump to power in the US, in which both used their public visibility as businessmen to springboard into the political arena, disrupting the political mainstream along the way.

Berlusconi's supporters cite his success in uniting Italy's center-right after the collapse of the post-war political scene in the 1990s in the "Clean Hands" corruption scandal.

They also see his years at the helm of government as a period of stabilization after years of rapidly changing failed governments, while at the same time admiring his bold rule-breaking.

Berlusconi's critics have a long list of complaints, including conflicts of interest related to his media empire, dozens of trials mostly over his business dealings, revelations about his "bunga bunga" sex parties at his villa near Milan and dubious connections including a friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"He is not a leader who helped us grow. He used all our weaknesses, moral, fiscal, sexual, everything," said Bepe Severinini, a long-time foreign correspondent and journalist for the newspaper Corriere della Sera.