Corporate communications specialist Franco Aloisio on Monday looked back on an experience he had interviewing the late Silvio Berlusconi.

The former Italian Prime Minister, who divided opinions due to leading the country’s political and cultural landscape while battling a number of scandals, died on Monday at the age of 86.

Mr Berlusconi, who aside from his ventures in politics was also known for being the controlling shareholder of mass media company Mediaset and former owner of football club AC Milan, was admitted to hospital on Friday, having suffered from ill health for a number of years. The news of his death was released on Monday morning.

Mr Aloisio described Mr Berlusconi as a “unique, charismatic and charming character who had many good, and less good, qualities”, which people either “loved or despised”.

Franco Aloisio / MFSA

Harking back to his days as a Journalist for The Malta Independent, Mr Aloisio recalled how he had the opportunity to interview the former Italian Prime Minister for around 10 minutes, back at the start of the millennium.

“I think it must have been 1999 or 2000, and the interview took place at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, at the time when Malta had reactivated its application to join the European Union (EU), following the 1998 change in Government and the EU referendum,” he explained.

At the event, Mr Berlusconi had first addressed the Plenary, before being “mobbed” by journalists outside the hemicycle for comments, primarily on “Italy’s politics and other polemics”, Mr Aloisio said, before adding that he “addressed them all”.

“Once the Italians were done with him, I approached him and sheepishly introduced myself. I told him I was from Malta and, off he went, saying how happy he was that the ‘beloved neighbouring island state’ decided to reinstate the EU membership application,” Mr Aloisio continued.

“He grabbed me by my shoulder – very typical of his demeanour – and we walked for a couple of metres as I recorded his comments on my Sony tape cassette recorder,” he said. Mr Aloisio, now Head of Communications at the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), added that Mr Berlusconi gave him “some great soundbites”, including how Italy would support Malta joining the EU in the next possible accession round.

The story then made it on the front page. He added that while he has no picture with Mr Berlusconi at the European Parliament, Mr Aloisio concluded that he has “one good memory of that encounter”.

Mr Aloisio is a seasoned communications professional and was only appointed in his role at the MFSA last April, having established himself as a key figure in the local marketing and communications space. Over the course of his career, he has also served in senior positions at JPA, Calamatta Cuschieri, HSBC Malta, GO plc and GlobalCapital plc.