News Politics

Milan appeals naming of Malpensa airport after Silvio Berlusconi

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

27 Sep, 2024

Salvini slams "shameful" appeal to challenge name of Milan airport.

Milan's city council has voted to appeal against the Italian government's controversial decision to rename Malpensa airport after the late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The move, announced by Milan's centre-left mayor Beppe Sala on Friday, is set to be backed by other municipalities in the area around Malpensa.

The appeal will be filed with the Lombardy regional administrative court (TAR), possibly as early as next week, to challenge the decision by the transport ministry to name the airport after the three-time premier and media mogul who died last year aged 86.

The appeal will reportedly centre on the rushed manner of the renaming procedure, with Sala alleging that the approval from civil aviation authority ENAC was given without consulting SEA, the company that runs Milan's airports, Malpensa and Linate, or the administrations of neighbouring municipalities.

On 11 July the transport ministry announced that Malpensa was "officially named after Silvio Berlusconi", stating that the ordinance established by ENAC took "immediate effect".

The airport's renaming after Berlusconi went ahead despite major opposition, particularly from within Sala's centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) party.

The move sparked a wave of indignation on social media, with more than 170,000 people signing an online petition calling on Italian premier Giorgia Meloni to stop the airport from being named after "such a divisive and controversial figure".

Anche dopo la sua scomparsa non si fermano l’odio e il rancore nei confronti di Silvio Berlusconi, proprio dalla sua Milano, al cui benessere - e a quello di tutta Italia - ha contribuito con tanto amore e passione, al di là delle appartenenze politiche.
Vergogna!
Silvio, sei e… pic.twitter.com/0Z9JkNmPMJ
— Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) September 27, 2024

Italy's transport minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini, who launched the renaming bid, on Friday slammed the appeal to challenge the airport's new name.

"Even after his death, the hatred and resentment towards Silvio Berlusconi does not stop, right from his hometown of Milan, to whose well-being - and that of all of Italy - he contributed with so much love and passion, beyond political affiliations" - Salvini wrote on X - "Shame! Silvio, you are and will always remain in our hearts."

Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com.