Birthday wishes for Berlusconi's 80th

(ANSA) - Rome, September 29 - International leaders, associates and national supporters sent well wishes to former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to mark his 80th birthday on Thursday, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese company that is buying AC Milan soccer club.
    Putin's office said the Russian leader had phoned his friend Berlusconi to congratulate him and wish him further success and health.
    Sino-Europe Sports, part of the consortium which is purchasing AC Milan from Berlusconi, also sent birthday wishes.
    The communication manager for the group posted a picture of the card it sent, with Berlusconi's name translated in Chinese and a football field in the background.
    The Italian media billionaire, leader of the opposition centre-right Forza Italia (FI) party, continues to provoke contrasting reactions among the Italian public - adored by supporters and loathed by opponents.
    His political career has been hampered by a series of judicial problems and sex scandals and he was ejected from the Senate after being definitively convicted of tax fraud in 2013.
    Berlusconi, who is gradually returning to the political fray after having heart surgery earlier this year, once said he was the man most persecuted by magistrates in history.
    In Italy, Berlusconi's party members praised him on Thursday for his service to the country and politics.
    "We want to renew our gratitude for all that you have done over the long years, despite the sacrifices and effort, creating a political path from scratch which chimed with millions of Italians ," said Paolo Romani, President of Forza Italia Senators.
    The head of the party in the Lower House, Renato Brunetta, also thanked the president for his contributions to the country since he entered the political fray in 1994, romping home in that year's general election.
    "We have built important pieces of history and I am sure that there is still a lot more to do ahead. Your guidance and leadership remains vital and fundamental for Forza Italia and for all the centre right," he said. As well as his first 1994-95 government, which lasted eight months, Berlusconi was also premier from 2001 to 2006 and from 2008 to 2011.