A 12-year-old Yorgen Fenech dreamed of becoming Italian premier and media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, according to a speech he once delivered in school.

The speech, published in St Edward’s School magazine Cotoner, which Fenech attended, won him first place during a Speech and Drama evening. 

Fenech, a wealthy businessman, is accused of masterminding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

An image of the old magazine cutting was being widely shared on WhatsApp groups on Friday. Times of Malta has confirmed that both the magazine cutting and speech are genuine. 

While being blessed with a good family and enjoyed many luxuries, French writes that if he had to be anyone else, he would choose to be Berlusconi, who fascinated him not only because of his wealth but personality and his ability to “make it to the top against all odds”. 

“The image that he is casting is superb and almost faultless. He has become the biggest information monopoly in Europe and has given jobs to thousands of Italians during a time of great recession in the country,” Fenech wrote.

“Being what he is, one expected him to be involved in the political scandals and corruption but Berlusconi's business dealings were always clean and consequently people are trusting him even more.”

The image being circulated on WhatsApp

Fenech also praised AC Milan’s football accolades under Berlusconi’s presidency and commitment to making family life work with his second wife, whom he has since divorced. 

“The best adjectives to describe this man are popular, successful, tactful, democratic, trustworthy, dynamic and I could go on forever,” Fenech writes. 

“Tell me, who in the world wouldn't want to be Silvio Berlusconi?”

Fenech was 12 years old at the time, meaning he wrote the article in 1993. At the time, Berlusconi was a media mogul with an up-and-coming political career untainted by political scandal.  

It would be another decade before the Italian mogul's reputation began to slide. Political scandals, countless court cases and accusations of bribery, defamation and of soliciting minors for sex would eventually turn Berlusconi into one of the continent's most controversial politicians. 

In November last year, Fenech was accused of complicity in the Caruana Galizia murder after a dramatic sea chase that saw him intercepted by the Armed Forces and arrested on board his luxury yacht. 

The 38-year-old Tumas magnate had diverse business interests in hotels and casinos and served as director for private energy consortium Electrogas. A joint investigation by Times of Malta and Reuters in November 2018 exposed Fenech as the owner of the secret company 17 Black.