Silvio Berlusconi, head of Forza Italia and three-time Italian Prime Minister, has been admitted to the intensive care unit of the San Rafael Hospital in Milan since Wednesday morning, according to Italian media reports. The 86-year-old politician, who is part of the Giorgia Meloni-led right-wing coalition that governs Italy, was admitted to the same center a week ago to undergo a series of medical tests.
The newspaper Il Corriere de la Sera, which is close to Il Cavaliere, points out that Berlusconi is suffering from lung and cardiovascular problems and has gone to the hospital because of breathing difficulties. At the moment his situation is stable and he is on a ventilator and being treated with antibiotics, local media report, citing party sources. Some, like La Repubblica, cite pneumonia as the reason for admission.
Antonio Tajani, national coordinator of Forza Italia and vice-president of government and foreign minister, has announced that the 80-year-old tycoon is conscious and “speaking” and that he will spend the night in hospital. He has also stated that the reason for the hospitalization was “a poorly healed infection”.
Paolo Barelli, spokesman for the Forza Italia faction in the Chamber of Deputies, confirmed this information and indicated that he communicated with the politician’s family, who are in the clinic with him. “There are concerns, but with due caution, I remain optimistic,” he said. And he added: “We have the impression that he has suffered a relapse from which he has obviously not fully recovered.”
Berlusconi’s health has raised concerns among the transalpine country’s political class. Several senators and parliamentarians from his party have gone to the hospital to visit him, and representatives of all political tendencies, both allies and opponents, have sent him messages of support, wishing him a speedy recovery at this sensitive time. His partner Matteo Salvini has uploaded a photo on his social networks with the leader of Forza Italia with the message: “Force Silvio, Italy is waiting for you.” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also tweeted to express “encouragement” and her “sincere and loving wishes for a speedy recovery”.
The three-time Italian prime minister from 1994 to 2011 was sacked less than a week ago. As he left the center, Berlusconi greeted the journalists waiting at the entrance of the clinic from the car and, together with a photo of himself, published a message on his social networks, in which he assured that he had returned to work “ready and decided”. . On Sunday, on the networks where he is very active, he even joked about his fondness for tulips, pointing out that he planted these flowers in his house because he loves “the variety of their colors”. He also uploaded a photo of himself in his sprawling garden. A few days ago he released a video taken in his home office to demonstrate his support for the right-wing coalition running in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region’s elections. The coalition’s candidate, Massimiliano Fedriga, won the elections with 64% of the vote.
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
subscribe to
Berlusconi has had a pacemaker implanted since 2006 and several health issues that have seen him hospitalized at various times in recent years. The hardest was in 2016 when he underwent heart surgery. On that occasion, his doctor explained that he risked his life and arrived at the hospital in critical condition, theoretically forcing him to slow down. In 2019 he also underwent emergency surgery for intestinal obstruction.
During the pandemic, Il Cavaliere has been hospitalized twice: the first for 10 days for bilateral pneumonia in September 2020 after testing positive for coronavirus, and the second in May 2021 for problems related to a lung infection caused by Covid. Although he was released after a few days, he described the situation as “the worst experience” of his life. Since then, he has repeatedly gone through the medical center. Most recently in January 2022 due to a urinary tract infection.
In February, Silvio Berlusconi, who has been involved in numerous political and legal scandals throughout his career, was acquitted of charges of bribing witnesses in a case related to his ‘bunga bunga’ parties, which have haunted him for more than a decade .
The leader of Forza Italia returned to Parliament as a senator last year after being disqualified for nine years following a conviction for tax fraud. In recent months he has come under fire for his statements in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin, an old friend of his. Among other things, he goes so far as to blame Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the Russian invasion.
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.