Multiple heads of government, MP, Senator, President of AC Milan… Silvio Berlusconi is one of Italy’s most iconic and controversial personalities. The politician, who was admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan this Wednesday because of respiratory problems, actually suffers from chronic leukaemia. Il Corriere della Sera, the main Italian newspaper, reported this morning that he had been diagnosed with this blood disease. Information since confirmed by his doctors.
“We are all very concerned. I hope he will have the strength to withstand this latest blow, which has a sinister name, leukaemia,” said Deputy Culture Minister Vittorio Sgarbi, a friend of Silvio Berlusconi. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, a senior official of Forza Italia, Berlusconi’s former party, said the 86-year-old had “a quiet night and his condition is stable”.
According to the Ansa news agency, citing sources close to him, the octogenarian began chemotherapy to treat his leukemia on Wednesday. This Thursday morning, several members of his family, the only ones authorized to see him, went to the hospital in a suburb of the Lombard capital, notably his brother Paolo, his eldest daughter Marina and his youngest son Luigi.
Giorgia Meloni wishes him a “quick recovery”
Last month, the billionaire leader had already spent four days in the same hospital, one of the most prestigious on the peninsula, for heart problems, which Italian media cited. “I’ve already started back to work (…) ready and determined to commit as always to the country I love,” he said in a message published on social media on Friday.
After decades of dominating Italian politics, the “Cavaliere” now appears physically weakened during his rare public appearances. Gone are the days of his notorious erotic “bunga-bunga” parties with young starlets.
Forza Italia, credited with less than 10% in the polls, is part of the far-right and far-right coalition government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who tweeted his “sincere and loving wishes for a speedy recovery” on Wednesday to his ally.
Silvio Berlusconi entered politics in 1994 and represents the golden age of Italian business for millions of Italians. Despite a series of sex scandals and court cases that tarnished his image, he has since held a special place in the hearts of many Italians.