Initially, there was no statement from those close to Berlusconi.
(Photo: Reuters)
Milan, Rome Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is hospitalized with pneumonia. The 86-year-old has also been suffering from what is known as chronic myeloid leukemia for some time, according to a statement signed by doctors on Thursday from the San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where he has been treated since Wednesday. Berlusconi will now remain in the clinic to alleviate the effects of the pneumonia on his overall condition, which is already impaired by leukemia.
The media had initially reported on a leukemia disease. The right-wing populist politician, who headed four governments with interruptions from 1994 to 2011, was admitted to the San Raffaele clinic in Milan on Wednesday. Initially, there was talk of cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Berlusconi has been in intensive care ever since.
As can be seen in the pictures, his children Marina and Luigi and his brother Paolo arrived at the clinic in the northern Italian metropolis on Thursday. His siblings, children and his partner Marta Fascina visited the ex-head of government on Wednesday in the hospital. On leaving the clinic, the brother told journalists on Wednesday: “His condition is stable, he is a rock.”
Italy’s foreign minister and deputy head of Forza Italia Antonio Tajani spoke up on Thursday morning and said on Italian television that Berlusconi’s condition was stable and that he had had a “quiet night”. “We hope that the lion will return soon. He never gives up,” said Tajani. “We remain optimistic.”
Political companions wished the chairman of the governing party Forza Italia a speedy recovery. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wished him “a speedy recovery from the bottom of my heart” on Wednesday. “Forza, Silvio!” She wrote on Twitter. When a vote in the Senate, to which Berlusconi belongs, his name was called out with the comment “absent”, applause broke out among the deputies.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in intensive care
Berlusconi was released from the Milan clinic only last Thursday after a four-day stay. Officially, there was talk of routine examinations at the time. According to reports, Berlusconi has already been treated for cardiovascular problems.
Berlusconi has been ill for years. At the end of 2020 he was suffering from corona and pneumonia, years before that he had to be hospitalized for a urinary tract infection. In 2016 he underwent heart surgery.
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