Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is in an intensive care unit in a Milan clinic, according to reports from several Italian media. The 86-year-old was admitted to the San Raffaele Hospital with cardiovascular problems. writes the Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera. The medical team ordered a computer tomography and Berlusconi is now waiting for further examinations.
The billionaire, media entrepreneur and four-time former prime minister has had to be treated repeatedly for illness in recent years. Berlusconi was released last Thursday after a four-day stay at the San Raffaele hospital. Now he had to go back into inpatient treatment.
Berlusconi’s personal physician wants to comment on Thursday
Berlusconi will spend the night on Thursday and probably a few days afterwards in the hospital, reports the Italian news agency Ansa. According to reports, there should be an official statement from his personal doctor on Thursday.
Meanwhile, his political companions wished him a speedy recovery. “Get well soon. Let’s go, Silvio!” Wrote Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Twitter. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini from the Lega party also spoke up: “Los Silvio, Italy is waiting for you!”.
Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, which he has chaired since its inception almost 30 years ago, is part of the Italian government led by the post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia. Berlusconi himself is not a minister, but he is a member of the Senate, Italy’s second chamber of parliament.
Political career overshadowed by scandals
He became Prime Minister for the first time in 1994, but had to give up the office a year later. He returned to power in 2001, 2005 and 2008. His political career has been overshadowed by various scandals surrounding illegal party financing and conflicts of interest between Berlusconi’s political offices and his role as an entrepreneur. He was also suspected of having facilitated the prostitution of underage women. However, he was acquitted of this charge in 2015.
Although Berlusconi was convicted on a number of occasions, he was often acquitted for lack of evidence or escaped judgment because the crimes had now become statute-barred. Berlusconi was temporarily banned from holding political offices, but this ban has been lifted since 2019.