Politician: Italy’s ex-Prime Minister Berlusconi in intensive care

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized. According to consistent media reports, the 86-year-old has been treated for cardiovascular and respiratory problems at the San Raffaele Clinic in Milan since Wednesday.

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister and deputy head of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, confirmed on the fringes of a NATO meeting in Brussels that Berlusconi could be approached. It is an infection, Tajani added.

No further details were initially given by the party or the family of the politician and media entrepreneur. According to the Adnkronos news agency, Berlusconi was in intensive care. The Ansa news agency and other media also reported on the ex-Prime Minister’s admission to the clinic. According to Ansa, Berlusconi has to be hospitalized for several days. A statement from Berlusconi’s doctor is expected on Thursday.

The MP was only released last Thursday after a four-day stay in that clinic. Officially, there was talk of routine examinations at the time. According to reports, Berlusconi has already been treated for cardiovascular problems. Tajani said that his party leader had to go to the hospital again because the problems had not been resolved. He added that he had not personally spoken to Berlusconi.

The ex-government has been ill for years. At the end of 2020 he was suffering from corona and pneumonia, and last year he had to be hospitalized for a urinary tract infection. In 2016 he underwent heart surgery.

Political companions expressed recovery wishes. “Get well soon to Silvio Berlusconi, who is in the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. Let’s go, Silvio!” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on Twitter. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini from the Lega party also spoke up: “Los Silvio, Italy is waiting for you!”.