The condition of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is stable, according to Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Tajani, the deputy leader of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, said on Italian television on Thursday morning that he had spoken by phone with the 86-year-old’s doctor, Alberto Zangrillo.
Berlusconi had spent a “quiet night.’’ The former head of government was admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Wednesday, Initially, there were reports of cardiovascular and respiratory problems, according to a statement
“We hope that the lion will return soon. He never gives up,’’ Tajani said. “We remain optimistic.”
According to media reports earlier on Wednesday, Berlusconi’s children, his partner and his brother Paolo visited him in hospital, on leaving the hospital, the brother reportedly told journalists: “His condition is stable, he is a rock.’’
Only last Thursday, Berlusconi had been released after a four-day stay in that hospital.
Officially, there was talk at the time of routine examinations. According to reports, however, Berlusconi was already being treated for cardiovascular problems.
The leader of the ruling Forza Italia (Forward/Let’s Go, Italy) party has been in poor health for years.
At the end of 2020, he was ill with coronavirus and pneumonia, and in 2022, he had to go to hospital for a urinary tract infection.
In 2016, he underwent a heart operation. (dpa/NAN)
