Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi in intensive care

Former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi in intensive care

The billionaire former prime minister of Italy is in intensive care in a hospital in Milan. He has been struggling with breathing problems, including a 2020 bout of COVID, and other ailments, at age 86.

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was hospitalized Wednesday in intensive care, but was alert, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said.

"He has been admitted to intensive care because a problem caused by an infection has not been resolved but he is speaking," Tajani said, albeit adding he had not spoken to him personally.

The 86-year-old was taken to San Raffaele hospital in Milan, where his physician works and where he routinely receives care. Italian media reported that he had been taken overnight after complaining of breathing difficulties.

Berlusconi had been to hospital for a regular checkup for several days just last week. In a March 31 tweet, he thanked "all those who wanted to send a thought or sign of affection in these days."

Journalists were on vigil outside the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan on Thursday


Berlusconi, a three-time former prime minister, has had a series of health problems in recent years. Many of these have been breathing-related, most famously including his bout with COVID and pneumonia late in 2020. He needed treatment last year for a urinary tract infection and also has a heart condition that required he have a pacemaker fitted several years ago.


Three-time prime minsiter and media mogul


Berlusconi has headed four Italian governments in three stints as prime minister, from as early as 1994 up until 2011, with breaks in opposition in the middle.

Berlusconi had a run-in with COVID fairly early in the pandemi, in September 2020


The powerful media magnate and former AC Milan owner rapidly rose towards the top job in Italian politics in 1994, being elected first as a parliamentarian and then becoming prime minister in the same calendar year. His Forza Italia party gained a relative majority in March 1994's election just three months after being founded. But he would last less than a year in the job wefrore his Cabinet collapsed amid disagreements with allies.

Later in his political career, a series of political scandals, perhaps most memorably what he called his "bunga bunga" parties with attractive young women, began to put his political position question. Eventually, a 2013 tax fraud conviction meant that he was ineligible to stand for office in Italy for roughly decade.

But Berlusconi launched a comeback nevertheless, taking up the lead of a reformed Forza Italia party. He ran for a spot in the European Pariament in 2019 to circumvent his ban in Italy.

Last year, he won a seat in the Senate in Italy's general elections. He had flirted with running for the presidency but ultimately did not.

Forza Italia are junior partners in Italy's government, albeit bringing only about a 10% vote share with them. Foreign Minister Tajani, a close ally of Berlusconi, is the deputy leader of the party and its most senior representative in government.

Berlusconi is also known for his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He sparked controversy since 2022 in several interviews in which he seemed to apportion most blame for the war in Ukraine on the government in Kyiv and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

These comments irked Italy's right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni, known for a tough line on the Kremlin in a country that's often partly receptive to Russian narratives. Tajani this week said Berlusconi was committed to a peaceful solution to the war.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Budapest Post
Close
0:00
0:00
TRUMP RESPONDS TO INDICTMENT
The Fed fixing the economy
Corporations standing up for “LGDP-LGT-LBG-LGBTQ2+ kids” during ‘Pride Month’ be like:
A Major Ukrainian Hydroelectric Dam BLOWN UP
US and European Intelligence Agencies Uncover Evidence of Ukrainian Role in Terror Attack on Nord Stream Pipeline
The driver has been described by authorities as a 21-year-old woman from Tallahassee
Joe Biden falls at the Air Force Graduation
America's Got Talent…
Nvidia Joins Tech Giants as First Chipmaker to Reach $1 Trillion Valuation
Drone Attack on Moscow's Wealthiest Neighborhoods Suspected to be Launched by Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Hold Power Talks with President Biden in Washington
AI ‘extinction’ should be same priority as nuclear war – experts
Prominent Hacker Forum RaidForums Suffers Substantial Data Breach
Climate cultists thought they had sabotaged another beautiful event — then the cameraman had his revenge.
Nvidia CEO Huang says firms, individuals without AI expertise will be left behind
WPP Revolutionizes Advertising with NVIDIA's AI Powerhouse
Two US Employees Fired For Chasing Robbers Out Of Store As They Broke ''Company Policy''
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Elon Musk's SpaceX and Italy's Unipol join forces to help Italians hit by flooding
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad received a warm welcome at an Arab summit in Jeddah
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
Vienna: Passenger Plays Hitler Speeches on Train, Causes Panic
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
King Charles III being crowned.
Newly released video of Donald Trump’s rape trial deposition:
Video: Ukraine MP Punches Russian Representative At Global Meet
El Paso mayor has declared a state of emergency
×