- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been back in the hospital since Wednesday.
- The 86-year-old is confident about the development of the blood cancer and pneumonia he was diagnosed with.
- On Thursday, the leader of the ruling Forza Italia party spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a Council of Ministers meeting.
Silvio Berlusconi spent a quiet night in Milan’s San Raffaele hospital. This despite suffering from leukemia and pneumonia. That is what circles around the former media company, which will undergo further checks on Friday, say.
Berlusconi is confident about the development of his illness. “I have recovered from difficult situations in the past. It’s tough, but I’ll make it this time too,” Berlusconi was quoted as saying by the Milan daily Il Giornale.
Meloni and Salvini on the phone
The leader of the governing party Forza Italia spoke to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during a Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday evening.
The chairman of the right-wing governing party, Lega, Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, also spoke to Berlusconi on the phone. “Silvio, we’re waiting for you!” Salvini commented on Twitter.
Supporters of Berlusconi gathered in front of the entrance to the San Raffaele hospital and rolled up banners wishing the politician and media king a speedy recovery.
Legend:
“Hold on, Silvio, Monza is with you.” That’s what it says on the banner in front of the San Raffaele hospital.
EPO/MOURAD BALTI TOUATI
According to his doctors, Berlusconi’s hospital stay was necessary because of a lung infection. In their first statement on the state of health of the 86-year-old, the doctors announced on Thursday that he had been suffering from blood cancer for a long time. The media had previously reported that Berlusconi had started chemotherapy in the hospital.
Fedele Confalonieri, a longtime friend of Berlusconi and chairman of the family group MFE-MediaforEurope, spoke of a significant improvement in the past 24 hours after a hospital visit in Milan: “We are more optimistic.” The five children of Berlusconi, his brother Paolo and his partner Marta Fascina visited the patient in Milan’s San Raffaele hospital.