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Former Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi in hospital for heart problem Former Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi in hospital for heart problem
(35 minutes later)
The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital for tests after experiencing mild heart trouble at the weekend. Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been taken to hospital for tests after suffering mild heart trouble. A spokesperson said his condition was not life-threatening.
“His hospitalisation was scheduled. His doctors wanted to perform a series of tests after the slight discomfort he experienced on Sunday night, which was neither serious nor worrying,” the AGI news agency reported, citing sources within his Forza Italia party. The 79-year-old centre-right leader and billionaire media mogul, who was convicted of tax fraud in 2013, was admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital on Tuesday morning suffering from a “cardiac deficiency”, the spokesperson said.
Berlusconi, who turns 80 in September, was admitted to a clinic in Milan. He felt unwell on the evening of the first round of mayoral elections in several cities, after voting for the first time in three years. Citing sources within Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, the AGI news agency reported that the hospital visit had been scheduled after he suffered slight discomfort on Sunday night. Berlusconi, who turns 80 in September, will undergo tests in the next few days to determine the proper treatment, a hospital statement said.
The billionaire had been banned from casting his ballot after a conviction for tax evasion. He served his one-year sentence through part-time community service in a home for elderly people. It is not the first time Berlusconi has had heart problems. The one-time cruise ship singer, renowned for a party lifestyle that continued even during his time in office, had a pacemaker fitted in 2006 in a hospital in the United States.
Berlusconi, who has dropped off the political radar, failed to rally votes for his centre-right party, which won just 4.2% of the vote in Rome, where he voted. Since his resignation as prime minister in 2011 and his subsequent tax fraud conviction, Berlusconi has lost much of his political influence.
The one-time cruise ship singer had a heart attack 10 years ago and had a pacemaker fitted. It was replaced at the end of last year. His once powerful centre-right coalition has become increasingly fragmented, and his preferred candidate for Rome mayor, Alfio Marchini, a real estate mogul, lost out in the first round of elections last weekend.
News of Berlusconi’s hospital stay pushed shares in Mediaset, the TV company owned by his family holding, up 2%. His business empire also includes AC Milan, and he has been in talks with a Chinese consortium to sell a majority stake in the club.
Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.