Silvio Berlusconi, currently in intensive care, has “chronic myelomonocytic leukemia”

Silvio Berlusconi, October 22, 2022. ANDREW MEDICHINI / AP

The state of health of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, hospitalized in intensive care, gave the first signs of improvement on Thursday April 6, according to his entourage. Nicknamed “the immortal” for his longevity in politics, the 86-year-old media mogul has chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and a lung infection, his doctors said in the afternoon.

Silvio Berlusconi, one of the richest men in the peninsula, who has increased hospital stays in recent years, was admitted to the cardiology unit of San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Wednesday for respiratory problems . ” He is resting. We are relieved, there is an improvement, ”said his brother Paolo Berlusconi Thursday evening, after a visit to the hospital. “This time again, my brother will come out stronger than before,” he assured.

Several members of the Berlusconi family went to the hospital located on the outskirts of the Lombard capital, including his eldest daughter Marina and youngest son Luigi. “We are much more optimistic”, also affirmed Fedele Confalonieri, one of his closest friends and president of his television group, MediaForEurope (ex-Mediaset). “Today he is much better,” he said as he left the hospital.

The senator is responding well to antibiotic therapy given to treat pneumonia, Italian news agency Ansa reported, citing sources around him. The form of chronic leukemia he suffers from is not uncommon in people his age and is treatable with minimally invasive therapies, the agency added.

Read also: Italy: Silvio Berlusconi is in intensive care in Milan for a heart problem

Already hospitalized last month

Paolo Berlusconi, brother of the former President of the Italian Council, on his release from San Raffaele hospital in Milan, April 6, 2023. LUCA BRUNO / AP

“Let’s hope the lion comes back to lead the party soon, he never gives up. He is the leader of our party, ”said Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, the number 2 of the conservative Forza Italia party, a member of the ruling coalition. “We are all very concerned. I hope he will have the strength to resist this last blow, which has a sinister name, leukemia,” said Deputy Culture Minister Vittorio Sgarbi, a friend of Silvio Berlusconi, in the morning.

Silvio Berlusconi was rushed to the facility on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties. He had low blood oxygen levels. Last month, the billionaire had already spent four days in the same hospital, one of the most prestigious on the peninsula, for what Italian media called heart problems. He had left it a week ago, assuring that he had “already started working again”.

After dominating Italian politics for decades, Silvio Berlusconi now appears physically diminished during his rare public appearances. The era of his famous erotic “bunga bunga” parties with young starlets is well and truly over. Forza Italia, credited with less than 10% in the polls, is part of the right-wing and far-right government coalition of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who tweeted his ally on Wednesday his “sincere and affectionate wishes for a speedy recovery” .

Mr Berlusconi entered politics in 1994 and, for millions of Italians, he represents the golden age of the Italian economy. Despite a series of sex scandals and court cases that tarnished his image, he has held a special place in the hearts of many Italians ever since.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Italy, Berlusconi “reconnects” with Putin and stirs up trouble in the coalition

The World with AFP

Source