Former Italian Premier Berlusconi in Intensive Care in Milan
(Bloomberg) -- Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalized in intensive care in Milan, according to one person familiar with the situation.
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The 86-year-old media tycoon is in stable condition at the San Raffaele hospital, news agency Ansa reported on Wednesday. Berlusconi was already hospitalized for routine checks last month.
A spokesman for Berlusconi declined to comment. Italian media reported that he experienced respiratory problems.
His Forza Italia party is currently a junior partner in Giorgia Meloni’s government.
Should his condition worsen, the future of the party may be at risk. That wouldn’t however impact the stability of Meloni’s cabinet, given her broad majority and the likelihood that most of Berlusconi’s lawmakers would remain within her coalition.
Berlusconi is Italy’s longest serving prime minister, having ruled for more than nine years at the head of four different cabinets. Before becoming a politician in 1994, Berlusconi founded MFE-MediaForEurope NV, formerly known as Mediaset, Italy’s largest commercial broadcaster.
Stronger Than Scandals
Despite a career plagued by sex scandals, blunders and even accusations of corruption and mafia links, he constantly managed to bounce back. His close ties and public defense of Russian leader Vladimir Putin didn’t stop Forza Italia from securing the foreign ministry post in Meloni’s cabinet.
Berlusconi’s business interests span from real estate to publishing to finance, and his family holding company, Fininvest SpA, also has a stake in mid-sized Italian bank Banca Mediolanum SpA.
Fininvest, now led by Berlusconi’s eldest daughter Marina, employs 15,000 people and had revenues of about €3.8 billion ($4.2 billion) in 2021, according to the company’s website. Fininvest also controls Mondadori, one of Italy’s largest publishing groups, and soccer team AC Monza.
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