Frail Silvio Berlusconi, 84, spends the night in hospital after a fall at his home five months after ‘hellish’ battle with coronavirus
- Berlusconi was bruised after he tripped while staying at a residence in Rome
- He had been in the capital to give his backing to Mario Draghi as Italy’s next PM
- In September he spent two weeks in hospital in Milan after catching Covid-19
Silvio Berlusconi spent the night in hospital after an ‘accidental’ fall at home five months after he survived a ‘hellish’ battle with coronavirus, a spokesman for the 84-year-old billionaire said today.
The controversial former Italian premier tripped while staying at his residence in Rome, where he had travelled to give his backing to Mario Draghi as the country’s next premier amid political drama in the capital.
Berlusconi was bruised on one side and was taken to his home city of Milan for a hospital check-up, and was discharged on Thursday morning, a spokesman said.
The politician and media mogul, who has dominated public life in Italy since the 1980s and is still an MEP, was also hospitalised in Monaco last month due to heart problems.
Silvio Berlusconi, pictured in Rome on Tuesday, had an ‘accidental; fall at his residence in the Italian capital and was taken to hospital
Berlusconi, whose third spell as prime minister ended in 2011, had major heart surgery in 2016 and has also survived prostate cancer.
Last September he was admitted to hospital after contracting Covid-19 in what he called the ‘most dangerous challenge’ of his life.
While in hospital in Milan, he told supporters in a phone call that doctors had said his viral load was the worst out of thousands of patients tested at the clinic.
Describing his ‘hellish’ case of the virus, he said it was ‘very bad’ but added that ‘I’m giving it my all, I hope to make it and to get back on track’.
True to his word, he was discharged on September 14 and has continued to play an active role as leader of the opposition Forza Italia party.
Since then, Berlusconi has spent much of his time recuperating from coronavirus at his daughter Marina’s house in Provence, France.
Last month, his doctor Alberto Zangrillo had him transferred to a hospital in Monaco because of heart problems.
But he insisted: ‘I am in good health. Due to the prudence of my doctors I had to go to hospital for some checks.’
Berlusconi, now 84, leaves hospital last September after what he described as a ‘hellish’ bout with coronavirus
He had travelled to Rome on Tuesday to meet Draghi, the former European Central Bank chief poised to become Italy’s next prime minister with Berlusconi’s backing.
‘We are all required to give up calculations, tactics and electoral interests to put the salvation of the country first,’ Berlusconi said of the planned Draghi government.
Berlusconi looked frail as he reappeared in public after months holed up in his daughter’s villa.
But his spokesman said that despite his fall, he was working at home today to take part in remote voting for the European Parliament.
Berlusconi was elected to the parliament in 2019, further prolonging his decades-long career in Italian politics.
The former owner of AC Milan, who made his media fortune in the 1960s, he entered politics in early 1994 and served three separate terms as prime minister.
In late 2006 he was admitted to hospital with a minor heart problem after fainting. He underwent successful heart surgery in a US hospital in January 2007.
In December 2004, a young bricklayer hurled a camera tripod at his head, causing a minor injury behind his right ear.
The culprit first said he did it ‘because I hate him’ but later wrote a letter to Berlusconi saying he had acted in a moment of ‘deplorable euphoria.’