Silvio Berlusconi, the former head of the Italian government, left Milan hospital Monday where he underwent an operation for an intestinal obstruction, saying he is ready to continue his campaign for the European elections of May 26.
"I'm fine, I was very scared," the 82-year-old billionaire smiled to reporters as he left San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, where he was admitted and operated on April 30.
"A lot of things happened recently that made me think that I had reached the finish line, but in fact I got incredibly well," he added, announcing that he would continue to lead the campaign of his party Forza Italia (FI, right).
Back again after several years of ineligibility following a conviction for tax evasion, the eternal returning Italian policy has specified that it would be limited to interventions in the media, refraining from participating at public meetings.
The exercise is delicate against the two heavyweights of the populist government, the League (far right) and the 5-star movement (M5S, antisystem): Mr Berlusconi presents a bulwark against the "amateurism" of the M5S while seeking to preserve its historical links with the League.
On April 30, the businessman was hospitalized urgently in the morning for acute abdominal pain initially evoking a renal colic crisis.
A CT scan finally revealed small bowel occlusion, and the intervention revealed that it was related to gallbladder removal performed 40 years ago, according to sources close to FI.
Three years ago, Silvio Berlusconi underwent a major open-heart surgery at the same San Raffaele Hospital.
The media mogul, who had to give up his post as head of government in 2011 and his seat as a senator in 2013, still runs Forza Italia and his family holding Fininvest which controls Mediaset, the largest private media group in Italy.
Berlusconi, who is a regular in the courts, is still being prosecuted in a number of cases, including allegations of witness tampering with the "Rubygate" scandal and his famous "bunga-bunga" parties.
Read the full article
