MILAN. It is half past twelve when Silvio Berlusconi is discharged from the San Raffele hospital in Milan. Wide hat, dark mask and pale face: he is visibly worn, he only stays up for a few minutes, time to say hello to the photographers and immediately gets into the car. The President of Forza Italia had been hospitalized on Sunday 23 January for what had been described on several occasions by his trusted doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, as “periodic clinical checks, planned for some time”.
Milan, Berlusconi leaves San Raffaele with his partner Marta Fascina
During his stay in Hall D, the former premier had received several visits, from family to loyalists, such as Senator Lucia Ronzulli, up to Marcello Dell’Utri. His hospitalization had not prevented him from participating in meetings and long phone calls with the leaders of the Center-right engaged in the decision of a name to propose for the race to the Hill, after his step back the day before the start of the scheduled visits to the hospital. Milanese. From the sixth floor of the San Raffaele last Saturday, before the most important vote, the former premier had called Sergio Mattarella to ensure his support, it was leaked from Forza Italia sources. His renunciation of the role he hoped to obtain had been done “to favor a unitary solution”, Berlusconi himself would later say, after the no to his candidacy from the left.
But now the center-right is facing the post-election crisis, the picture is very different from that of his arrival at the hospital eight days ago. However, Berlusconi’s role within the party was defined as still central by his deputy Tajani: «The center-right is a coalition, not a monolith, we want to defend our identity. Berlusconi will always be on the pitch, he has returned to being central to reach an agreement that has been rewarded by the markets and by the Italians, stability is essential to face various emergencies “, he specifies.