Rome (CNN) Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi He was diagnosed with leukemia, according to Corriere della Sera, one of Italy’s leading newspapers.
His spokesman, Paolo Russo, did not deny the reports when asked, and said he was “not authorized to provide health information, but Corriere della Sera is Italy’s most reliable newspaper”.
A second spokesman for the Forza Italia party leader did not deny the report when contacted.
Berlusconi, 86, was admitted to hospital on Wednesday with breathing problems.
the controversial The media mogul served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, most recently between 2008 and 2011, before he was banned from politics for six years after being found guilty of tax fraud.
Berlusconi returned to frontline politics in 2022 when he won a seat in the Italian Senate, representing the northern municipality of Monza.
His spokesperson told CNN he was flown in separately last week for “routine checks.”
In 2021, he was hospitalized for treatment for prolonged Covid-19 symptoms, according to the press office of his Forza Italia party. He also spent time in the hospital the previous year after contracting the coronavirus, and had a number of other health issues, including a 2016 heart surgery to replace an aortic valve.
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