Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, reacts after casting his vote in the Italian elections for mayors and councillors, in Milan, Italy, on October 3, 2021. REUTERS Flavio Lo Scalzo File Photo
MILAN, Jan 23, Reuters - Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hospitalised in Milan, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Sunday, a day after he decided not to run for president.
Berlusconi, 85, was admitted to the hospital for routine medical checks, according to the ANSA news agency.
It was not immediately clear when he was hospitalised. A spokesman for Berlusconi did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
On Saturday, Berlusconi decided not to run for president ahead of a parliamentary vote beginning on Monday. The leftist coalition asked Berlusconi to run, but his bid was unlikely to be successful due to the difficulties in getting the support needed among the more than 1,000 lawmakers and regional delegates involved. The prime minister had major heart surgery four times in 2016 and has survived prostate cancer. He has been admitted to the hospital for the past year after contracting the new coronaviruses in 2020.