Berlusconi has 'no intention of leaving politics'

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, who was rushed to hospital for tests after he fainted during a rally, has no intention of leaving politics, his spokesman said today.

Berlusconi spent the night at a Milan hospital where he was taken for heart tests yesterday afternoon.

The conservative leader reportedly spent the night with no complications and might be released as soon as this afternoon.

“I received a phone call at 7.20am (6.20am Irish time) from Berlusconi, who … gave reassurances over his health,” Fabrizio Cicchitto, a member of the conservative leader’s Forza Italia party, said in a statement.

His spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti said Berlusconi would have more tests today.

The collapse fuelled speculation about Berlusconi’s political future at a time when his leadership in the conservative opposition is being challenged.

“He doesn’t want to, he must not and he couldn’t quit,” Bonaiuti said today, speaking on state-run radio.

Berlusconi is expected to attend, as planned, a demonstration against Premier Romano Prodi’s government on Saturday in Rome, the spokesman said.