ITALY:The former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was admitted to hospital last night with what was called a minor heart complaint after he collapsed at a political rally.
Mr Berlusconi fell to the floor with his eyes closed 40 minutes into a speech to a rally of young supporters in the Tuscan town of Montecatini Terme.
He told them his aim was to forge his right-wing alliance, the House of Freedoms, into a single party. "That is what I plan to be able to leave as a bequest of my political activities," he said.
Then he suddenly added: "Now excuse me. Emotion is getting the better of me and I . . ." His voice trailed away and he gripped the podium for support as he fell back. He was taken from the stage by aides.
"They found something on the electrocardiogram, something like an irregular heartbeat, so they want to keep me under observation for 24 hours," Mr Berlusconi said later. He thanked the crowd before getting into a helicopter to go to hospital in Milan.
The incident was the latest of several indications that the conservative leader's 70 years were catching up on him, at a time when Italy's government is looking increasingly secure.
Mr Berlusconi, who lost the Italian general election in April by the slimmest of margins, originally had high hopes of unseating the centre-left in the autumn. In the senate, the government has a majority of just one.
But prime minister Romano Prodi can count on the support of most of Italy's life senators, and is expected to overcome a key hurdle next month when the 2007 budget is voted on in the senate. - (Guardian service)