Berlusconi Collapses at Political Rally

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 his closing speech to a rally of young supporters in the Tuscan town of Montecatini Terme.

He told them his aim was to forge his rightwing 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 away from the stage by aides.

Later Mr Berlusconi was taken by helicopter to Milan's San Raffaele hospital.

"They found something on the electrocardiogram, something like an irregular heartbeat, so they want to keep me under observation for 24 hours," said Mr Berlusconi, who overcame prostate cancer in the 1990s.

He thanked the small crowd chanting "Silvio, Silvio" before getting into a helicopter to go to the hospital.

The incident was the latest of several indications that the conservative opposition leader's 70 years were catching up on him, at a time when Italy's government is looking increasingly secure in office.

Last week, a pro-Berlusconi daily quoted the billionaire politician as saying that he despaired of putting a swift end to the centre-left government of Romano Prodi and would never again run for prime minister.

Though his comment was later denied by his spokesman, there is no doubt that his political fortunes are linked to the durability of Mr Prodi's government: were it to serve its full term Mr Berlusconi would be 74 by the time of the next general election.

Earlier this month the media tycoon underlined his growing physical limitations when he injured his right knee after joining in the warm-up before a football game. He underwent an operation in Antwerp and for some time after his return was walking with the aid of a crutch.

Mr Berlusconi's personal doctor, Umberto Scapagnini, said that the opposition leader had suffered "a loss of consciousness for a few seconds, caused by extreme tiredness and the very great heat [in the hall]."

His spokesman, Paolo Buonaiuti, said that the previous evening Mr Berlusconi had been writing both his speech for Sunday's rally and one that he planned to deliver at a big anti-government demonstration on Saturday.

"At midnight, I told him to go to bed," he added. "I spoke to him again this morning [yesterday] and he told me he was tired but that nothing in the world would stop him from going ahead with his schedule."

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 upper house of parliament, the government has a majority of just one.

But Mr 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.

Centre-left leaders are already taking positions on a round of economic reforms to be introduced in the new year.