Silvio Berlusconi's spokeswoman
Deborah Bergamini on Friday denied reports that his Forza Italia
(FI) party was to set up a 'directorate' to fill a leadership
vacuum created by his enforced absence from the political arena.
The billionaire and three-time premier is to undergo
surgery next week to have a new aortic valve after tests at
Milan's San Raffaele Hospital found he was suffering from
"severe aortic insufficiency" that had placed his life at risk.
The centre-right party is in ferment, amid uncertainty
about when, or if, the 79-year-old will be able to return to the
political fray.
"The creation of a special governance body is not taking
place," Bergamini said. "Forza Italia already has, on the basis
of its statute, directive bodies that are fully operative. The
fanciful reconstructions in today's newspapers about FI's
reorganization are groundless and clearly aim to create
confusion inside the movement".
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA