Bossi regains consciousness, 'is alert'

(ANSA) - Varese, February 18 - Northern League founder Umberto Bossi on Monday regained consciousness in hospital after a convulsive attack in his home near Varese on Thursday.
    The 77-year-old Bossi "is showing continual and constant signs of improvement," the hospital director said.
    "He is alert but is still on the critical list," said the doctor. Bossi has not suffered any neurological damage, Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana said after visiting him in hospital.
    Bossi had been rushed by helicopter to the ER in Varese Thursday. He was placed in intensive care and sedated after fainting and banging his head at home in nearby Gemonio.
    Fontana added that it seemed to have been a fit brought on possibly by medication he was taking.
    Bossi, 77, suffered a stroke in March 2004 which seriously impaired his speech. He endured a long rehabilitation.
    In December 1991 Bossi was struck by a mild myocardial ischemia.
    He was Northern League leader from its foundation in 1990 until 2012.
    His Northern League has dropped the 'Northern' part of its name as it has successfully reached out beyond its former northern heartland under Bossi's successor, Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
    The League is now Italy's top party according to opinion polls.