Berlusconi, pictured in December, has spent time at his villa in Sardinia. Story Tools |
ROME, Italy -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has had a facelift to prepare for this summer's European elections, Italian media reports.
Berlusconi appeared in public for the first time in almost a month Friday when he attended a Cabinet meeting in Rome.
His absence from public view during a period of high tension in Italy, following the fraud scandal at food giant Parmalat, has fueled speculation he might be ill.
But one of the 67-year-old's doctors said Berlusconi was in good shape. Umberto Scapagnini told Turin's La Stampa newspaper: "He is fine. In fact, he hadn't been in such a state of form in a long time."
Scapagnini added that the prime minister had had "a little bit of plastic surgery around his eyes."
But he added: "Don't ask me anything more because I don't want to talk about these private matters."
Scapagnini, who is also mayor of of the Sicilian port city of Catania, commented that "in today's image-conscious society, this is basic politics; it's practically compulsory for a politician," La Stampa reported.
The doctor could not be reached for comment about the reports.
