Berlusconi in surprise visit to childhood home ahead of 80th birthday

Rome (dpa) - A group of Milanese 30-somethings got the surprise of their lives this week, when former premier Silvio Berlusconi showed up outside their building because, two days before turning 80, he wanted to see his childhood home.The surprise visit to the now-trendy Isola neighborhood was reported late Wednesday by Francesca Mandelli, social media manager at Gli Stati Generali, a news website. She said it took place on Tuesday night.She wrote that her flatmate Domenico answered the buzzer and then burst into her room telling her "Berlusconi is downstairs." Peering from the balcony and seeing two shiny cars, Mandelli realized it was no joke, and ran outside in her "polka dot pink pyjamas.""You know, I once lived here," she quoted the billionaire politician as telling her and three of her friends. Berlusconi pointed at the windows of his old flat and posed for several pictures, one of which was published by Gli Stati Generali.Mandelli said Berlusconi, who had open-heart surgery in June, turned down an offer to go inside. "I‘d like to ask him a lot of things, but as I watch him go away with a rather tired and weary step, I only say, ‘Best wishes for your birthday,‘" she said she told him.Berlusconi is the leader of the conservative Forza Italia party, but after being kicked out of parliament following a tax fraud conviction, and battling health problems and slumping poll numbers, he seems to be considering retirement.In an interview with gossip magazine Chi, published Wednesday, he said: "I am still unsure about what can be my future. One thing I realized, perhaps the most important, is that I will spend more time with my children and grandchildren."