Italy's Bossi suffers heart failure

Mr Bossi is a fierce critic of Italy's left-wing politicians

Umberto Bossi, the outspoken right-wing cabinet ally of Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, has suffered heart failure.

He is intensive care in Varese, north of Milan, being treated for a cardiac failure in the left ventricle which had caused fluid to gather in his lungs.

Doctors treating the 62-year-old said his condition was "serious but stable".

As well as being reforms minister, Mr Bossi heads the Northern League party. Immigration and religion are common themes in his controversial outbursts.

He is regarded as a vital ally of the Italian prime minister - his decision to withdraw support for an earlier Berlusconi government led to its collapse in 1994.

Mr Bossi was first treated for heart problems in 1991.

Jorge Salerno Uriarte, the doctor dealing with Mr Bossi in Varese, said he would be given drugs for his heart failure - no operation was planned.

"He will be able to return to a normal life, but he'll have to take better care of himself," Mr Salerno Uriarte said.