Mário Soares, a towering figures in Portuguese politics, lies in critical condition in hospital in Lisbon with a poor prognosis.
The former Prime Minister’s medical team says his unconscious state is very significant and worrying," with the 92-year-old politician failing to respond to some external stimuli, “which places strong reservations about the future prognosis.”
Asked whether the health of Mário Soares had worsened since December 13th, when he was admitted to the Red Cross hospital, a spokesman said that "there is a worsening of Mário Soares' state of health" and that the situation is critical with his condition suddenly getting worse at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, following an "acute episode" that forced the medical team to transfer him back to the critical care unit with a prognosis going from ‘stable’ to ‘very reserved.’
The current President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has visited as has Soares’s daughter, Isabel.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa did not dwell on Soares' condition, but he praised the founder of the Socialist Party and former President of the Republic, "All Portuguese are very grateful for what Mário Soares has given to the country,” adding that you don’t have to agree with his politics to recognise the contribution Soares has made.
On his admission to the Intensive Care Unit, the hospital announced that Mário Soares will remain "under continuous surveillance by the multidisciplinary clinical team that accompanied him here.”
