Former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi left hospital Wednesday after a heart scare that alarmed Italians and rekindled speculation on his political future.
Dressed in a natty jogging suit, he immediately squashed the idea that his days were numbered.
"I feel even more committed than before," a smiling Berlusconi told reporters outside his nearby mother's house.
He was whisked off there in a black limo after leaving the hospital by a side-exit to avoid a media scrum.
Asked if he was ready for a keynote anti-budget rally on Saturday, the 70-year-old leader of the conservative Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party replied: "Absolutely".
He said he had been "overwhelmed" by the wave of concern he had felt during his three-day hospital stay.
Berlusconi left behind a room festooned with floral get-well cards - the last a flamboyant yellow bouquet from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The centre-right leader thanked "everyone" who sent messages during his enforced time-out, including Premier Romano Prodi.
While saying he "couldn't wait" to get back into his stride, the two-time premier hinted he might be taking it easier than before.
"I suppose I'll have to start cutting down on my appearances".
Berlusconi's dramatic collapse at Sunday's rally, after fighting to the end of a speech to a party youth section, was partly attributed to stress, fatigue and lack of sleep - as well as the heat in the meeting hall.
Doctors and aides have pronounced Berlusconi fighting fit to carry on his feisty 12-year political career as head of a varied conservative coalition some think might fall apart without his drive, charisma and money.
Berlusconi took advantage of his hospital stay to write the speech he will deliver at the rally in Rome's central Piazza della Repubblica, aides said.
Meanwhile supporters again scoffed at commentators' views that the hugely popular leader, despite a youthful image boosted by facelifts, sunlamps and hair transplants, might be getting a little long in the tooth for front-line politics.
"He's our one, true leader. No can rally the troops like he can. Reports of Berlusconi's demise have been vastly exaggerated," said Roberto Formigoni, a leading member of the Forza Italia formation Berlusconi created out of nothing to beat off a leftist threat in 1994.
Despite a hair's breadth defeat to former European Commission chief Romano Prodi in last May's general election, Forza Italia was again returned as Italy's biggest party.
Berlusconi showed characteristic tenacity in denying the election results and calling for a recount.
But pundits said his appetite for the fight might have been diminished.
He has kept a fairly low profile since the election and Saturday's rally has been billed as a comeback appearance to galvanise widespread opposition to a belt-tightening budget.
It has also been portrayed as an opportunity to dispel all the talk of him quitting the fray - speculation he himself triggered with a press interview, since denied, saying his zest for the rough-and-tumble and deal-making of Italian politics had waned.
The billionaire media magnate was initially expected to be discharged fairly quickly after he fainted at a rally Sunday.
But doctors decided to keep him in hospital to run a complete barrage of tests and make sure he could resume his duties in fine fettle.
Berlusconi, who served as premier for eight months in 1994 and then from 2001 to May 2006, immediately shrugged off the incident after being taken from his Milan mansion to the central San Raffaele hospital.
Berlusconi was taken to the San Raffaele because its intensive care chief is one of his personal physicians.
The Italian press reported that the decision to have him hospitalised was made after an electrocardiogram taken at his home showed an irregular heartbeat.
TV images of the ex-premier losing consciousness were broadcast worldwide and calls of support came from across the Italian political spectrum.
Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has had similar fainting spells in the past and he has always blamed them on working too hard and sleeping too little.
He has also successfully battled prostate cancer.
