AFP/Pretoria

 De Klerk cut short a visit to Europe over the weekend because of Mandela’s failing health, only to fall ill himself. The 77-year-old felt dizzy after his return from Europe on Sunday and saw his physician.

 “The specialist recommended immediate installation of a pacemaker,” his spokesman Dave Steward said.

 “It’s a routine procedure. He will spend the night in hospital.”

 The FW de Klerk Foundation later said in a statement the procedure “was a success and Mr De Klerk is doing fine”.

 He will “return home tomorrow.”

 De Klerk received the device, which helps the heart beat at a normal rate, in a Cape Town hospital.

 Meanwhile, 94-year-old Mandela was spending a 25th day of treatment in a Pretoria health facility for a recurring lung infection.

 He is in a critical but stable condition, the South African president’s office said Monday evening.

 De Klerk—a one-time hard-liner—dismantled white-minority rule and authorised the release of Mandela from prison in 1990, a decision that changed the course of South African history.

 Sometimes heated talks between the two and their factions in the end brought about the first all-race elections in 1994 which propelled Mandela to power.

 The two men shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.

 At a prayer meeting in downtown Johannesburg yesterday, organised by the ruling African National Congress, hundreds of supporters gathered to wish Mandela well.

 “Growing old is not a curse—it’s a blessing,” ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe told the crowd outside the organisation’s headquarters, which was adorned with a huge poster of Mandela.

 “We are not tired of having our old icon. We still want him to live for a long time,” Mantashe told the cheering crowd.

 ANC chairwoman Baleka Mbete added: “We hope that you come out of that hospital. We still want to learn from your example.”