“GET WELL soon Silvio, real Italians are with you”. So read a banner outside Milan’s San Raffaele hospital where Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi spent a second night after he was assaulted at a political rally in Milan on Sunday.
Mr Berlusconi suffered a broken nose and damage to two teeth when he was hit in the face with a small statue of Milan cathedral by 42-year-old Massimo Tartaglia, who is believed to have a history of mental illness.
The prime minister had been expected to leave hospital yesterday but director Alberto Zangrillo said his condition was “more serious” than had first appeared. Mr Berlusconi will remain hospitalised for “at least the next 24 to 36 hours”, he said.
There have been sharply contrasting interpretations of the attack, with Mr Berlusconi’s centre-right supporters claiming the incident was a result of a “climate of hate” instigated by the opposition.
The Berlusconi family daily, Il Giornale, carried a full front page picture of a bloodied Mr Berlusconi under the title “Constitutional Violence”.
Although it acknowledged the attack had been the work of a man with a history of mental illness, Il Giornale argued that Mr Berlusconi’s opponents must share the blame for the incident: “The violence against Berlusconi was no one-off fluke or tragic fatality. Behind it, there is a manipulation and a strategy ably prompted by newspapers, political parties and certain irresponsible TV programmes”.
In a climate in which many of the major players in Italian political life were quick to express solidarity with the prime minister, former investigating magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, leader of the Italy of Values party, was criticised by the centre-right. While firmly condemning the attack, Mr Di Pietro had also pointed a finger at Mr Berlusconi saying that he, more than anyone, was responsible for creating a “climate of exasperation and hate”.
Mr Di Pietro was probably referring to a speech made by Mr Berlusconi at a meeting of the European People’s Party in Bonn last Thursday, where he had attacked President Giorgio Napolitano and the Constitutional Court, for having thrown out legislation granting the prime minister judicial immunity whilst in office.
Meanwhile, interior minister Roberto Maroni said a cabinet meeting this morning would consider measures to close down internet sites that rejoiced at the assault on Mr Berlusconi.