Italian police have arrested a 26-year-old man who tried to enter the hospital room of prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is recovering from an attack on Sunday that left him with a fractured nose and broken teeth.
Milan police said the man, from the northern city of Turin, said he wanted to talk to the 73-year-old conservative leader.
Mr Berlusconi was struck in the face after a weekend rally when a man with a history of mental illness threw a statuette at him.
Earlier, Italy's government said it planned to rush out new measures such as blacking out hate sites on the Internet to protect politicians following the weekend assault on the prime minister.
The 73-year-old billionaire businessman, who is nursing a broken nose, fractured teeth and gashed lips after being hit in the face by a spiked souvenir, will be discharged from hospital today with orders to rest for two weeks, his doctor said.
Mr Berlusconi - whose political fortunes look set to gain as a wave of sympathy floods in - put on a brave face in his first public message to Italians since entering hospital.
"I repeat to everyone to stay calm and confident," Mr Berlusconi said in the message to supporters on his website. "Love always wins over jealousy and hatred."
As Italy spent a second day soul-searching over whether a vitriolic political climate prompted the assault, interior minister Roberto Maroni said the cabinet would on Thursday issue urgent measures to keep Italians and their leaders safe.
Citing the risk of a "dangerous spiral of copycat attacks" and absolving security forces of all blame, Mr Maroni said the government is considering obscuring websites or social network groups that incite violence.
It will also consider new rules for gatherings in public places.
Reuters