Bloody assault
December 14, 2009
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will have to spend at least another 24 hours in hospital recovering from an assailant's attack on Sunday, the premier's personal doctor said Monday.
"Tomorrow we will decide, but we cannot say he will be discharged since his condition is more serious than what we thought last night," the doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, said.
According to a medical report issued by Milan's San Raffaele hospital, the premier suffered a broken nasal septum, two fractured teeth, and loss of blood.
Earlier, Berlusconi's spokesman said the 73-year-old premier had asked for the morning papers and the customary daily press roundup prepared by his aides to be brought to his hospital room.
Deranged attacker
Berlusconi was hospitalized after being hit in the face and knocked to the ground at a political rally in Milan on Sunday.
Television footage showed the 73-year-old prime minister and media mogul with blood splattered across his mouth. He was bundled into a car by aides and immediately rushed to Milan's San Rafaelle hospital.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Berlusconi was quoted as saying by ANSA news agency as he left the emergency room. He will stay overnight for further tests.
The attacker was named as 42-year-old Massimo Tartaglia, a graphic artist employed at his father's firm near Milan.
Tartaglia reportedly threw a small model of the Milan cathedral at Berlusconi shortly after he gave a political speech. The man has been undergoing treatment for mental problems for the past 10 years, ANSA news agency reported.
A tough year for Berlusconi
Berlusconi's spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti, who accompanied the premier to the hospital, said the attack was the result of "tensions" in the country caused by the repeated criticism of the premier by the centre-left opposition.
But Umberto Bossi, head of the far-right Northern League and a close ally of Berlusconi, told ANSA it was "an act of terrorism."
It has been a difficult period for Berlusconi, currently in his third term, as he faces multiple corruption charges and accusations of mafia ties - all of which he denies.
Earlier this year, a series of sex scandals led his wife, Veronica Lario, to file for divorce.
An opinion poll published on Saturday revealed that Berlusconi's popularity had dropped four percent to just over 50 percent.
Berlusconi was the victim of another assault several years ago in Rome when a young man struck him with a camera tripod, cutting his head.
vj/bk/dpa/Reuters/AFP
Editor: Nigel Tandy