Some say attack on Berlusconi reflects climate of hate in Italy

ROME -- Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was advised by doctors Monday to spend a second day in the hospital after his attack by a man with mental problems, as debate raged here over whether a new climate of hate was dominating Italy.

Berlusconi, 73, suffered cuts and a broken nose and teeth when Massimo Tartaglia hurled a model of Milan's Gothic cathedral at his face in that city on Sunday. Tartaglia, 42, who faces assault charges, was said to have no political affiliations and to have a crucifix and a pepper spray in his pocket. His father apologized and said his son is mentally unstable.

World leaders including Pope Benedict XVI sent Berlusconi goodwill messages, but Italian officials across the political spectrum engaged in recriminations that showed the polarizing nature of the media magnate's third stint as prime minister.

Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa, who said he saved the attacker from a public lynching in Milan's main square, said the attack was not an isolated case but rather the result of an "unprecedented" hate campaign mounted against Berlusconi.

Political forces and editorial groups were instilling "hatred," he said, mentioning the "No B Day" protest mounted in Rome by tens of thousands of demonstrators last week.

The incident follows weeks of growing political tension in Italy, with Berlusconi presenting himself as the victim of left-wing judges bent on overthrowing his government by dragging him before the courts on corruption charges. The attack is likely to strengthen his resolve to use Parliament to push fresh legislation to protect him from prosecution after the constitutional court stripped him of his immunity in October.

"The aggressor is crazy, but the moral instigators are known," Il Giornale, a daily newspaper owned by the Berlusconi family, declared on its front page. The paper attacked Antonio Del Pietro, an opposition politician and former anti-corruption prosecutor, as the "most ferocious of all."

Del Pietro said the prime minister bears responsibility for creating an atmosphere of social tension in Italy. Rosy Bindi, president of the opposition Democratic Party, was quoted in newspapers as saying that Berlusconi "should not play the victim."

The debate spilled over into the blogosphere and social-networking sites, which had been the driving force behind the grass-roots-organized day of protest last week. Officials said they were monitoring postings on Facebook and YouTube for possible incitement to violence.

-- Financial Times