Berlusconi beaten up at rally

[Tribun]

The news

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been hit in the face and knocked to the ground after a political rally in Milan.

Pictures showed Mr Berlusconi, 73, with blood around his mouth and on his face. Reports suggested he had either been punched or hit with an object. Mr Berlusconi was taken to hospital. A first medical report said two teeth were damaged, with one broken.

A man, who reportedly has a history of mental problems, has been arrested. Massimo Tartaglia, 42, had no previous criminal record, police were quoted as saying.

After the attack on Sunday evening the prime minister, looking dazed, was helped to his feet by aides and put in a car. He got out and tried to climb on the car to show he was all right, before being driven away.

It was a typical show of defiance by a political fighter, says the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome.

Mr Berlusconi was to be kept under observation in a hospital in Milan for 24 hours, the Italian news agency Ansa reported. At hospital he was quoted as saying: "I'm well, I'm well."

Scuffles

Mr Berlusconi had been greeting supporters in a square in Milan when the assault took place.

According to Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, a small group of protesters were shouting slogans and whistling during the rally. There were reported to have been scuffles between the hecklers and security staff.

During the gathering he told supporters: "They paint me as a monster, but I don't think I am one - firstly because I am good-looking and secondly because I'm a decent chap".

The incident will prompt questions about Mr Berlusconi's security arrangements, says our correspondent. But he is a gregarious man who likes to mingle with crowds, he adds. He is also a divisive figure who attracts intense loyalty from some and utter disdain from others.

Mr Berlusconi has been under pressure in recent months.

His private life has been in the spotlight, amid allegations that he slept with prostitutes, and after his wife filed for divorce. He has dismissed accusations of ties to the Mafia, and criminal cases against him have resumed after a law giving him immunity was overturned.

A week ago tens of thousands of people attended an anti-Berlusconi rally in Rome.

That's what it looks like:


Guess he's not smiling now. I know that's a mean thing to say, but he's one of these people where you're not sad when something like that happens.

[LaCroix]

I heard that on the radio, and you know what my first thought was.

"What would the guy look like if he tried that with Putin?"

I have some mental imaging about Putin dodging that blow and bitch-slapping that guy until the police rescues him.

[K. A. Pital]

Couldn't have happened to a nicer chap. Good you got your nose smacked, mafiosi.

[Serafina]

And already, he is trying to gain political capital from it and rants against the "leftist hordes."
Gosh, i despise that guy so much.

[CJvR]

What was his security detail doing!?!?! That could have been a hand grenade...

Well Putin might have kicked the crap out of the idiot - or his security detail might just have AKed the entire crowd...

[[R_H]]

And already, he is trying to gain political capital from it and rants against the "leftist hordes."
Gosh, i despise that guy so much.

Did you expect differently from Berlusconi or any other populist politician? I'm disappointed that the guy who attacked him thought doing so was going to be of any use.

[Sarevok]

I have no proof but I wonder if there was any foul play on Berluscuni's part. A mentally ill attacker is awfully convenient for staging a fake attack to garner public sympathy. If security was that bad there was nothing stopping a real bad guy from hurling a grenade....

[Bounty]

I have no proof but I wonder if there was any foul play on Berluscuni's part. A mentally ill attacker is awfully convenient for staging a fake attack to garner public sympathy. If security was that bad there was nothing stopping a real bad guy from hurling a grenade....

I don't see a man like Berlusconi deliberately having his pretty face broken.

It's a dirty and pointless attack no matter how you feel about the man, and I'm glad to see it's getting universally condemned by the other parties. Those condoning it should realise that this attack has not only achieved nothing, if anything it'll help boost Berlusconi. There are no winners here.

[Melchior]

Did you expect differently from Berlusconi or any other populist politician? I'm disappointed that the guy who attacked him thought doing so was going to be of any use.

It was not the Brigate Rosse or something like that, just a mentally ill person.

[[R_H]]

The guy threw a Dom souvenir at Berlusconi (or hit him with it).

[cosmicalstorm]

I have no proof but I wonder if there was any foul play on Berluscuni's part. A mentally ill attacker is awfully convenient for staging a fake attack to garner public sympathy. If security was that bad there was nothing stopping a real bad guy from hurling a grenade....

Considering how much money the guy has supposedly spent on plastic surgery I seriously doubt he'd risk something like that for some quick political capital.

[Big Orange]

Huh, huh, huh, a elderly 72 year old man had his face smashed in with a brick.

Berlusconi comes across as a giant sleaze bag and Italian politics is more crooked than a U-bend, people have the right to protest, but this goes beyond custard pies or rotten fruit and into the realm of very serious assault that has made Berlusconi a martyr.

[LaCroix]

Just came in the news.

Those cheap ceramic replicas of the Milanese Tower are now sold out.

[Axis Kast]

Huh, huh, huh, a elderly 72 year old man had his face smashed in with a brick.

Berlusconi comes across as a giant sleaze bag and Italian politics is more crooked than a U-bend, people have the right to protest, but this goes beyond custard pies or rotten fruit and into the realm of very serious assault that has made Berlusconi a martyr.

Thank you! More than that, it tends to make out as hypocrites all those who complain that conservatives don't do enough to blast ideological fellow travelers for their dire remarks or acts of violence.

[Gil Hamilton]

Thank you! More than that, it tends to make out as hypocrites all those who complain that conservatives don't do enough to blast ideological fellow travelers for their dire remarks or acts of violence.

What? Conservatives don't do enough to blast their own for dire remarks or acts of violence and their tolerence of such things is a major issue.

I myself don't wish anyone to get smashed in the face, but to put this in perspective, yesterday I bumped into one of the grads who was from Italy around here and mentioned the incident. He criticized the assailant for not having a second brick. There are some, ah, strong feelings about Berlusconi floating around. The last time Italy had a leader as bad as the current one, they ended up hanging his corpse from a gas station.

[Kane Starkiller]

What really happened:

[Simon_Jester]

Nah, you know it couldn't have been him who did it.

How?

Cause he looks too damn good, that's how!
__________

Seriously, part of me is surprised that something like this was possible, and part of me isn't. Modern security details for national leaders are supposed to be too zealous to let it happen... but on the other hand, most of the civilized world uses security details less zealous than the US's Secret Service. I think that's probably a good thing, but I'm not sure whether it is.

[Melchior]

I myself don't wish anyone to get smashed in the face, but to put this in perspective, yesterday I bumped into one of the grads who was from Italy around here and mentioned the incident. He criticized the assailant for not having a second brick. There are some, ah, strong feelings about Berlusconi floating around. The last time Italy had a leader as bad as the current one, they ended up hanging his corpse from a gas station.

I deeply despise the guy, but random violence isn't useful or justifiable. Still, it would be less probable if he didn't spend his time accusing everyone else of conspiring against him.

[xerex]

AP

ROME – A young man with mental problems managed on Wednesday to reach the hospital floor where Premier Silvio Berlusconi was recovering from an attack, and police were questioning him, authorities said.

A Milan anti-terrorism police official said the man "wanted to pay a visit on the premier at 2 a.m." Wednesday and made it to the entrance of the seventh floor of Milan's San Raffaele Hospital where Berlusconi, 73, and other patients were being treated. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he didn't have advance authorization to talk with a reporter.

Police questioned the 26-year-old Turin man at Milan police headquarters but planned to release him, saying he apparently is a supporter of the premier. A search of the man's parked car found "hockey sticks and kitchen knives," the official said. The suspect apparently plays hockey, but he will be cited for transporting the knives without justification, the official said.

The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was unarmed when he reached the seventh floor, the official said.

[Axis Kast]

What? Conservatives don't do enough to blast their own for dire remarks or acts of violence and their tolerence of such things is a major issue.

A large number of people on this forum, yourself clearly included, perceive that as a major failing, even though conservatives may not feel ownership for particular individuals who claim to be advancing the shared cause of the national interest. In every case where groups or individuals are counseling violence, or suggesting that it be carried out, it is despicable.

I myself don't wish anyone to get smashed in the face, but to put this in perspective, yesterday I bumped into one of the grads who was from Italy around here and mentioned the incident. He criticized the assailant for not having a second brick. There are some, ah, strong feelings about Berlusconi floating around. The last time Italy had a leader as bad as the current one, they ended up hanging his corpse from a gas station.

"In perspective?" What do you mean? Unpopular politicians should beware of bricks, or Berlusconi is a "bad dude," har har?

[Melchior]

"In perspective?" What do you mean? Unpopular politicians should beware of bricks, or Berlusconi is a "bad dude," har har?

Berlusconi has built a economic empire using political and juridical corruption and is at least (probably an accomplice) friends with other people involved in making stretches of speedways blow up to kill judges, among other things. He has no moral stature; this doesn't make political violence a good idea, but this isn't really political violance, it's just a mentally ill person launching a metal church-shaped souvenir at a divisive political figure.

[Simon_Jester]

ROME – A young man with mental problems managed on Wednesday to reach the hospital floor where Premier Silvio Berlusconi was recovering from an attack, and police were questioning him, authorities said...The man, whose identity was not immediately released, was unarmed when he reached the seventh floor, the official said.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

At this rate, I'd be surprised if this doesn't happen again; something has obviously gone horribly wrong with his bodyguard detachment if random crazy people can walk past it seemingly at will.

[Gil Hamilton]

A large number of people on this forum, yourself clearly included, perceive that as a major failing, even though conservatives may not feel ownership for particular individuals who claim to be advancing the shared cause of the national interest. In every case where groups or individuals are counseling violence, or suggesting that it be carried out, it is despicable.

The thing is that conservatives pretend to have no ownership when they say something embarrassing or vile while actively courting those people for their political ferver. You can't have it both ways, where you pretend you don't know them on one hand and embrace them like a brother for their support with the other.

"In perspective?" What do you mean? Unpopular politicians should beware of bricks, or Berlusconi is a "bad dude," har har?

In perspective, actively criminal politicians (not merely unpopular) shouldn't be shocked if every once in a while a nut takes a shot at them. No one should be subjected to violence, but at the same time, I wouldn't have been shocked if this was political rather than someone mentally ill based on Berlusconi himself.