Silvio Berlusconi had a premonition that he would be attacked at last night's rally in Milan where he was struck in the face with a souvenir statuette, breaking his nose and teeth, it emerged today.
The embattled Italian Prime Minister reportedly confided to Paolo Bonaiuti, his spokesman, on the way to Milan's cathedral square that he feared "something might happen" because of the "climate of hate" against him.
His attacker was Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old electronics engineer with a history of mental illness. When asked whether he wished Mr Berlusconi ill, he replied "I hate him", according to Italian reports. Mr Tartaglia has no known political affiliations.
Mr Berlusconi, 73, will stay in hospital at least until tomorrow, according to a medical bulletin issued at midday by his doctors at the San Raffaele hospital in Milan. He is in a private room on the seventh floor. The bulletin said that Mr Berlusconi was able to eat, but "with difficulty".
This whole incident must have been scary for Berlusconi; at the same time, he should probably feel lucky - it could have been a lot worse
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