Rome:
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi remained in the hospital on Monday after being bloodied in an attack at a political rally on Sunday, as politicians across the political spectrum denounced the assault.
Berlusconi, 73, was admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Sunday with a fractured nose and two broken teeth after being struck in the face by a man wielding a statuette of the Milan cathedral.
Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old with a history of psychological problems, was held after the attack. A judge is expected to confirm his arrest on Tuesday.
Images played repeatedly on Italian television on Monday showed Tartaglia approaching Berlusconi as the prime minister shook hands in a crowd. Tartaglia then lobbed the souvenir statuette, striking the prime minister on the left side of his face.
Tartaglia, who had been under psychiatric care since he was 18, had no history of political involvement, his father, Alessandro Tartaglia, told reporters from his home outside Milan. But Italian news media reported Monday that the assailant had told police officers interrogating him that he had acted because of a "political aversion" toward Berlusconi and his People of Liberties party.
Berlusconi was visibly shaken by the attack, his face bloodied as he was driven away from the scene by bodyguards.
Conservative politicians and news media said the assault was part of a "climate of hatred" that had polarized the nation into pro- and anti-Berlusconi camps.
Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, denounced the attack. "Our position is without ifs or buts," he told reporters in Milan, adding, "We will discuss the political climate in the future."
Political tensions have run high in Italy over the past year, as Berlusconi faced several corruption trials and scrutiny of his personal life after his wife, Veronica Lario, announced she was divorcing him, accusing him of alliances with young women.
On Dec. 5, tens of thousands of protesters marched through Rome demanding Berlusconi's resignation, criticizing conflicts of interest between his political and business interests and what they say are custom-made justice reforms aimed at saving him from prosecution.
Dozens of groups supporting Tartaglia's actions - including a fan page - have sprung up on Facebook, and Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the government would discuss measures to block those sites.
Some commentators fretted that the attack could signal the beginning of a cycle of political violence marked by terrorist actions like those that rocked Italy during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Speaking on national television on Monday night, President Giorgio Napolitano said he was convinced that there was a "dangerous exasperation of the political climate" that "had to be stopped" to "impede the development of forms of violence that Italians have known and paid for in the past."
Berlusconi, 73, was admitted to the San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Sunday with a fractured nose and two broken teeth after being struck in the face by a man wielding a statuette of the Milan cathedral.
Massimo Tartaglia, a 42-year-old with a history of psychological problems, was held after the attack. A judge is expected to confirm his arrest on Tuesday.
Images played repeatedly on Italian television on Monday showed Tartaglia approaching Berlusconi as the prime minister shook hands in a crowd. Tartaglia then lobbed the souvenir statuette, striking the prime minister on the left side of his face.
Tartaglia, who had been under psychiatric care since he was 18, had no history of political involvement, his father, Alessandro Tartaglia, told reporters from his home outside Milan. But Italian news media reported Monday that the assailant had told police officers interrogating him that he had acted because of a "political aversion" toward Berlusconi and his People of Liberties party.
Berlusconi was visibly shaken by the attack, his face bloodied as he was driven away from the scene by bodyguards.
Conservative politicians and news media said the assault was part of a "climate of hatred" that had polarized the nation into pro- and anti-Berlusconi camps.
Pier Luigi Bersani, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, denounced the attack. "Our position is without ifs or buts," he told reporters in Milan, adding, "We will discuss the political climate in the future."
Political tensions have run high in Italy over the past year, as Berlusconi faced several corruption trials and scrutiny of his personal life after his wife, Veronica Lario, announced she was divorcing him, accusing him of alliances with young women.
On Dec. 5, tens of thousands of protesters marched through Rome demanding Berlusconi's resignation, criticizing conflicts of interest between his political and business interests and what they say are custom-made justice reforms aimed at saving him from prosecution.
Dozens of groups supporting Tartaglia's actions - including a fan page - have sprung up on Facebook, and Interior Minister Roberto Maroni said the government would discuss measures to block those sites.
Some commentators fretted that the attack could signal the beginning of a cycle of political violence marked by terrorist actions like those that rocked Italy during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Speaking on national television on Monday night, President Giorgio Napolitano said he was convinced that there was a "dangerous exasperation of the political climate" that "had to be stopped" to "impede the development of forms of violence that Italians have known and paid for in the past."
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