Italian PM says he had a premonition of the statue attack
While driving to the rally where he was attacked with a souvenir statue, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told his spokesperson that he was afraid “something might happen” because of the “climate of hate” against him, The Times reports. The impact of the statue knocked the Prime Minister to the ground, breaking his nose and several teeth. He’s been in hospital since Sunday and doctors say he will remain there at least until tomorrow. Berlusconi’s attacker, a mentally-ill electronics engineer, is believed to have acted alone and has no known political affiliations. But the incident is splitting Italian politicians, with Berlusconi’s right-wing supporters claiming the left had indeed encouraged a campaign of hate against the prime minister. Some left-wing politicians responded by saying the premier brought the attack on himself. They say he stirred the ire of Italians when he tried to use his political influence to avoid corruption charges and then criticized the president and judiciary for their attempts to stop him.