The leader of the far right party, Lega Nord, said it was an act of terrorism.
Okay, the man who was arrested on the spot has a history of mental problems. So until there is a link between him and a terrorist organization, it's a little early for such talk.
I wonder how heavy was the Duomo souvenir? The PM had his nose and several teeth broken.
I can't imagine getting hit in the face that hard.
Former President Bush was lucky he only had to deal with a soft shoe.
Here is more from the Financial Times. I agree with the article that this incident is only going to add fuel to the "poisonous political" atmosphere.
One thing that surprises me as an American is how much less security there is surrounding European leaders. Do people in France, England, Italy, etc. have to go through metal detectors when their leaders are giving a speech or going to an event? I mean we even have metal detectors in many of our city schools.
When Clinton was president, a friend and I went to the NCAA basketball semi-finals in Dallas. Arkansas was playing and President Clinton attended the game. We had to arrive extra early (driving in from Austin where we were working at the time) because of the extra security. The entire stadium had to go through detectors.
True Berlusconi was speaking to a rally of his own supports but it was still a public event. Anyone could have walked into the piazza. Later he was signing autographs when he was attacked.
I assume his security will be beefed up.
Monday, December 14, 2009
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18 comments:
You know I am not a fan of his but this is really awful. Really awful. For Italy. It shows how things here are reeling out of control. I can't believe there is something that could make me feel bad for him but I do feel bad for him He is a 72 year old man whose face has been lifted often. This has to be very painful. I hope he will be ok (and then voted out of office).
Diana - It seem the injuries are a lot more serious than what was previously reported. He's still in the hospital. I am not a fan at all but to be that age and hit that hard with a heavy object? Terrible.
Already his allies are blaming the left. Which makes no sense as the man who attacked him has a history of mental illness.
That is the funniest Shyt I have ever seen. How embarassing for Berlusconi...
i'm no fan of signor berlusconi, but likd diana, i think it's awful. seriously, the man is 73 years old. imagine if it was just some ordinary someone's granddad being hit in the face... people would have been in a serious uproar... but because it's someone who is much maligned (and likely rightly so) in the media, it's all laughs and serve-him-rights. so wrong! i wish him a speedy recovery.
(and, i have to say, it's ironic that the word verification that came up when i commented on this post, was "brick". womp, womp).
Like Diana said, I am not a fan of his but for a 72 year old man to get hit like that? It's sad. it's a big shame that Italian politics are such a carnival freak show.
I'd like to know where his security people were, if he had any.
yeah, i don't like the dude either, but this was messed up. they're saying it may take him a month to recover as he lost a lot of blood. this is no laughing matter. he needs better security! (and he needs to leave office, but that's another matter).
Girl, I am not SB's biggest fan, but I had to laugh when I read your headline. And it made me think of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_KmbW7TiB0
roxy - Violence is wrong and the man who hit him is mental ill. However, at the same time this PM and his allies especially the Lega Nord have created a very polarizing atmosphere in Italy. I don't think he's embarrassed. If anything this helps his martyr complex.
dalia - ha. Can't believe that was your verification. Publicly his opponents have wished him well, which is good. What I hope doesn't happen is that he will use this as an opportunity to clamp down on our rights even more. This is republic not a dictatorship.
j. doe - his security was right next to him. Silvio was signing autographs and was in the middle of the crowd. The souvenir is not that big. Massimo must have thrown it very hard for the injuries to be so terrible.
gibber - I'm shocked over how much blood he lost. I wonder what is going through his mind.
rose - that song is a classic!
Maybe he can borrow the Pope-mobile next time?
That's unfair!
So what should we do to Walter Veltroni?
Thanks to him (the worst mayor in Rome's history) Rome has become a third world city!
And he has devastated the roman countryside building A LOT of horrible (and expensive) agglomerate of commieblocks.
Have a look at Ponte di Nona and la Bufalotta!
rose - I don't know if Silvio would like the Pope mobile. He likes to reach out and touch the people!
anon - The electorate voted against Walter when he ran for PM and he's no longer in office. I don't think it's right to physically attack someone. As much as I dislike Sarah Palin I wouldn't wish her harm. Dick Cheney is another story. J/K
Of course I disagree: I am against violence.
I was complaining about the fact that too many operate double standards.
Veltroni was the worst mayor in Rome's history... but during his mandate the press used to flatter him.
Whereas against Berlusconi there is too much hate.
That's unfair.
P.S. let me inform you that I don't like Berlusconi.
I discovered that the guy that attacked Berlusconi lived 3 blocks away from my old place. Chills!
I, too, felt sorry for Berlusconi. Political beliefs aside, violence is never acceptable. But I'm afraid that the PdL is going to use this incident as a way of demonizing the left even more. Why can't everyone just get along :)
anon - Interesting. I can't speak about the Italian press since I was not living here while Veltroni was mayor but the international press is hard on Berlusconi for many reasons. One reason being in no other democracy/republic could the leader of the country own/control 90% of the media. It's a massive conflict of interest. Nor would he be able to stay in office with so many legal issues.
milanese - the PDL is already using it to their advantage. I'm waiting for Silvio's first big press conference. I wonder what President Obama said to him when he called.
That was a serious blow. I can just imagine any head trauma he sustained. Maybe now he will have some sense knocked in to him. But it must have been humbling for his ego. Yes Bush did get off lightly with the shoe.
glamah - he just got out of the hospital and was wearing a huge bandage. I heard on the news he might not attend any public events for at least 10 days.
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