That’s NOT amore!
A crazed, statue-wielding thug struck Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi in the face, breaking his nose and two teeth after the womanizing leader spoke at a political rally last night, officials said.
Cops pounced on suspect Massimo Tartaglia, 42, and Berlusconi was taken to a Milan hospital, where he spent the night.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” the 73-year-old media and sports mogul told the Ansa news agency on his way to the hospital.
The sex-scandal-plagued Berlusconi was signing autographs for supporters when he was nailed with a souvenir plaster statue of Milan’s cathedral.
Cops had originally reported that Berlusconi was clocked by the assailant’s fist, which was clutching the statue.
But slow-motion TV replays showed the suspect letting the statue fly from his hand, nailing the premier’s face at close range.
Berlusconi went down, bleeding from his nose, lips and a cut under his eye. He needed stitches for his split lip.
Aides helped Berlusconi up and hustled him into a car. He immediately got out to show onlookers he was OK.
President Giorgio Napolitano condemned the “grave and unusual gesture of aggression.”
Napolitano urged his fellow Italians to express contrary political views “within the limits of responsible self-control.”
Tartaglia has no rap sheet but Italian media reported he has been treated for psychological problems.
He had mingled with cheering, flag-waving spectators who wildly applauded Berlusconi during his passionate speech to supporters of his Freedom People Party.
The attack set off a frenzy immediately around Berlusconi, and Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said he helped cops hustle Tartaglia away “to keep him from a possible lynching.”
Tartaglia “was a man who had mixed in with the people who were applauding [Berlusconi], shaking his hand,” La Russa added.
Berlusconi is one of the most polarizing figures in recent Italian political history.
His wife, actress Veronica Lario, is divorcing him over his alleged lust for young women.
A southern Italian businessman claims to have sent 30 hotties to parties at the premier’s Rome residence and Sardinian villa. A high-end prostitute claims she’s slept with Berlusconi. He has denied paying for sex. With Post Wire Services