Italy to beef up security after Berlusconi assault

Italy's government on Tuesday said it plans to rush out new measures like blacking out hate sites on the Internet to protect politicians after a weekend assault on prime minister Silvio Berlusconi left him hospitalised.

The 73-year-old billionaire businessman, who is nursing a broken nose, fractured teeth and gashed lips after being hit in the face by a spiked souvenir, will be discharged from hospital on Wednesday with orders to rest for two weeks, his doctor said.

Berlusconi — whose political fortunes look set to gain as a wave of sympathy floods in — put on a brave face in his first public message to Italians since entering hospital.

"I repeat to everyone to stay calm and confident," Berlusconi said in the message to supporters on his website. "Love always wins over jealousy and hatred."

As Italy spent a second day soul-searching over whether a vitriolic political climate prompted the assault, interior minister Roberto Maroni said the cabinet would on Thursday issue urgent measures to keep Italians and their leaders safe.

Citing the risk of a "dangerous spiral of copycat attacks" and absolving security forces of all blame, Maroni said the government is considering obscuring Web sites or social network groups that incite violence.

It will also consider new rules for gatherings in public places.

Conservative lawmakers have been incensed by Facebook groups that have sprung up praising Massimo Tartaglia, the 42-year-old Berlusconi assailant with a history of mental illness.

Tartaglia has written to him apologising for his "cowardly and rash act". But allies say the normally irrepressible premier is badly shaken and at one point even asked a visiting priest: "Why do they hate me to this point?".

In a letter sent to Berlusconi from his jail cell, Tartaglia expressed "heartfelt regret for a superficial, cowardly and rash act in which he did not recognise himself", his lawyers said.

They said he acted alone and without any political or militant motive.

Maroni, however, called it a premeditated attack driven by long-simmering anger towards Berlusconi — a popular but divisive figure who has upset many Italians with tirades against "communist" magistrates, leftists and media.

Tartaglia had been waiting at the rally square since morning in preparation for the evening attack, armed with pepper spray and a crucifix made of resin, the minister said.

The small, spiked replica of Milan's gothic cathedral that he ultimately hurled at the premier from close range was purchased at a nearby booth, Maroni said.

The wave of outrage unleashed by the attack looked set to deliver quick political dividends for Berlusconi, just as his popularity began slipping over legal woes and sex scandals.

In Washington, the White House's National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said, "(President Barack Obama) called Italian prime minister Berlusconi today to wish him a speedy recovery (and) found the prime minister to be in good spirits.                                            Hammer said Obama thanked Berlusconi for his leadership over Afghanistan and Italy's new contributions to the Nato mission in that country.

Berlusconi also got a phone call from his old friend Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin, who praised him for his bravery.

Analysts say the assault will strengthen his hand within his centre-right coalition and a conservative lawmaker said it could help heal a rift between Berlusconi and senior ally Gianfranco Fini, who has been sharply critical of the premier lately.

But the rift was still apparent on Tuesday when Fini called a government request for a budget confidence vote "disgraceful", saying it stemmed from internal tension in the ruling coalition.