'I fear death bid by fanatic' - Berlusconi

Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said today he is afraid of being assaulted and even killed as a result of the media’s negative portrayal of him during his five years in office and the hatred of leftist sympathisers.

Berlusconi, whose conservative coalition barely lost elections last month to leftist Romano Prodi, recalled an incident on New Year’s Eve 2004, when a bricklayer struck him with a camera tripod in Piazza Navona, a large bustling square at the heart of Rome.

Berlusconi was slightly bruised on his neck.

“I’m afraid of being in the midst of people, you can always find a fanatic, like the one who tried to split my head open with a tripod, who thinks ’if I kill Berlusconi I’ll do everyone a favour and make history’,” Berlusconi said during the taping of the late-night TV talk show Porta a Porta.

Berlusconi’s allies immediately spoke out against the attack, saying it reflected what they described as hatred for the then-premier by the left-wing opposition.

The former premier reiterated that tonight, saying: “That’s the kind of hatred of the gentlemen from the left.”

According to transcripts of his remarks, carried on an Italian news agency, the media tycoon also blamed the negative climate against him on “five years spent slandering the premier, with the newspapers that give a negative image of me”.

The bricklayer, Roberto Dal Bosco, was convicted last year of causing serious bodily harm and received a four-month suspended sentence. He claimed he only meant to poke the tripod in Berlusconi’s direction to impress some young women with him and had no intention of striking the premier.