'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.