Attacker Breaks Berlusconi’s Nose

ROME — An attacker wielding a statuette of the Milan cathedral struck Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the face following a rally in Milan on Sunday, and hospital officials said the blow fractured his nose, sliced his lip and broke two teeth.

Television images showed bodyguards helping a stunned and bloodied prime minister into a car after the attack, which came as he greeted supporters after delivering a rousing speech to a rally of his center-right People of Liberties Party in central Milan.

The police detained a Milan resident identified as Massimo Tartaglia, 42, who has a history of mental illness, Italian news media reported. A prosecutor was questioning Mr. Tartaglia and a formal arrest was expected.

From the San Raffaele hospital, where Mr. Berlusconi, 73, was kept overnight for observation, he said, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” the ANSA news agency reported, adding that he considered it “a miracle” that his eyes were spared by the statuette-turned-weapon. Italian news reports said the statuette was made of heavy ceramic or metal.

The prime minister was “shaken and disheartened” when he arrived at the hospital, said Paolo Klun, a hospital spokesman. Mr. Klun said that Mr. Berlusconi had suffered two broken teeth, cuts to his lip and a “small fracture” to his nose.

The attack raised basic questions about the level of security surrounding the prime minister, who was struck as he shook hands and signed autographs.

The attack also came after a particularly tense week for Mr. Berlusconi, who has been on the defensive since his wife announced last spring that she was divorcing him, citing his dalliances with young women, and since Italy’s Constitutional Court in October struck down a law granting him immunity from prosecution, making him once again a defendant in several corruption trials.

It also comes amid a growing tide of criticism against Mr. Berlusconi. On Dec. 5 thousands marched through Rome in a peaceful protest to demand his resignation, citing conflicts of interest between his business empire and political career, as well as his efforts to pass what critics say are custom-made justice reforms aimed at solidifying his own power.

In his 15 years in political life, Mr. Berlusconi has generally managed to translate every personal defeat into a political victory. Although he still enjoys wide popular support, Mr. Berlusconi’s popularity is beginning to erode because of Italy’s economic travails and concerns that the prime minister’s personal problems are affecting his ability to govern.

In a speech to the European People’s Party congress in Bonn last week, a tense-looking Mr. Berlusconi accused magistrates and the president of Italy of left-wing bias and said the Constitutional Court was a political organ.

In an unusually harsh response, the president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, a former Communist widely respected and seen as above the fray, called Mr. Berlusconi’s speech “a violent attack” on Italy’s institutions. The left-wing opposition also criticized Mr. Berlusconi, as did the speaker of the house, Gianfranco Fini, the most outspoken critic of the prime minister within his own center-right coalition.