Victim of hate?

Despite initial indications that the Italian premier would be released on Wednesday, Silvio Berlusconi's doctor said the 73-year-old leader would remain in the hospital for a fourth night.

Dr. Alberto Zangrillo said Berlusconi was in "a state of suffering that is not always easily controlled." Due to injuries to Berlusconi's mouth, he is having trouble eating, and the attack aggravated an existing neck problem, Zangrillo added.

Zangrillo said that he had urged Berlusconi to forgo public duties for at least two weeks following the attack that left him with a broken nose and other facial injuries.

The billionaire leader, who has already cancelled plans to attend the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, must "abstain from all activities that would expose him to public situations, to stress," the doctor said.

Intruder detained in hospital

Police at the San Rafaelle hospital in Milan detained a man early Wednesday morning who reportedly tried to visit Berlusconi in his room on the seventh floor of the building.

The twenty-six-year-old man took the elevator from the underground parking structure in the hospital to the seventh floor, where he was immediately detained and searched after stepping out of the elevator.

Police say the man was not armed, and in a search of his car, hockey sticks were found.

The intruder "said he wanted to talk to the prime minister," a spokesman said.

Attacker apologizes

Forty-two-year-old graphic artist Massimo Tartaglia, who is believed to suffer from mental problems, threw a small but heavy model of the Milan cathedral at Berlusconi at a party rally on Sunday, hitting the premier in the face and knocking him to the ground.

According to a medical report issued by Milan's San Raffaele hospital, Berlusconi suffered a broken nose, two cracked teeth and blood loss from several lacerations caused by the impact.

Tartaglia was arrested and has been charged with aggravated assault. The man had been undergoing treatment for mental problems for the past 10 years, according to ANSA news agency.

Late on Monday, Tartaglia released a letter through his lawyer apologizing for what he called a "superficial, cowardly and inconsiderate act."

"I don't recognize myself," Tartaglia reportedly said, adding that he had "acted alone (with no) form of militancy or political affiliation."

Hate campaign blamed

Italy's political left and right traded barbs over tensions seen as contributing to the attack.

"The hand of the person who assaulted Berlusconi was armed by a merciless hate campaign," said Fabrizio Cicchitto, a member of Berlusconi center-right People of Freedom party.

The attack came as Berlusconi, now in his third term as premier, fights mounting domestic troubles. Allegations of dalliances with a young woman led his wife Veronica Lario to file for divorce and she is reportedly seeking a settlement of 43 million euros ($65 million) a year.

The Italian leader is also facing several corruption trials. Last week, a Milan court adjourned one of the trials until January 15.

Berlusconi thanks well-wishers

Meanwhile, the prime minister thanked well-wishers from his hospital bed on Tuesday in his first public statement since Sunday’s attack.

"Thanks to all of the many who sent me messages of support and affection. I say to all of you, stay calm and happy. Love always triumphs over hate and envy," he said in the statement.

The attack sparked an outpouring of sympathy for the media tycoon, with messages from world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the British and Spanish prime ministers Gordon Brown and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, as well as Pope Benedict XVI.

mz/rb/dm/AFP/AP

Editor: Trinity Hartman