A 28-year-old bricklayer has gained cult status among ordinary Italians after he threw a camera tripod at the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, on New Year’s Eve, leaving him with a bruise at the back of his head.
Roberto dal Bosco told journalists he had not planned to attack the prime minister but could not stop himself when he saw him out for an impromptu walk-about, shaking hands with members of the public in Rome’s busy Piazza Navona square.
”I did it because I hate him,” he told local news agency Ansa. Other reports said the man, in the capital to celebrate the new year with four female friends, had attacked the prime minister to impress the women.
Ordinary Italians have seized on the bricklayer as a Che Guevara of their times, celebrating his act with a flurry of tripod-related jokes, doctored internet images, e-mails and songs.
”Half of Italy would have liked to do what [Dal Bosco] did, maybe worse,” wrote one website fan, according to Corriere della Sera newspaper.
Seasonal text and e-mail messages whirled around Italy, saying things such as ”Greetings! This is the year of the tripod”, ”Glory in heaven and comprehension on Earth to willing tripod maniacs” and ”More tripods for all”.
Miniature plastic tripods were spotted on sale on street stands and Italian media warned of an imminent increase in camera tripod sales.
The billionaire media mogul, who has complained of death threats in the past, frequently makes surprise forays into the Rome crowds to enjoy an ice cream, but his bodyguards failed to fend off the tripod attack.
Leaders of the Italian opposition and other public figures have condemned the attack.
Dal Bosco has returned to his home town near Mantua in northern Italy after a night in prison in Rome. He has been ordered to report to local police twice a day. — Guardian Unlimited Â