Italian journalist Beppe Severgnini made this observation on the BBC’s “Newshour” program: “If we were in America, where madmen carry guns, [Silvio] Berlusconi would be dead. We are in Italy. Madmen carry souvenir replica of the Duomo.”

The Italian prime minister was attacked in a crowd over the weekend. He was taken to a hospital with a broken nose and broken teeth.

Severgnini conceded that other world leaders would not have let an attacker get so close. Berlusconi, he said, loves a crowd. — PZS

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