More than three months after Silvio Berlusconi was attacked at a political rally in Milan, his own publishing firm has released a new book celebrating the 73-year-old Italian Prime Minister as 'Superman'.
The book,
Love always wins over envy and hatred, contains emotional
messages likening Berlusconi to 'Superman', after his show of strength when a man hurled a small statue at his face in Milan in December, breaking his nose and smashing two teeth,
The Daily Telegraph reported.
"Even with kryptonite they couldn't knock you down!" wrote one supporter -- perhaps an allusion to the fact that Berlusconi has previously described himself as 'Superman'.
In the book, bearing a cover photograph of the Italian PM looking younger, well wishers described as "abominable" the attack by Massimo Tartaglia, 42, an electronics engineer who will go on trial in the next few weeks on assault charges.
"We are all with you, great Silvio. You are the engine of our country," a woman identified as Eleonora gushed, while another fan urged the prime minister to clone himself.
"On seeing you covered in blood, my wife grabbed her hair and sobbed as she yelled 'My Madonna, save Silvio!'" another man wrote.
However, the book, which is on sale for Euro 15, was mocked as The little white book of Silvio Ceausescu by the Left-leaning Repubblica newspaper in a front page editorial.
In fact, the newspaper likened it to Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi's Green Book of political philosophy and said it was reminiscent of the sort of hagiographies issued by dictators in Eastern Europe and South America.