The punch-up exposed the deep rifts within Italy over efforts to stimulate growth and tackle the country's €1.8 trillion (£1.56 trillion) public debt, as Silvio Berlusconi prepared to face a crucial European Union summit in Brussels.
The brawl broke out over sarcastic remarks made on television by Gianfranco Fini, the leader of the opposition Future and Liberty of Italy party, about the wife of Umberto Bossi, the leader of the devolutionist Northern League, whose support is crucial to the prime minister's political survival.
Mr Bossi has objected to plans to reform Italy's generous pension system, crippling the government's attempts to convince the EU that it is serious about embarking on serious structural reforms to kickstart the moribund economy.
In a television interview, Mr Fini claimed that Mr Bossi's opposition to a pensions overhaul was linked to the fact that his wife had retired on a generous state pension at the age of 39 from her job as a teacher.
Italy's complex and outdated pensions system allows some state employees to retire unusually early. » | Nick Squires in Rome | Wednesday, October 26, 2011
