Bye-bye Berlusconi
The Italian election is officially over - Berlusconi lost, Romano Prodi won.
Now the questions looming largest in my mind are how long will Prodi's government last and will I be fortunate enough to witness one of the famous Italian government implosions when I'm in Italy in the fall?
Berlusconi has long been an eccentric and uniquely Italian figure in international politics. Besides owning the three national Italian TV channels and having a multi-billion dollar fortune, Berlusconi's corruption was so openly known that it inspired laughter rather than fear. Nevertheless, it seems that the Italians (by a very narrow margin) had enough.
My sneaking suspicion is that it wasn't Berlusconi himself that caused him to lose the election, but rather the fact that he had the longest-lasting government in the history of Italy. The Italians were bored. They missed the regular government changes. And so they voted him out.
Or maybe, the Italians were fed-up with Berlusconi's support of the Iraq war, conservative policies, and the US. But I prefer to think that the real reason he lost was a national desire for chaotic politics.
Now the questions looming largest in my mind are how long will Prodi's government last and will I be fortunate enough to witness one of the famous Italian government implosions when I'm in Italy in the fall?
Berlusconi has long been an eccentric and uniquely Italian figure in international politics. Besides owning the three national Italian TV channels and having a multi-billion dollar fortune, Berlusconi's corruption was so openly known that it inspired laughter rather than fear. Nevertheless, it seems that the Italians (by a very narrow margin) had enough.
My sneaking suspicion is that it wasn't Berlusconi himself that caused him to lose the election, but rather the fact that he had the longest-lasting government in the history of Italy. The Italians were bored. They missed the regular government changes. And so they voted him out.
Or maybe, the Italians were fed-up with Berlusconi's support of the Iraq war, conservative policies, and the US. But I prefer to think that the real reason he lost was a national desire for chaotic politics.
posted by Nixie at 11:46 AM
2 Comments:
The Italian opposition did exactly the opposite of the Republican operatives paid to pretend to be Democrats in California did for Blackhair -- came together in an unwieldy super-coalition. Which will probably fragment having lost the ogre of Burluscolini to keep them together.
It is a sad day. Burlusconi is leaving like a legitimate contender, not on trial. The same P2 subhuman control addicts who forged the case for war in Iraq are covering their asses and repeating their evil for Iran and Syria.
I read a great piece on European politics somewhere that talked very well about the slump language has been in lately. Politicians from not yet corrupted progressives to dictators used to exhort like Homeric heroes for Building. Now slimy businessmen infiltrating the government to make a buck in a massive insurance scheme hide the language of destruction in kreem and splenda nineties nofault corporatespeak.
spoke too soon. numerous reports of bizarre irregularities. bbc: "police have found five boxes" (implied, for ballots). burlusolini contesting seriously. at least the scumbag didn't use terror as an electoral help. must admit i have no particular hopes for prodi.
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