Elections in Italy : Berlusconi vs Prodi

[Bounty]

Beeb

Votes are being counted in Italy's bitterly contested general election, with exit polls suggesting a narrow win for the centre-left opposition.

Polling stations closed at 1500 (1300 GMT), after two days of voting.

According to exit polls, centre-left leader Romano Prodi is on course to beat Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A Nexus poll shown on Italian TV put Mr Prodi's coalition on 50-54% in both houses of parliament, with Mr Berlusconi's coalition on 45-49%.

However, correspondents say exit polls in previous Italian elections have often turned out to be inaccurate.

More than two-thirds of voters went to the polls on the second day.

The interior ministry says turnout is expected to have been about 85% - higher in the north than the south, but with the lowest turnout on the islands of Sardinia and Sicily.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire, has led Italy's longest-serving government since World War II, but the economy has proven sluggish for much of his tenure.

Paolo Guzzanti, an MP from Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, told Italian Rai radio that "the defeat seems clear, it is difficult for this result to be overturned".

"I'm confident," Mr Prodi told reporters earlier, as he drank a cup of coffee before entering his coalition's headquarters in Rome to wait for the results.

Mr Berlusconi, who voted in Milan, was also expected in the Italian capital.

Acrimonious campaign

The campaign was marked by acrimony, with Mr Berlusconi using vulgar language to describe left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likening him to a drunkard.

Mr Prodi, a former president of the EU Commission, was narrowly ahead in most opinion polls until they were suspended 10 days ago under electoral law.

His mild-mannered - some say lacklustre - style contrasts sharply with Mr Berlusconi's media-savvy flamboyance.

Mr Prodi, who beat Mr Berlusconi in a general election 10 years ago, voted in his home town Bologna.

Hope for future

In Genoa, tobacconist Mauro Cavalli, 45, was listening to the news on the radio.

"It's what we expected," he told the BBC News website. "But Prodi, with the coalition that he's got, won't be able to do much."

His mother Rina, 65, nodded: "It won't last long, this government, they don't agree with each other."

Sixty-four-year-old Elisa said she had had enough of Mr Berlusconi.

"You can't govern with fables, I hope Italy will be able to lift itself up again and regain some credibility," she said.

"It was my birthday yesterday, this is a great present for me and everyone who believes in democracy."

Fragile coalitions

Both leaders face the tricky task of holding together broad coalitions. That task could be made harder by the new proportional voting system, which is expected to result in a smaller parliamentary majority.

Mr Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has struggled to translate his personal success as a tycoon into progress for the economy. Growth has slowed to an average of 0.6% a year.

Voters were choosing members of both upper and lower houses of parliament. For the first time Italians living abroad will also have their own representatives in the assembly.

There is a chance, depending on which way the regions fall, that the coalition which controls the Senate (upper house) may be different from the one which controls the Chamber of Deputies.

That could result in a fresh election, as a "grand coalition" of left and right would be hard to put together after such a bitter campaign, analysts say.

Please please please let the pseudo-fascist fossil lose this one. I can't believe any civilised nation would re-relect a pompous populist with such blatant disrespect for the spirit of the law.

[Crown]

This reminds me; I heard Prodi deliver the best high-brow smack down ever;

"The Prime Minister clings to data like a drunk clings to a lampost; not for enlightenment, but to help him stand up."

All that was missing was Chris Tucker suddenly appearing and saying; 'You got the knocked-the fuck-out ... Biatch!'

[Darth Wong]

That is a truly fine put-down. I don't know why people expect ultra-wealthy tycoons to be great leaders; such people are almost always totally out of touch with the average person.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

That is a truly fine put-down. I don't know why people expect ultra-wealthy tycoons to be great leaders; such people are almost always totally out of touch with the average person.

You give the fuckers too much credit, Mike.

[kheegster]

Berlusconi's a fucker, but it can't be denied that he's a good laugh.

[Durandal]

Berlusconi's a fucker, but it can't be denied that he's a good laugh.

Indeed. Oh what will become of his "playboy tactics" now?

[Darth Servo]

That is a truly fine put-down. I don't know why people expect ultra-wealthy tycoons to be great leaders; such people are almost always totally out of touch with the average person.

I think the underlying assumption is that said tycoons made the money themselves, so they must know how to run things well, etc. (rather that the OTHER obvious explanations like inheritance)

[Bounty]

Update : pigfucker may be winning. Might have something to do with him owning 85% of all Italian media, except one public broadcaster.

Italy's general election is turning into an extremely close race, with early results pointing to a slender lead for PM Silvio Berlusconi.

Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition may narrowly retain control of both houses of parliament, according to projections from the Nexus pollsters.

Same link as the OP, rest of article unchanged.

Damnit Italy, I'm not even asking to Mussolinize him, just kick him out of the government. Is that so much to ask ?

[Hendrake]

And so it looks like we get to keep the scumbag mafioso for other 5 yea.rs

That's it, if I can graduate next year I'm out of here. Hoping the mess that is this nation isn't going much further down the shitter in the meantime.

[Lord Zentei]

Centre-left claims Italy victory

Italy's centre-left opposition has won a narrow victory in the lower house of parliament, official results say.

It won 49.8% of the vote against 49.7% for the centre-right, according to interior ministry figures.

The head of the centre-left coalition, former Prime Minister Romano Prodi, told cheering supporters in Rome: "Victory has arrived."

But the claim has been contested by the ruling centre-right coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

His spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti said his bloc would demand a "scrupulous" check of election ballots.

The winning coalition will automatically be awarded 55% of the lower house seats - 340 in total - under a new electoral law.

Mr Berlusconi's coalition currently has a lead of one seat in the Senate, with six seats voted for by expatriates still to be declared.

The centre-left Union says it believes it will win four of those seats, giving it an overall majority.

The lower and upper houses have equal power in Italy's electoral system. One bloc must win both to prevent parliamentary stalemate.

Acrimonious campaign

Mr Prodi told a crowd in central Rome: "Today, we have turned a page... We will govern for five years."

But emotions were also high amongst the ruling centre-right bloc who faced losing power.

"This is intolerable. What is this? A coup? It reminds me of South America. Auto proclamation (of victory) is constitutionally illegitimate," Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire businessman and media magnate, has been in office since 2001.

He has led Italy's longest-serving government since World War II, but the economy has proven sluggish for much of his tenure.

Voter turnout was high. More than 83% of the electorate cast a vote.

Ailing economy

Exit polls released straight after the voting ended, suggested that Mr Prodi's coalition had gained a narrow victory.

But as the evening went on the situation changed and confusion grew over the outcome, leading to wild swings of emotion among supporters on both sides.

The formation of a new government will have to wait until after the election of a new Italian president next month. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's seven-year term of office is about to expire.

The campaign was marked by acrimony, with Mr Berlusconi mocking left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likening him to a drunkard. Mr Berlusconi's coalition has failed to revive the ailing economy

Mr Prodi, a former Italian prime minister and president of the European Commission, was narrowly ahead in most opinion polls until they were suspended 10 days ago under electoral law.

His mild-mannered - some say lacklustre - style contrasts sharply with Mr Berlusconi's media-savvy flamboyance.

Mr Berlusconi has battled to fend off prosecution for alleged corruption and conflict of interest over his media empire.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

One in a thousand margin of victory!? WTF?

[Patrick Degan]

I can't believe any civilised nation would re-relect a pompous populist with such blatant disrespect for the spirit of the law.

Unfortunately:

[Bounty]

Centre-left claims victory, let's all hope they've won

The latest results from Italy's general election point to a narrow victory for centre-left leader Romano Prodi.

But Italy is in a state of political confusion as the margin is razor thin - just 49.8% against 49.7% for the ruling centre-right in the lower house.
An official projection shows a slim majority in the Senate - the upper house - for Mr Prodi's bloc.


But Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition is disputing the results and refusing to concede defeat.

Earlier, Mr Prodi, a former prime minister and former president of the European Commission, told cheering supporters in Rome: "Victory has arrived".

Mr Berlusconi's spokesman Paolo Bonaiuti said his bloc would demand a "scrupulous" check of election ballots.

The winning coalition will automatically be awarded 55% of the lower house seats - 340 in total - under a new electoral law.

The lower and upper houses have equal power in Italy's electoral system. One bloc must win both to prevent parliamentary stalemate.

Acrimonious campaign

Mr Prodi told a crowd in central Rome: "Today, we have turned a page... We will govern for five years."

But emotions were also high amongst the ruling centre-right bloc who faced losing power.

"This is intolerable. What is this? A coup? It reminds me of South America. Auto proclamation (of victory) is constitutionally illegitimate," Industry Minister Claudio Scajola said.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire businessman and media magnate, has been in office since 2001.

He has led Italy's longest-serving government since World War II, but the economy has proven sluggish for much of his tenure.

Voter turnout was high. More than 83% of the electorate cast a vote.

Ailing economy

Exit polls released straight after the voting ended, suggested that Mr Prodi's coalition had gained a narrow victory.

But as the evening went on the situation changed and confusion grew over the outcome, leading to wild swings of emotion among supporters on both sides.

The formation of a new government will have to wait until after the election of a new Italian president next month. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's seven-year term of office is about to expire.

The campaign was marked by acrimony, with Mr Berlusconi mocking left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likening him to a drunkard. Mr Berlusconi's coalition has failed to revive the ailing economy

Mr Prodi was narrowly ahead in most opinion polls until they were suspended 10 days ago under electoral law.

His mild-mannered - some say lacklustre - style contrasts sharply with Mr Berlusconi's media-savvy flamboyance.

Mr Berlusconi has battled to fend off prosecution for alleged corruption and conflict of interest over his media empire.

[DaveJB]

It's shifted again; now it looks like Prodi might take it. Pretty close though - if projections match up, he's going to win by 0.1% of the vote.

[Bounty]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4897994.stm

[Melchior]

It seems like Prodi won thanks to the vote of the italians that live outside Italy. The fact that almost half of my country choosed to vote for Mr.Berlusconi another time makes me think about emigranting to somewhere more civil, anyway.

[Hendrake]

It seems like Prodi won thanks to the vote of the italians that live outside Italy. The fact that almost half of my country choosed to vote for Mr.Berlusconi another time makes me think about emigranting to somewhere more civil, anyway.

You're not alone in that. The scumbag may be fun if seen from afar, but not son much if he's your county's premier.

[theski]

DIEBOLD strikes again...... ALL YOUR ELECTIONS BELONG TO US

[Melchior]

DIEBOLD strikes again...... ALL YOUR ELECTIONS BELONG TO US

Well, at least, electronic voting machines where only used in very few places, in an experimental manner.

[Tribun]

The fun part of this is, that Berlusconi's own new election system could now spell doom for him.
In the new election system, the side with the most votes gets 60 extra seats. I guess he hadn't expected the opposition to get more votes than the government.

[kheegster]

Random thought: If Prodi took power, would he pull Italy out of the 'mother of all coalitions'? As a former EU commissioner, he doesn't seem like the sort of guy who would be supportive of the whole Iraq clusterfuck.

[Elfdart]

Yes, he's opposed to the war. Not that it matters since Berlusconi promised to pull them out this December anyway.

[Einhander Sn0m4n]

UPDATE: Berlusconi Won't Concede!

Political uncertainty clouded Italy's future as Premier Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede defeat to center-left leader Romano Prodi in one of the closest elections in the country's recent history.

Berlusconi, alleging irregularities, demanded a recount, a process that could take weeks. "Nobody now can say they have won," he said Tuesday.

THAT'S A SPICY MEATBALLA!

[Lord Zentei]

UPDATE: Berlusconi Won't Concede!

Fuck him. Although this is hardly surprising, unfortunately, particularly with such a narrow margin of victory.

[Elfdart]

Does Italy have a Supreme Court that can steal the election for Berlusconi?