BBC: Berlusconi Refusing to Accepet Defeat -

[autorank]

What's he going to do? Become Italy's Premier squater?



Berlusconi defiant on poll result
Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is refusing to accept defeat in the nation's general election, saying the results are "not clear cut".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4911276.stm

In a letter printed by an Italian newspaper on Saturday he says Italy faces a "stalemate... in which there will be neither winners nor losers". (BBC Reported earlier that there are too few disputed ballots to change the result.)

<snip>

Mr Berlusconi says: "However the official count of the electoral result ends up, and whoever is attributed the majority in the Chamber of Deputies, things are not going to change."

<snip>

Mr Prodi said on Friday: "The game's up. It's time to recognise our victory and to move on."

The results are considered provisional until Italy's supreme court, the Corte di Cassazione, rules on their validity. This is expected to happen next week.

[SammyBlue]

1. Conservativism at its best right here!

You like the ass of the Bush Chimp, you lose and you scream foul!

What an asshole!

[Jack Rabbit]

19. No, a conservative would accept defeat

Conservatives, after all, believe in the rule of law.

This is fascism.

[autorank]

2. BBC Original Story on Berlusconi Defeat Link Below

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2227867&mesg_id=2227867

[LouisianaLiberal]

3. It looks like N Italy and Rome went right...

Why is that? I know nothing of current Italian politics... It would seem to make sense that those areas would go left.

[autorank]

4. Northern Italy is the home of "The Lombard League"

That's an alliance of conservative states who feel that they're superior to their brother Italians due to a more robust economy, a more advanced technical base, etc. The Lombard League makes noise about session every now and then.

Roma, wow, "After the restoration of the power of the tribunes in the consulship of Pompey and Crassus, this very important office was obtained by certain men whose youth intensified their natural aggressiveness. These tribunes began to rouse the mob by inveighing against the Senate,..." Salust

Oops, that's ancient Rome. I have no idea.

But this might explain some of it. Berlusconi trailed 5-6% for most of the election. Then he hired an American polling firm which put him slightly in the lead. He list by just a narrow margin. Was it real or was it Rove? The Pope held an audience for Berlusconi just before the election and not his opponent. Berlusconi's media giant sent catalogers to homes all over italy with glowing reviews of Berlusconi.

Maybe they just picked Rome as the place they'd swipe a bunch of votes. The Northern Italian votes do have a logical explanation.

This is a great article by Doug Ireland, leftie journalist living in Rome.
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/03/letter_from_rom.html

[dipsydoodle]

7. Broadly speaking

in Italy the north is rich and the south is poor. Sound familiar ?

[Zynx]

21. Overseas voting patterns are considerably different.

For example, in Spain rural areas vote Socialist and Madrid votes right-wing.

[CJCRANE]

5. A Supreme Court deciding an election..

Hmmm, seems familiar..

[arcos]

6. What a loser...

If results had been the other way around, with him getting a very close victory, he would be claiming a mandate just like Bush did. Get over it!

[Justice]

8. People, take note: this is what a republican in US would do --

they would not make an eloquent speech about the good of the country, they would fight to the death, and say things like "stalemate."

[autorank]

25. Excellent point...it is, in all probability, a "manufactured stalemate";)

[laundry_queen]

28. What do you mean would do?

It has already been done. :mad:

[Puglover]

9. It doesn't help that

the asshole controls the media. Again, sound familiar?

[IndianaGreen]

10. The letter was printed in one of Berlusconi's newspapers

Silvio's media empire will continue to harp at this shit until the day the carabineri are sent to forcibly remove him from the PM's office.

[0007]

11. They'll need a lot of carabinieri with heavy duty carabineers

to remove this thug. The people may have to do it "Il Duce" style.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. Corriere della Sera isn't a Berlusconi newspaper

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4373775.stm

It endorsed Prodi, according to Wikipedia.

[IndianaGreen]

17. Yes, you are right. Thank you for the correction

Corrier della Sera is not part of Silvio's empire, and was a good source of news in the aftermath of the shooting of freed hostage Giuliana Sgrena and the killing of Nicola Calipari by US troops in Iraq.

[Chomp]

12. I actually think

this is good.

He's just dragging out the inevitable, looking like the ungracious bully he is.

Hopefully this embarrassing behaviour from this odious little man will finish him off for good.

[Ezlivin]

13. If Gore had won in 2000 under questionable circumstances....

Bush (Rove) would have done this and more.

We would not have heard the end of it, ever. If you think that CNN/Fox/et al ran the Swiftboat issue into the ground, then we would have been bludgeoned by the "stolen election" story.

[dysfunctional press]

14. Gore DID win and the circumstances WERE questionable...

what do you mean "if"...?

[Ezlivin]

15. I mean "officially"

Try not to parse it so hard.

:)

[brentspeak]

27. I'm convinced Gore won

I'm not convinced Kerry got screwed in 2004 (though Ken Blackwell deserves to have a federal investigation turn his office inside-out), but I feel the opposite about Gore in 2000.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

18. Berlusconi: "Waaaaaah, it's not fair! (throws teddy bear to the floor)" nt

[AX10]

20. This is what Bushler did in 2000.

Silvio is doing the same thing. Conservatives can only get into office by stealing.

[UTUSN]

22. Another squater! Seriesly!!!1 n/t

[Zorra]

23. If Berlusconi stages a coup - will Bushler send troops to help him

overthrow Prodi's democratically elected government?

Berlusconi is, after all, one of Bushler' closest fascist allies.

[shadowknows69]

24. if he does

it will only confirm that Bushco has no intention of leaving when they are supposed to. We are a nation at war after all. Can't change Pretzelnuts while at war.

[autorank]

26. We need to build a holograhic WH for them all right now...

...and place it within the boundaries of a federal prison.

[Ediacara]

29. I wonder if he'll order his media companies to pretend he's still PM....

....once Prodi takes over? That would be odd, but doesn't seem like it's out of the ordinary for Berlusconi...

[Eugene]

30. AP: Italy's Prodi Demands Concession, Apology

Italy's Prodi Demands Concession, Apology

By ALESSANDRA RIZZO

ROME Apr 15, 2006 (AP)— Center-left leader Romano Prodi demanded anew
Saturday that Premier Silvio Berlusconi concede defeat in Italy's tight election
and apologize for alleging fraud after the number of contested ballots dwindled
dramatically.

The conservative premier, however, remained defiant, describing himself late Friday
as a "fighter" and an "optimist" and saying he still hoped to be declared the winner.

He also indicated in a letter published Saturday in Italy's main daily, Corriere
della Sera, that he was not giving up.

<snip>

Full article: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1845917