Berlusconi's last stand dashed by vote error

[Warren Stupidity]

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article357786.ece
By John Phillips in Rome
Published: 15 April 2006

This has already been covered here to some degree but there is some interesting additional information in this article.


The Italian interior ministry's acknowledgement that the number of ballots in question for the lower house of parliament was not near enough to overturn his rival Romano Prodi's 24,000-vote majority discredited Mr Berlusconi's claim that he lost to Mr Prodi through "cheating".

The announcement was made in a statement just hours after La Repubblica newspaper reported that Mr Berlusconi had ordered the interior minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, to annul the election hours after balloting ended but that Mr Pisanu had refused.


It appears that Berlusconi attempted a administrative coup and was blocked only by the unwillingness of Giuseppe Pisanu to go along with the scheme.

[Puglover]

1. God, these people are such scum.

I'm sure his puppeter Georgio is livid.

[0007]

3. Now will junior call President Prodi and congratulate him?

.....and will junior invite Prodi to the White House for a little talk? I doubt it, because Prodi said he is bringing all the Italian troops home.

[malaise]

17. Scum is a compliment

Fugg Silvio. It is over.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

2. Thank GOD! And PM Prodi plans to pull Italy out of Iraq. Yessssssss! nt

[IndianaGreen]

5. Prodi's coalition supports marriage rights for gays and lesbians

which is one of the reasons Pope Ratzo blew a gasket when Berlusconi lost.

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. The Catholic Church is one of Berlusconi's fiercest critics in the

alliance against him.

I think the men in the hell-hole called Iraq, who don't want to come home, while leaving their buddies in the field to face mayhem of mind and body and/or death, would agree with the Pope's boss, that "Greater love hath no man than he who lays down his life for his brother" trumps "Greater love hath no man than he who marries another man", every time. Why do you have to be dragging homosexual marriage into everything?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

24. You're kidding! Oh my gosh, more reason to celebrate!

He's awesome.

[mike_c]

4. how long before Berlusconi is indicted, I wonder....

If he's out, doesn't he become vulnerable to indictment for racketeering charges or something similar?

[IndianaGreen]

6. Berlusconi has been in the back pocket of the Mafia

Prodi promised to get tough on organized crime. Silvio may not be able to avoid jail.

[mike_c]

7. I almost replied that it couldn't happen to a more deserving guy...

...but then the mental list of equally deserving folks got out of hand.

[anotherdrew]

12. he knows too much...

if it's likely he'll go to jail andm igjht make a deal, his silent partners will likely silence him.

[TriMetFan]

8. May GOD Protect Mr. Prodi.

How many here think that the mob will try and go after Mr. Prodi, now that Mr. Berlusconi has lost?

[joefree1]

9. Too late

They should have done it before the election. The mob can't afford to create any more martyrs. Bushies can't afford to create anymore either.

[TriMetFan]

18. I hope ypu are right.

[Zynx]

20. The mob got torn apart the last time they killed major political officials

Toto "The Beast" Rinna is serving life for that and the Sicilians in general got pounded after Falcone was murdered.

[rodeodance]

10. bye bye Mr.Berluscroni~~~~

[rodeodance]

11. Misters Bush and Blair will make the proper call soon.

[bluestateguy]

13. He needs to shut up and get over it. He lost.

Now is the time for all patriotic Italians to rally around Prime Minister Prodi.

[Peace Patriot]

14. Kudos to Giuseppe Pisanu! Another hero for democracy!

One thing the Bush junta is doing--besides ripping the scales from our eyes about Corporate Rule--is creating heroes out of ordinary people who might not otherwise have had a chance to show their courage and devotion to democracy and truth.

Kudos and laurel wreaths to Giuseppe Pisanu!!!!

:applause: :applause: :applause: :grouphug: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[UTUSN]

15. "annul the election" ------Holy Zeus! What we're coming to HERE n/t

[Ediacara]

16. I lost? Well annul the election! I can't possibly have lost!

[cal04]

19. Berlusconi ally sees election error

The dispute over who won Italy's general election took a new twist on Saturday when an ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said he had found a mistake in the tally that would reverse the ruling coalition's defeat. The centre-left opposition alliance, which claimed victory four days ago in the April 9-10 vote, dismissed the assertion by Roberto Calderoli, a former reforms minister.

Its leader, Romano Prodi, said Berlusconi should apologise to the nation and finally admit he lost the closest election in modern Italian history, whose outcome awaits a court ruling. Berlusconi's best hope of overturning Prodi's 25,224-vote advantage in the lower house of parliament appeared to have vanished on Friday when the interior ministry said there were not enough disputed ballots to change the election outcome.

The prime minister, who is also Italy's richest man, has alleged widespread irregularities. On Saturday Calderoli, a member of the Northern League party, reignited debate by saying he had discovered a batch of 45,580 votes he said were picked up illegally by a centre-left political party, the Lega Alleanza Lombarda.

"If somebody is thinking about heading down to the square to celebrate with this vote tally the way it is, that would be like a coup," said Calderoli, adding he made a formal complaint to election authorities.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=577542006

[PetraPooh]

22. Everytime I thought this was "settled," something else "shows" up.

I guess I shouldn't be so caught up in Italy's elections, but darn this is so frustrating. I really want to see the world's populations voting in anti-bush head's of state. I know the Canadian outcome recently hit me like a ton of bricks, particularly when on the forums I frequent the Canadians seem most liberal. So it was quite a shock. Now this. . .I was excited now I'm just trepidacious (???).

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. Did you catch this bit? One of them *is* a blackshirt!

The minister for Italians living abroad, Mirko Tremaglia, called yesterday for a new election for the 12 deputies and six senators selected by foreign nationals. Foreign voting "should be done again" because there were "grave irregularities" that meant that more than 228,000 Italians abroad did not get to vote, said Mr Tremaglia, a "post-fascist" who, as a young man, fought with Blackshirt forces defending Benito Mussolini's last-ditch Nazi-puppet government of Salò in northern Italy.

Unbelievable! 60 years later, and Mussolini's man was in government!

[ladjf]

25. It's time for Berlusconi to STFU,

[sofa king]

26. I thought things were kind of quiet here in DC lately.

The election-stealing wing of the GOP must all be on vacation in Italy.

[wryter2000]

27. But, but, but

"It worked for Bush in 2000. Why won't it work for me?" :cry: