In Italy, Illusion Is the Only Reality; Berlusconi On His Way Back To The Top

[Valmy]

- Then there was the fact that his demeanour isn't exactly charming. An austere professor which predicts doom and gloom if he's not picked is far from an attractive candidate. His attempts to be folksy or to endear himself with voters were also quite clumsy and artificial.

Well...to be fair...

[Sheilbh]

He seemed to be a lock-in for the Italian Presidency, which must be decided in the spring, and with this dissapointing performance he might have ruined his chances for that.

There was lots of rumours that he might succeed Van Rompuy too. That's probably not plausible when he can't win 10% in his own country.

[Pedrito]

The average italian's feelings about Monti: a guy who was put in place by the financial/old money powers, to get out as quickly as possible of a stock market/sovereign debt crisis. His "Technical" government, held hostage by both the left and right, did not have the numbers to pass acts of real, undisputed urgency like a real, radical reformation of job market and pensions, of education and health care.

The infamous "BCE letter" sent to the italian government during the last fits of Berlusconi (summer 2011), which listed a vast program of serious reforms and which ultimately led to the fall of Berlusconi and the Monti premiership, has been largely unattended.

Grillo and the 5 Stars, well, they can be anti-system, anti-politics, etc., but they're still around the 25% mark, and cannot be simply put aside and forgotten.

The left turns out the real loser of these elections: they should've easily won, up until few days before the elections the polls gave the left a 10% advantage; maybe with Renzi as candidate premier they would've lost less votes to purely protest formations (M5S), but in the end they appeared as an old party that wanted to preserve the old PD Nomenklatura (Bersani head start, then Bindi, D'Alema, and many others).

Berlusconi, well, it's Berlusconi: old, yes, corrupt, probably, media tycoon, certainly (even if, in the last 20 years, despite having three TV channels, he lost two elections); but he represents a very large part of italians who don't want to vote the left, and are lacking an alternative.

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch), there's an excellent article about the italian right and Berlusconi on the Corriere homepage, by PL Battista:
http://www.corriere.it/politica/speciali/2013/elezioni/notizie/26-febbraio-riscossa-del-giaguaro-battista_3b297940-7fdd-11e2-b0f8-b0cda815bb62.shtml

L.

[jimmy olsen]

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch)

I had no idea Shelf spoke Italian!

[Sheilbh]

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch)

I had no idea Shelf spoke Italian!

I don't I'm afraid. I've rubbish language skills. I can read Spanish, but my communication's not so great.

[Liep]

I got curious as to what Sheilbh meant, so I googled. All I got though was Languish results for you. Is it gaelic?

[Sheilbh]

I got curious as to what Sheilbh meant, so I googled. All I got though was Languish results for you. Is it gaelic?

Yep. I think it means head of cattle. Not what I thought it meant when I first liked it though

[derspiess]

What's the word again?  Looked back & couldn't find it.

[mongers]

Not to go too off-topic but similar potest voting looks set to see a UKIP MP voted in for the first time, Michael Crick is almost calling the Eastleigh by-election:

Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick    33m
From talking to more voters today I increasingly think UKIP could pull of a surprise victory in Eastleigh. They will certainly do very well·

Michael Crick @MichaelLCrick    1h
A senior Lib Dem reckons that with another week UKIP might easily win this by-election. Just as well then that the party called it early

[Richard Hakluyt]

The 5-star crowd are offering something I would want, which is out of the euro and getting the Lira back 

10% annual devaluation....................Italy would soon be back on her feet.

The trouble with the Italians is that while they make excellent Italians they are only 3rd-rate at behaving like Germans.

[Maladict]

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch), there's an excellent article about the italian right and Berlusconi on the Corriere homepage, by PL Battista:
http://www.corriere.it/politica/speciali/2013/elezioni/notizie/26-febbraio-riscossa-del-giaguaro-battista_3b297940-7fdd-11e2-b0f8-b0cda815bb62.shtml

L.

Interesting, thanks

[Grallon]

Italy hasn't had international credibility since... ever.

Certainly not since the 4th century AD.




G.

[Pedrito]

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch), there's an excellent article about the italian right and Berlusconi on the Corriere homepage, by PL Battista:
http://www.corriere.it/politica/speciali/2013/elezioni/notizie/26-febbraio-riscossa-del-giaguaro-battista_3b297940-7fdd-11e2-b0f8-b0cda815bb62.shtml

L.

Interesting, thanks

Yep, I forgot you lived quite some time in Italy. ...and in my home town, too! 

L.

[Winkelried]

By the way, for the italian speakers here (Sheilbh, Larch), there's an excellent article about the italian right and Berlusconi on the Corriere homepage, by PL Battista:
http://www.corriere.it/politica/speciali/2013/elezioni/notizie/26-febbraio-riscossa-del-giaguaro-battista_3b297940-7fdd-11e2-b0f8-b0cda815bb62.shtml

L.

Very interesting, thanks.

[fhdz]

Italy hasn't had international credibility since... ever.

Tell that to the Carthaginians!