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permalink: "10"
title: Italian General Elections - 2006
tags: 
- italy
- politics
type: article
filter_pre: textile
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!>http://www.berluscastop.it/v_imag/sodom1.gif! 

Another five years have passed and here we go again: General Elections time!
Today and tomorrow Italy -must- should vote for a new government, and the choice is _again_ between two main contenders to the Prime Minister's -throne- chair: 

- "Romano Prodi":http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/299254.stm
- "Silvio Berlusconi":http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3034600.stm

Just today I was reading an interesting article titled "_'The End of Silvio's Show?'_":http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/0,1518,409538,00.html in which the author examines the possibility that Berlusconi's five years of subtle pseudo-dictatorship may end in favour the former president of European Commission Romano Prodi. 

_Who are they?_

*Silvio Berlusconi*
!>http://www.consapevolezza.it/notizie/gen-mar-2002/imgs/berlusconi_corna_5.jpg!

I can't imagine someone asking this question, at least I can't think of anyone who doesn't know Silvio Berlusconi as the icon of the latest _national oddity_. 
Forthose who need their memory refreshed, here's a small collection of links featuring him:

* "BBC NEWS Profile":http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3034600.stm
* "Wikipedia Page":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi about him
* "An Italian Story":http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=587107 - An article written in 2001 published by the Economist, _before_ he was elected Prime Minister
* "Fit to run Italy?":http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=593654 - Another article by the Economists explaining why Berlusconi should _not_ lead the Italian Government
* "Meglio coglioni che mafiosi":http://grabbyeducational.blogspot.com/ - Italian blog against Berlusconi (warning: profanity).
* "Basta 2006 - Geocities":http://www.geocities.com/basta2006/ - a comprehensive directory of websites dedicated to Berlusconi, a really good resource.

There are millions more. In particular, I'd like to add one more: "The Empire of Silvio Berlusconi":http://www.consapevolezza.it/notizie/gen-mar-2002/impero_berlusconi.asp, which features an image taken from an Italian magazine listing (roughly) everything owned (the image is dated 2002) by our current (for now) Prime Minister, such as:

* Mediaset Television (100%) - which includes three national channels
* Medusa Film (100%) - Movie productions
* Milan A.C. (99%) - Football team
* Edilnord (63%) - Real Estate
* Blockbuster (51%) - Video retal shops
* Mondadori Spa (48%) - Biggest Italian editorial company
* Mediolanum (35.5%) - Financial sociaty - banks, insurances etc.

Nice, isn't it? Of course he had to give those societies to some trusted administrators before becoming Prime Minister... but let's not talk about this...


*Romano Prodi*
!>http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/04/Prodi.jpg/200px-Prodi.jpg! 

Perhaps not as well known abroad as Silvio, but was recently the President of the European Commission for a while. Here are some (more serious) links about him:

* "European Commission Archives":http://europa.eu.int/comm/archives/commission_1999_2004/prodi/index_en.htm 
* "eitb24's profile of Romano Prodi":http://www.eitb24.com/portal/eitb24/noticia/en/international-news/centre-left-candidate--profile-of-romano-prodi-?itemId=D23503&cl=%2Feitb24%2Finternacional&idioma=en
* "Answers.com on Romano Prodi":http://www.answers.com/topic/romano-prodi
* "New York Times archives about Romano Prodi":http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/romano_prodi/index.html?inline=nyt-per

Known as "The Professor" for his education...

bq. _"He graduated in economics at Milan's Catholic University in 1961 and did postgraduate studies at the London School of Economics. He also spent a year as visiting professor at Harvard in 1974"_
_("Prodi's BBC profile":http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/299254.stm)_

...Romano Prodi is the candidate proposed by the current Italian opposition, grouping roughly all the center-left parties. He's the one who pushed Italy - as President of the European Commission - to accept the Euro as new currency, back in the day, and also the one who was blamed for than after a few months when the _Euro effect_ occurred: prices went higher and didn't seem to be an _exact conversion_ from Lire to Euro. He was chubby enough ("mortadella" is one of his most recurring nicknames) to be quickly appointed as scapegoat for the unpleasant situation.

!<http://www.dsmirandola.it/sg/img/berlusconi_corna.jpg!

Besides that, if someone asks me what's the difference between the two candidates, I'll answer: one is a politician and devoted all his life to Politics, while the other partly devoted only the last 10-years-or-so to politics because it seemed to be _a cool and worthwhile investment_...

_*Who am going to vote?*_

Well, one thing is sure: I don't want Silvio to win again, I don't want Italy to be publicly ridicolized abroad all the time that muppet opens his mouth or simply does something _he_ thinks is funny...