CC-Villas - Blog

17.04.06

Elections in Italy, or the „Never Ending Story”

In a mood of high tension Italy expects the final (?) verdict on the results of the latest Italian elections. It seems highly probable the coalition of left parties in the end will prevail, most certainly so in Parliament, in the senate it might be very tight. And an Italian government that does not enjoy majority in both chambers will be in trouble – the lack of homogeneity in the left coalition being one more reason for major concern.
The very critical comments from abroad, increasingly so also in Italy itself, are directed towards the “stubborn” position of Berlusconi who is unwilling to accept the results as of now. The terms reach from intransigence, loss of sense of reality and ridiculousness down to much worse terms from the political and media vocabulary.
No doubt, there may be different views with regard to Berlusconi’s desperate attempts to stay in power. There is, however, one fact one has to face if one would not all of a sudden paint a saintly picture of the political and media world: The Italian left parties would undoubtedly follow exactly the same line in case they would perceive this as last chance to win an election that seems to be lost. Who thinks this was a typical Italian phenomenon suffers from self-deception. Let me remind the last elections in the United States of America. And: would Schröder have left office had there been just a remote possibility to stay in power?
Where (political) power is at stake elegant attitudes, fairness and noble-mindedness do not have a place any more, if that was ever the case. Times have changed and we (in Italy as elsewhere) have changed as well.