Italian Election Date Set

[Keystone Phil]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-10-18T183854Z_01_ROB859979_RTRUKOC_0_US-ITALY-ELECTION.xml&archived=False


Go Berlusconi!    The last time I went to Italy (2000) the left was in control of the government. I'll be visiting Italy again next year and if Berlusconi is not PM, I will be disappointed. Things aren't looking that great right now but here's hoping the situation will change within a few months.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Nice to know you love a corrupt fool who belongs in jail. Oh, and he's toast. The idea that things will improve is pretty ludicrous since all those scandals won't just magically disappear, because they're real.

Oh yeah, to say you like him only for ideological reasons is ridiculous since he's not even an effective conservative, and has accomplished little with his government. His political career is only about keeping himself out of jail.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

He's down right now, but I don't think you can ever rule out him bouncing back... sadly.
The other day Prodi was complaining that Berlusconi intended to flood all the marginal seats with his money.

[Keystone Phil]

Nice to know you love a corrupt fool who belongs in jail. Oh, and he's toast. The idea that things will improve is pretty ludicrous since all those scandals won't just magically disappear, because they're real.

Oh yeah, to say you like him only for ideological reasons is ridiculous since he's not even an effective conservative, and has accomplished little with his government. His political career is only about keeping himself out of jail.

I'd rather support some corrupt conservative than the corrupt far left wingers over there. His scandals were "real" during the '90s, too. He'll rebound.

I like the man because he's one of the few conservative voices in Europe.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'd rather support some corrupt conservative than the corrupt far left wingers over there.

Prodi is hardly far left and, despite being a former DCer, isn't corrupt (as far as I know anyway). O/c plenty of his would-be coalition parties are both far left and corrupt.

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The Italian electorate has always had a disturbingly high tolerance of corruption, yes.

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There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

[afleitch]

I'm backing Prodi, and I say that as 'European Conservative' Corrupt governments must be defeated regardless of who is in charge.

[Bono]

Prodi is an idiot, as shown by his acting in the EU Comission. Berlusconi ain't good either, but he's preferable.

[Keystone Phil]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

[Tory]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi and Chirac aren't that far off. They're both big believers in a very large beaurocratic state that caters to a certain wealthy elite. The only difference is the corruption and the fact that one of them backed a war.

[ag]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

[Keystone Phil]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough. When it comes to foreign policy, though, I can safely say Berlusconi is more in line with what I believe. I am no Chirac fan in that regard.

[Joe Republic]

I can't believe Berlusconi has lastest as long as he has.  One of these days people will start to think Italy can actually hold down a government for longer than a few months.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough. When it comes to foreign policy, though, I can safely say Berlusconi is more in line with what I believe. I am no Chirac fan in that regard.

So do you prefer the Communist Party of Moldova to Chirac?

[Keystone Phil]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough. When it comes to foreign policy, though, I can safely say Berlusconi is more in line with what I believe. I am no Chirac fan in that regard.

So do you prefer the Communist Party of Moldova to Chirac?

Other campaign issues would likely outweigh foreign policy in this instance. And if I may ask, why would the Communist Party of Moldova be in favor of the War in Iraq?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough. When it comes to foreign policy, though, I can safely say Berlusconi is more in line with what I believe. I am no Chirac fan in that regard.

So do you prefer the Communist Party of Moldova to Chirac?

Other campaign issues would likely outweigh foreign policy in this instance. And if I may ask, why would the Communist Party of Moldova be in favor of the War in Iraq?

I don't know why, but they clearly did since they control the government and sent troops there.

[Bono]

There are a lot of conservatives in Europe. Including Chirac.

I should have clarified that I meant a conservative that is closer to American standards.

Berlusconi is not much different ideologically from Chirac, by US standards, at least - whatever difference there is is rather orthogonal to the US debates.  I am not even sure that in the US Berlusconi would have been to the right of Prodi - quite likely not.

And, of course, there is a minor distinction that Chirac might have avoided imprisonment had he been in the US, but Berlusconi's case would have been hopeless in the absence of Italian statute of limitation laws.  But that has exactly nothing to do with ideology.

Maybe I just haven't seen enough. When it comes to foreign policy, though, I can safely say Berlusconi is more in line with what I believe. I am no Chirac fan in that regard.

no. chirac is exactly like Bush, which is why you don't like him.
Berlusconi, on the otehr hand, is just a whimp.
If Bush and the cakewalk crowd in the Whitehouse were running France, they would have done exactly the same thing Chirac did. Evidences of their likeness? Ivory Coast.