Berlusconi - "Jesus Christ of Politics"

[Keystone Phil]

I used to like this guy (and I still kind of like him) but his main role now is to make me laugh. He has dubbed himself the "Jesus Christ of Politics."


http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/02/12/italy.berlusconi.reut/index.html

[Gabu]

Can we nail him to a cross, then?

[Keystone Phil]

Can we nail him to a cross, then?

If we're going to go that far, wouldn't he rise from the dead?

Oh, I can see it now! He's going to be politically "dead" (crucified) and the "rise" and win in April!

[Gabu]

Can we nail him to a cross, then?

If we're going to go that far, wouldn't he rise from the dead?

Oh, I can see it now! He's going to be politically "dead" (crucified) and the "rise" and win in April!

Then hopefully he'll ascend into heaven and we'll never hear from him again for at least two thousand years.

[Kevin]

The curicifiying is going to be when he lose's to this stupid remark.

[Colin]

If he's the Jesus Christ of Politics I'm Mother Teresa.

[Platypus]

If he's the Jesus Christ of Politics I'm Mother Teresa.

NO WAY! I'm Sister Margaret! *secret sign of nuns (...you don't want to know what it involves)* How is the whole world takeover thingie going in the Indian sphere? Oh, you're dead? Damn. I'm having mixed success with Austrian alpine towns.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Berlusconi's loss of reality is progressing at an exponential rate. But I'm sure that a vast left-wing conspiracy is responsible for all this. They probably feed him with mind-altering drugs to make him appear like a clown.

[Frodo]

I suppose it's safe to assume that Romano Prodi has this election in the bag then....... 

[Platypus]

*Hugh puts on his I-told-you-so voice*

I disliked Berlusconi when it was cool, and still did when it was uncool, and continue to do so now that it's cool again.

So there.

[Gustaf]

I've never liked him eithre.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Maybe something just didn't get translated right from Italian

[CO-OWL]

I suppose it's safe to assume that Romano Prodi has this election in the bag then....... 

Be careful! I read in a newspaper that Berlusconi claims he has a survey done by an American pollster which shows his coalition leading the center-left opposition.

Of course, it could just be Zogby .

[minionofmidas]

I suppose it's safe to assume that Romano Prodi has this election in the bag then....... 

Unfortunately no...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Didn't he fiddle the electoral laws?

[minionofmidas]

Of course he did.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Of course he did.

In what way?

[Middle-aged Europe]

Of course he did.

In what way?

I think he switched the electoral system from a mixed First Past The Post/Proportional Representation system back to a pure PR system a few weeks ago. Pure Proportional Representation is generally considered to be working to the disadvantage of the Italian opposition parties.

[minionofmidas]

pr (by region) with a top-up bonus for the top vote getting party or alliance of parties.
The relevant part though is the thresholds - 4% for parties running individually, 10% for alliances, 2% for alliances' individual member parties. This is low enough to ensure representation to the Lega Nord and CCD-CDU (Berlusconi's smaller parties) but may be fatal for the smaller partners in the Ulivo.

[AuH2O]

The Northern League... proof even Europe can have real political parties.

[andrewa]

pr (by region) with a top-up bonus for the top vote getting party or alliance of parties.
The relevant part though is the thresholds - 4% for parties running individually, 10% for alliances, 2% for alliances' individual member parties. This is low enough to ensure representation to the Lega Nord and CCD-CDU (Berlusconi's smaller parties) but may be fatal for the smaller partners in the Ulivo.

This choice is in order to maximize advantage for Berlusconi:
center left have a people who votes for coalition, but dislikes single parties of it.
In the ballot you have for each party the party symbol, you can't choose the candidate. Every party has a locked list. So, knowing polls and trends, the selection of elected people is made by party leader.
All this leads to a campaign at national level, on TV fields. And Mr. Berlusconi is the owner of the three most important private channels, and choosed managers of two most important public channels.
In the Senate the bonus if for each region, so you can have a different majority respect House.
In the House the bonus is very small, you have a 50 deputies majority (340-290). So, who wins depends by the will of 25 people.
Berlusconi, forecasting the bad result, prepared a low majority and turmoil system.   

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Berlusconi, forecasting the bad result, prepared a low majority and turmoil system.   

He really is a nasty little [expletive deleted] isn't it?

[andrewa]

Berlusconi, forecasting the bad result, prepared a low majority and turmoil system.   

He really is a nasty little [expletive deleted] isn't it?

With my bad english, I hope understand you.
He and his majority had the constitutional power to change electoral laws. So they use it to take advantage. We can think it's unfair, but is legal. In every case who have more votes, wins.
I also don't think bad (it's unfair) about the first experience of electronic ballot in Italy in two Senate key regions (Puglia and Lazio) 
The problem is not he assumed to be Jesus Christ or Napoleon or Churchill. The problem is the vary bad condition of economy in my country. In my opinion this is due to Mr. Berlusconi who leads Italy in wrong direction.
Some other people can disagree, so we can speak about numbers...