Thought Theater

UPDATE III:

It appears that final results in the Italian election may not be available until such time as alleged voting discrepancies can be resolved. Current Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is seeking clarification on the reported annulment of some 500,000 votes and a possible recount given the margin of victory by opposition candidate Romano Prodi (a mere 25,000 votes in the lower house). The upper house is still undetermined as some 6 seats are filled by Italian voters living abroad. Prodi believes he will also win the majority of those seats thereby taking a slim majority in both houses. Given the coalition approach to government, regardless of the final outcome, the victor will likely face difficulties keeping a government in place.

UPDATE II:

Romano Prodi of the Center-left coalition is claiming victory in the Italian election to name the next Prime Minister of the country. BBC news has an update here. The claim is being contested by current Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of the Center-right coalition. Reuters is reporting that Prodi has apparently won control of the lower house of parliament according to provisional final data. Read the article here.

UPDATE:

BBC News is reporting that Berlusconi appears to have a razor thin lead in his bid for reelection with 49.9 percent to 49.6 percent for challenger Romano Prodi. Read the full BBC article here. Reuters also has an update here.
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Early reports indicate that incumbent Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi may have been narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, the Center-left candidate. At the moment, results indicating a Prodi win are within the statistical margin of error. Reuters has a full article here. If the exit polls prove correct, Prodi has promised that Italy would immediately withdraw the remaining Italian forces from Iraq. The war has been largely unpopular with the Italian population despite Berlusconi’s close ties with the US.

My own impression, from traveling in Italy and speaking with a number of working class Italians, is a growing distrust of Berlusconi’s cozy relationship with the Bush administration. Many Europeans have seen the adoption of the standard currency (the Euro) as an effort to remove any economic leverage that individual countries may have had by virtue of independent currency systems. The standardization is viewed as an American effort to simplify trade and other economic considerations with Europe.

Many of those I spoke with in Italy indicated that, shortly after the conversion to the Euro, the cost of living nearly doubled while wages remained relatively the same. During my travels, I witnessed numerous protests and marches by labor coalitions and other left leaning organizations including the communist party; making today’s election results less than surprising.

Further adding to the difficult economic situation is the influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe’s former Soviet block countries. While expressing frustration at the influx, Italy, in contrast to other European countries dealing with immigration issues, has seen minimal racial animosity. My own interpretation of this relative calm is an understanding by many Italians that people in need seek opportunity wherever it may potentially be found. Whether this tenuous civility can be maintained will rest in part on the new government's ability to improve the debt-ridden and slow growth economy of Italy.

More Photos Below:

Graffiti images from Italy voicing opposition to the Iraq war: