No more Mr Nice Guy as Berlusconi shocks his voters into action

[sasha031]

Gone are the jokes, the backslapping, the stabs at chivalry. Stripped away are the intimations of ordinariness, the attempt to identify himself with the Italian everyman that has served him well for years. This week Italians have watched agog as Silvio Berlusconi morphed before their eyes into a tinpot dictator, stabbing his finger at the television camera, banging his fists on the podium, red in the face with rage, threatening his enemies and vowing never to surrender.



Italians go to vote in the general election tomorrow and Monday, but in the dying days of the campaign it has become a referendum on the man who has ruled Italy for the past five years. "For better or worse," wrote Massimo Franco in Corriere della Sera yesterday, "Silvio Berlusconi has succeeded in transforming the election into a referendum on himself. Whether he wins or loses, he has radicalised the electorate to a greater degree than happened 2001." James Walston, professor of political science at the American University of Rome, explains: "Mr Berlusconi's strategy is based on the belief that he can only win by persuading those who voted for him in 2001, but this time prefer not to bother, to get out and vote." The viewing figures for the second TV debate with Romano Prodi last Monday were thus a heavy blow: down from 16 million to 12 million.

http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article356444.ece

[Cooley Hurd]

1. If he would stop humping meter maids, he might have a shot!

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=16578

**DISCLAIMER** Man in clip linked above IS NOT SILVIO BERLUSCONI!:rofl:

[sasha031]

4. the disclaimer I think is false

that's him alright...

I think and hope his days (or hrs) are numbered.

[Judi Lynn]

9. He's simply the soul of elegance, isn't he? He's too good for this world.

[GCP]

2. Gee - seems like the scales are falling from the eyes of the voters

Everywhere - maybe the reich-wings just went too far this time. Maybe there'll be a surge toward sanity both here and other places where they cheated their way into power. (crossing fingers)

[bullimiami]

3. if berlusconi loses it will be an indication

that controlling the corporate mass media is not enough anymore. it will be a demonstration of the power of alternative communication.

for me it bodes well, it signals the decline of the power of faux and the rest of the newswhores.

[sasha031]

7. Blackout silences Italian election candidates

ROME - A campaign blackout fell over Italy on Saturday on the eve of general elections, silencing the candidates, and giving the nation a respite from the ugliest electoral battle in living memory.Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who called leftist voters masochistic "assholes" in the last week of his campaign, stayed out of sight -- as did opposition leader Romano Prodi, favoured by opinion polls to win the race.The pre-election pause was meant to give the country an opportunity for national reflection, following five years under Berlusconi that brought Italy rare political stability but not the economic prosperity he promised.

"I'm glad the campaign is over. It was ugly, ugly ... and not fair to the electorate," said Edvige Cesarei, a 63-year-old teacher, who counted herself among the millions of Italy's undecided voters. "I've always voted for the centre right, but this time, I don't know." Campaigning officially ended on Friday night and the candidates traditionally stay silent until voting begins on Sunday, when they will start publicly casting their own ballots.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11910126/from/RL.5/

[sasha031]

8. more...

Opinion polls have not been published in two weeks, but Berlusconi, Italy's richest man, has lagged behind the centre-left opposition for the past two years. The most recent surveys gave the centre-left a 3.5 to 5.0 percentage point advantage to win the election.Berlusconi called opposition voters "coglioni", which means "assholes," and caused a diplomatic incident with China during one of his many tirades against Communists, who are part of the centre-left coalition.He said it was a fact that "Mao's China" boiled babies to fertilise fields -- "groundless talk", Beijing replied.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11910126/from/RL.5/

[TheBaldyMan]

5. But in his defence, the trains run on time.

sorry wrong Duce.

[0007]

6. O' bubble eyes will get knocked down to peanut size

[mdmc]

10. i so hope that he is voted out.