Debacle for the centre-right Berlusconi's coalition at the local elections - The Centre-Left lead in Milan with an advantage of 6.5%

[Principe Alessandro]

Milan Election Shock for PDL – Pisapia’s 6.5% Lead over Moratti
Fassino coasts home in first-round vote in Turin. PDL in front in Naples, where De Magistris leads Morcone

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MILAN – The Centre-left hails a victory. Piero Fassino and Virginio Merola are the new mayors respectively of Turin and Bologna after the first-round vote. But the biggest surprise of all, the result that offers most encouragement to the Democratic Party (PD) and its allies, came from Milan, where Giuliano Pisapia managed not just to secure a second round with Letizia Moratti but also to outdistance her by more than six percentage points. Few would have put money on such an outcome on the eve of the elections. The final showdown comes in a fortnight’s time but for a Centre-left that had failed to force a second poll since 1993, this result is a victory. The only shadow on the progressives’ horizon is Naples, where the Centre-left paid a heavy price for going to the polls divided. The People of Freedom (PDL) was swift to point out that the Centre-right candidate was well ahead in what used to be one of the Olive Tree Alliance’s strongholds, governed by a number of Centre-left coalitions under Bassolino and then Iervolino since the early 1990s. Moreover, Giovanni Lettieri’s opponent in the second ballot will not be Mario Morcone, the “official” candidate of the PD and its allies. Instead, Mr Lettieri will face the former public prosecutor and Di Pietro supporter Luigi De Magistris, supported by Italy of Values (IDV) and the Federation of the Left (FDS). PD secretary Pierluigi Bersani brushed this off and summed up the situation succinctly: “We won and they lost”.

Article in Italian

This is the beginning of the end for Berlusconi, who lose in Milan will lose in the rest of Italy.

[neoptolemos]

Article in Italian

This is the beginning of the end for Berlusconi, who lose in Milan will lose in the rest of Italy.

Who is leading the opposition?
Is he a reliable alternative to Cavaliere?

[Principe Alessandro]

Who is leading the opposition?
Is he a reliable alternative to Cavaliere?

No, the opposition it is even worse.

The problem here is that the centre-right is crumbling from inside and they are pissing off a lot their electorate especially in the North where they have their voters core base.

Probably a lot of centre-right voters didn't bother to vote for the simple fact the centre-right government hasn't any difference than the centre-left past governments.

Maybe the last Romano Prodi government was even better regarding economic liberal policies, the taxes hasn't decreased and the bureaucracy is continuing to be inefficient and corrupt especially in the south Italy, regarding the immigration policies the Ministry of Internal Policies has managed to piss off EU with the residence permit paper given for free to the Tunisians hoping that they will go to Germany or France, of course EU said that won't recognize those papers and now we can't expel those immigrants in Tunisia until the expire of the residence permit paper.

In short they ed up themselves.

You might be too quick, I remember that some years ago the Cavalieri was substituted for just pretty much a year before making a come back. A Prodi dude or something like that, don't remenber

I also have difficulties to believe that Berlu sexual adventures would be the reason for this possible undoing, I just have the impression that it is all fake outrage by the media.

But interesting, could you elaborate ?

The elections which brought the Romano Prodi goverments were won by a small margin by the centre-left and the centre-right had the complete control of the northern-Italian electorate.

Losing in the most important northern-Italian city and the economic capital of Italy is the sign that Berlusconi is losing the support from his own electorate base and in the south he is challenged by the centre-catholic parties.

[Menelik_I]

In short they ed up themselves.

Nha ... the Italy liberated himself from Berlusconi media empire and the Shenanigan that prevented the True Italian Communist soul to bloom

But yep poor judgement on the Tunisian dumping there and is it is just me or Centre-right parties have this dumb tendency of pre-emptively apologising and spoiling their electorate to appease the left-wing nutters ?

[Principe Alessandro]

Nha ... the Italy liberated himself from Berlusconi media empire and the Shenanigan that prevented the True Italian Communist soul to bloom

But yep poor judgement on the Tunisian dumping there and is it is just me or Centre-right parties have this dumb tendency of pre-emptively apologising and spoiling their electorate to appease the left-wing nutters ?

Well Italian communists were the most heretic by SU standards, in fact the PCI secretary even said that he felt more secure in NATO than in the Warsaw Pact.

About the last sentence not quite true, here in Italy the electorate is quite hot blooded so the problem lies in the endless trading and negotiations between the political parties and the social groups and associations, a characteristic of the Italian politic which paralyze the government.

In reality in the end it is just a matter of who gets the most armchairs and how the public funds will be distributed.

[Menelik_I]

About the last sentence not quite true, here in Italy the electorate is quite hot blooded so the problem lies in the endless trading and negotiations between the political parties and the social groups and associations, a characteristic of the Italian politic which paralyze the government.

Thanks for the correction

Then maybe some structural changes would be needed to bust the power of these Social groups and association. See Thatcher busting the coal miners or Scott Walker pissing on the Democrats Union stash of union due kind of move, this would guaranty a lasting Centre-right majority ... or I'm wrong again

[Requies]

Well the fall of Berlusconi is the best thing for Italy at the moment. But i hope it would never come to power the ing populist aka Grillo. No other comedians to the government, thanks.

[Principe Alessandro]

Well the fall of Berlusconi is the best thing for Italy at the moment. But i hope it would never come to power the ing populist aka Grillo. No other comedians to the government, thanks.

Frankly everybody is bad, really bad. I don't really feel like I'm going to vote anytime soon. The centre-right it is just a joke, the centre-left will surely up something like the immigration policies.

Thanks for the correction

Then maybe some structural changes would be needed to bust the power of these Social groups and association. See Thatcher busting the coal miners or Scott Walker pissing on the Democrats Union stash of union due kind of move, this would guaranty a lasting Centre-right majority ... or I'm wrong again

It is impossible because the parties get votes and power from those associations and are heavily rooted in the local social context.

Basically we have the trade unions, cooperative, some banks like UNIPOL and so on in the centre-left side, on the other side we have the media group MEDIASET, the association of industrials (Confindustria) and the self-employed people like dentists....

In short it is very complicated.

[Menelik_I]

Article in Italian

This is the beginning of the end for Berlusconi, who lose in Milan will lose in the rest of Italy.

You might be too quick, I remember that some years ago the Cavalieri was substituted for just pretty much a year before making a come back. A Prodi dude or something like that, don't remenber

I also have difficulties to believe that Berlu sexual adventures would be the reason for this possible undoing, I just have the impression that it is all fake outrage by the media.

But interesting, could you elaborate ?

[Basil II the B.S]

Funny thing, Pisapia would have won, if Grillo-tards weren't around stealing his votes.

[Caesar Germanico]

how the opposition is worse?everything is better than this mess

[Requies]

Funny thing, Pisapia would have won, if Grillo-tards weren't around stealing his votes.

No comment.

how the opposition is worse?everything is better than this mess

Certainly. But at the moment there's a lack of decent alternative..