Italy 2013: The official thread

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Most people who have won elections in Italy have looked that dull. Dull men sometimes poll well when there's a sense of crisis.

Why dishonesty?

Well he's aggressively denying what his political project actually is (an attempt to return to 'business as usual' as it was before Tangentopoli; the political model of a dominant mildly conservative centrist party with a strong whiff of incense acting, around which other coalition partners rotate, re-position and trade places), which is pretty much the definition of dishonesty.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Christian Democrats, of which there are right leaners and left leaners, ruled Italy with very brief interruption from 1946 - 1994. I said the center-left has only won two elections, not that they didn't have an impact.

No, with no interruptions at all. They had to give up the PM post a couple of times towards the end, but that's all.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Crazy election just became even crazier.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

He's from Sicily... and was Berlusconi's Justice Minister

I'm saying nothing.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

...I really hope the last comment was just a response to him being Berlusconi's Justice Minister and not blatantly Anti Sicilian...

It's possible that I was just trolling you. It has been known over the issue of inherent Sicilian criminality.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Crazy election just became even crazier.

Bascially.

Not that much though. If 1 is a normal election, and 100 is the level of craziness of, say, 1994, this election went from 1000 to 1050 maybe.

This election is only as crazy as 1994 if Grillo wins (because, basically, that's what happened in 1994).

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Never forget the best named of all English Revolution era publications: The Moderate Intelligencer.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Particularly amusing as he did actually have a chance to make some sort of breakthrough. Not much of one, but it was there. lol.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I deleted the post because it was vulgar. It wasn't exactly unfunny, but, you know.

I haven't read Peeperkorn's post, but he tends to be very, very offensive. I doubt it's only because he praised Berlusconi.

He claims he didn't receive any infraction points though so it's weird.

He claims that quite correctly.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Everything that's wrong with football right there.

And about twelve percent of what's wrong with Italy.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

What if 1994 strikes and Grillo wins?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The 1970 thing is nonsense. Everyone believes it, but it's nonsense. The 1966-1970 Labour government was (somewhat incredible to believe now given its many and manifest achievements) one of the most unpopular governments of the 20th century. A several points during that parliament, senior Party figures (and not just the usual panickers) were genuinely concerned at the prospect of a repeat of the 1931 election. Then in 1970 there was a 'remarkable' (to use the word chosen by one member of the cabinet in his memoirs) recovery in the government's polling numbers. What almost certainly happened was that the polling firms (and this was an industry still in its infancy in Britain in many respects) overestimated the scale of the Labour recovery; probably Labour was never genuinely ahead during the campaign.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Correction: he got off from all kinds of charges on what amounted to some kind of hilarious parade of technicalities...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I suppose an argument exists that convicting someone for having Pecorelli bumped off wouldn't be in the public interest anyway.

Not that I would agree, hasten to add, but his story does work as a cautionary tale...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The video rental store up the street from me is going out of business so I figured I'd stop by to buy Il Divo. Unfortunately, they didn't have it anymore. I then went a half hour out of my way to another location that did have it because of all of this Andreotti talk around here.

Anyway, 15% undecided? Oh, man...

It's a great film, so that's entirely understandable.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

If a new results thread isn't created by someone (when such a thread is needed) then I'll split this one: this is a pretty basic convenience issue.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's his fault. He had his chance, he cocked it up.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Complain about the victory of trolls and clowns here; discuss results (as results) in 'tuther thread.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Syrup-tongued saviours tend not to keep very well once the bottle is opened.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Of course 'tuther guy is just a hack. A hacks hack, perhaps. But that isn't always worse, as such.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

There's a certain sort of mindless populist 'solution' that people who should know better are quite happy to support without giving said 'solution' so much as a second glance.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The lot of you'd better calm the fuck down or the thread gets fucking locked at fucking once. Diolch.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

People should watch the relevant scenes in Il Divo.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

People should watch the relevant scenes in Il Divo.

Except there isn't an established "bad guy" obviously scheming for the spot in this one.

This is true, but I was thinking more of the insanity of the brokering in the corridors, stairs, toilets...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I'm pretty sure that the real problem is that the Second Republic has only a little more credibility than the First now.