Voting is not just screwed up in the States but also in Italy. That's why they vote not only today but also tomorrow. Last time around most voters went to the polls shortly before they closed at night which forced many polling stations to stay open until the early morning hours. To prevent that from happening again they're now voting on two days. From my personal experience (Italian boyfriend) chances are most people will put of voting until Monday night so that this might actually happen again.

This campaign has actually been quite nasty and, in parts, insane. Berlusconi compared himself to Jesus Christ. Didn't hurt him though. Shortly after he got a nice campaign appearance in DC speaking before a joint session of Congress.

European leaders are actually quite anxious to get rid of Berlusconi. Former conservative German Chancellor Helmut Kohl made a point of travelling to Italy to visit with Romano Prodi, practically endorsing him. Never thought I'd see my former Chancellor pimp an opposition group that includes communists. Go figure. But that's really how desperate people are to get rid of him.

Of course, Bush buddy Berlusconi is pretty good at distorting the truth (wonder who learned from whom). He made a very big fuss about communists running the media saying that 70% of the media were in the hands of the communists. Actually, pretty much all private TV stations are owned by Berlusconi while he also controls the state run RAI TV stations. So, he's all over TV all the time. So, Italy is even worse off than the US. Also, his government includes (former) neofascist ministers.

Yup, it's all that bad. All the more important that Prodi win today. If you want more comprehensive info on the elections, I've got a few pretty good links for you:

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/internat ional/spiegel/0,1518,409538,00.html

This is from the english edition of the German weekly "Der Spiegel" and headlined "Elections in Italy: The End of the Silvio Show?". One excerpt:

Last September the scientific journal Cortex reported on a new type of brain damage: Recovering from an illness, a 66-year-old housewife from Italy's Veneto region lost her ability to recognize other people's faces, including those of her parents and her husband. But when doctors showed her a picture from the newspaper, she reacted immediately: "That's a politician and a TV magnate, very rich." It was Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Neurologists Sara Mondini and Carlo Semenza came up with a novel explanation. The features of Italy's leader, they say, are no longer recognized as just that. They have become iconic -- omnipresent and otherworldly.

And three links from BBC News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/ 4892442.stm (Italy votes as bitter fight ends)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/ 4812794.stm (Q&A: Italian election)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/ 4890888.stm (Berlusconi's poll fight ends with a bang)

Just one excerpt from this article:

He told a rally in Naples that his opponents worshipped Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot. He has warned Catholics that the left includes "priest eaters".

I'm really not making this up. I wish I was.

I realize this site is mostly about US politics. That's why I'm here and it's what I like to engage in. But I believe this election is of utterly importance and hope it finds some attention here as well.