"Italy’s premier to resign; Berlusconi will run again
ROME — Prime Minister Mario Monti told the Italian president Saturday that he plans to resign after the sudden loss of support from Silvio Berlusconi’s party, paving the way for early elections a year after the economist helped pull the country back from the brink of financial disaster. Only hours earlier, Berlusconi said he would run again for prime minister, aiming for a comeback just a year after he quit in disgrace as Italy teetered toward the brink of financial disaster. The office of President Giorgio Napolitano said Monti told the head of state that without the support he could no longer effectively govern Italy, which is trying to emerge from a debt crisis (AP)."
Related: Monti the New Mussolini
No wonder he is no longer wanted (not that he ever was, mind you).
Also see: Italy’s prime minister steps down
"President dissolves the Parliament
Related: Monti the New Mussolini
No wonder he is no longer wanted (not that he ever was, mind you).
Also see: Italy’s prime minister steps down
"President dissolves the Parliament
ROME — Italy’s president dissolved Parliament after Prime Minister Mario Monti’s resignation, formally setting the stage for general elections in February. President Giorgio Napolitano signed the decree Saturday. Monti stepped down Friday after former premier Silvio Berlusconi’s party withdrew support for his government. Monti may announce Sunday whether he will run."
Related: Monti says he won’t run for Italian premier
That's what he said.
"Italy’s Monti to lead election coalition" by Frances D’ Emilio | Associated Press, December 29, 2012
That's what he said.
"Italy’s Monti to lead election coalition" by Frances D’ Emilio | Associated Press, December 29, 2012
ROME — Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti announced Friday he is heading a new campaign coalition of centrists, business leaders, and pro-Vatican forces backing his ‘‘ethical’’ vision of politics, paving the way for him to get a second term if his alliance wins big in February’s parliamentary elections.
First of all, he said he wasn't running. Secondly, his vision of politics is serving the debt-enslaving banks. Lastly, I smell a rigged election upcoming.
First of all, he said he wasn't running. Secondly, his vision of politics is serving the debt-enslaving banks. Lastly, I smell a rigged election upcoming.
After a four-hour huddle with supporters, Monti stopped short of saying he is running as a candidate for the premiership but said the ballot list would carry the banner ‘‘Monti Agenda for Italy.’’
‘‘I will watch over the creation of [parliamentary] candidate lists, and for now, I agree to carry out the role of coalition head, and I am working for the success of this operation,’’ said Monti, who was appointed 13 months ago after his scandal-plagued predecessor Silvio Berlusconi failed to stop Italy from sliding deeper into the eurozone debt crisis.
At the time Berlusconi was resisting the austerity measures. Then the trials and bond rates were used against him for removal from office.
At the time Berlusconi was resisting the austerity measures. Then the trials and bond rates were used against him for removal from office.
Monti said his aim was not to defeat the political right or left but ‘‘to prolong and intensify the pace and extend the objectives of’’ his government.
His range of supporters is impressive. They include the chief of Ferrari’s Formula One racing team as well as figures in the highest Vatican echelons. On Christmas Day, Pope Benedict XVI issued a call for higher values in politics that was read as a virtual endorsement for another Monti term.
Who cares about his endorsement now? Not surprising, either. Vatican is up to its ass in a banking scandal of its own (likely tied in with other big banks), and I'm sure Monti is helping to keep a lid on it.
Who cares about his endorsement now? Not surprising, either. Vatican is up to its ass in a banking scandal of its own (likely tied in with other big banks), and I'm sure Monti is helping to keep a lid on it.
Monti said the new political grouping includes likeminded politicians and civic leaders determined to infuse ethics into Italian politics as well as bring renewed vigor to economic reforms aimed at pulling the country out of recession. Monti does not have to run for the legislature.
Yes, such honorable and noble men, right?
Yes, such honorable and noble men, right?
"Italy’s premier criticizes Berlusconi" by COLLEEN BARRY | Associated Press, January 04, 2013
MILAN — Premier Mario Monti of Italy criticized his predecessor, Silvio Berlusconi, Thursday for demonstrating ‘‘a certain volatility in judgment’’ and urged the center-left leader to jettison extremists who he said will make the country’s path of reform more difficult.
He's criticizing Berlusconi because he failed to go along with the earlier austerity measures, and those leftists he's criticizing are the very people opposed to bank bailouts on the backs of the people. Remember, readers, I am reading bankerspeak disguised as a newspaper.
Monti has changed tone in recent days, dropping his neutral technocratic stance as he seeks a second term, this time at the helm of a coalition of centrist parties in February elections. He is now directly challenging leaders who until a few weeks ago backed his nonelected government.
After saying he wouldn't run. Of course, a banker lying is nothing new.
He's criticizing Berlusconi because he failed to go along with the earlier austerity measures, and those leftists he's criticizing are the very people opposed to bank bailouts on the backs of the people. Remember, readers, I am reading bankerspeak disguised as a newspaper.
Monti has changed tone in recent days, dropping his neutral technocratic stance as he seeks a second term, this time at the helm of a coalition of centrist parties in February elections. He is now directly challenging leaders who until a few weeks ago backed his nonelected government.
After saying he wouldn't run. Of course, a banker lying is nothing new.
Analyst Stefano Folli said Monti’s rhetoric has become ‘‘very incisive and even aggressive’’ in a bid to claim more voters in the center by chipping away at support for the two main political forces on the left and right.
Translation: rigged election well underway.
Translation: rigged election well underway.
Monti, an economist and former European Union commissioner, stepped down as head of a government of experts last month after Berlusconi’s party withdrew its support, and he is heading a caretaker government until the vote.
Do you feel safe in hi$ hands?
The election campaign is shaping up into a race with Monti in the center, Berlusconi to the right, and Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani on the left, along with forces belonging to a movement founded by comic-cum-political agitator Beppe Grillo.
Do you feel safe in hi$ hands?
The election campaign is shaping up into a race with Monti in the center, Berlusconi to the right, and Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani on the left, along with forces belonging to a movement founded by comic-cum-political agitator Beppe Grillo.
--more--"
"Berlusconi in coalition for election" Associated Press, January 08, 2013
MILAN — Silvio Berlusconi, former premier, announced a deal Monday with the Northern League — his fractious coalition partner in three governments — to jointly run in Italy’s election next month, a move that could give momentum to the center-right and extend the Berlusconi era....
A return to power for the 76-year-old Berlusconi, a man convicted just months ago of tax fraud and probably facing two criminal verdicts in the coming weeks, may seem incredible to observers abroad.
No. By now we realize nearly all politicians are criminals.
Opinion polls at home, however, have seen Berlusconi’s conservative party gaining since he pulled its support for Premier Mario Monti’s technical government last month.
No. By now we realize nearly all politicians are criminals.
Opinion polls at home, however, have seen Berlusconi’s conservative party gaining since he pulled its support for Premier Mario Monti’s technical government last month.
The Feb. 24-25 national election is shaping up into a race with Monti in the center, Berlusconi to the right, and Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani on the left, along with a movement founded by comic-cum-political agitator Beppe Grillo.
The conservative coalition has been polling second to Bersani’s forces.
So the LEFT is AHEAD, huh? That is NOT SURPRISING in Europe. Elections there have shown the people attempting to voice their opposition to welfare for financial firms by electing Socialists. As we have seen, however, the Socialists still work for the same interests (check Greece and France).
And Monti's bankers' party must be a distant third, 'eh?
So the LEFT is AHEAD, huh? That is NOT SURPRISING in Europe. Elections there have shown the people attempting to voice their opposition to welfare for financial firms by electing Socialists. As we have seen, however, the Socialists still work for the same interests (check Greece and France).
And Monti's bankers' party must be a distant third, 'eh?
‘‘If Berlusconi were to win, then he would try to grab the premiership,’’ said James Walston, a political science professor at the American University in Rome. ‘‘I think it is very, very unlikely he is going to win. He is not trying to win, he is trying to spoil.’’
Yeah, because the election will be rigged in some form or fashion; however, what we see here is Berlusconi sensing a return to power. That's why he broke with the bankers for the election. Will likely serve them if he is allowed back in power.
Yeah, because the election will be rigged in some form or fashion; however, what we see here is Berlusconi sensing a return to power. That's why he broke with the bankers for the election. Will likely serve them if he is allowed back in power.
MILAN — A Milan court on Monday rejected a bid by Silvio Berlusconi, the former premier, to halt his sex-for-hire trial until after Italy’s general election campaign, a ruling that makes a verdict likely before the February vote.
See: Breaking Berlusconi's Heart
See: Breaking Berlusconi's Heart
Globe is breaking mine.
Berlusconi’s lawyer accused the court of ‘‘interfering heavily’’ in the political campaign by refusing to suspend the trial so Berlusconi can dedicate himself to campaigning for his center-right coalition.
Berlusconi’s lawyer accused the court of ‘‘interfering heavily’’ in the political campaign by refusing to suspend the trial so Berlusconi can dedicate himself to campaigning for his center-right coalition.
‘‘A verdict will most certainly come before the election. It seems to me this is the clear intent of the court,’’ defense lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told reporters. ‘‘It doesn’t bother us, but it should bother citizens since it is obvious that it will impact the electoral campaign.’’
Berlusconi denounced the trial as ‘‘a comedy, a farce, a defamatory hoax,’’ in an interview with Sky TG24.
Prosecutors accused Ghedini of merely seeking to delay a verdict in the nearly two-year-old trial, which started when Berlusconi was still in office. He resigned some seven months later, making room for Mario Monti’s technical government, as the sovereign debt crisis threatened to engulf Italy.
Despite Berlusconi’s legal woes and sex scandal, his center-right coalition has been gaining in the polls since he actively began campaigning. Berlusconi, 76, also has been boosted by combative televised debates with journalistic critics.
Berlusconi is accused of having paid for sex with a Moroccan woman, Karima el-Mahroug, when she was 17, during parties with attractive young women at his villa near Milan, and then using his influence to cover it up.
Both he and Mahroug have denied having sexual relations.
Berlusconi has apologized for hosting the parties, saying he was lonely after splitting from his second wife. Veronica Laria left him in 2009.
--more--"
While not approving of his conduct in private, I'm more concerned that he led Italy into the coalition against Iraq. Will Italian voters remember that?
"Berlusconi vows to end Italy’s property tax" by NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press, January 26, 2013
ROME — Silvio Berlusconi is vowing to scrap Italy’s property tax in his first Cabinet meeting if his coalition is elected, zeroing in on Italians’ deep distaste for the tax reimposed by Mario Monti’s government to boost public coffers.
Another reason Monti is not popular.
The former prime minister outlined his latest ‘‘contract’’ with Italians on Friday as he pressed his comeback bid, promising a host of reforms, incentives, and measures to give relief to Italians suffering through a deep recession and youth unemployment at a record 37 percent.
The 76-year-old Berlusconi’s voice was strained, and by the end of his hour-plus monologue his hands were shaking and he slumped into his seat afterward. But his press office quickly denied any problem, saying he was merely tired after a strenuous performance.
Berlusconi started the program on the stage with Angelino Alfano, his heir-apparent and stated candidate for prime minister if his center-right coalition wins the Feb. 24-25 vote. Alfano took the podium for a bit, but Berlusconi returned for a solo finale to list his previous governments’ accomplishments and outline the program for a future center-right government, again raising questions about whether he or Alfano is really the main candidate.
Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party and its allies are currently trailing the center-left in polls some 27 percent to 38 percent.
They should win for reasons mentioned above.
Monti’s civic movement is garnering about 14 percent.
Meaning it is made up of the elite sector.
Monti was tapped by Italy’s president to lead the country after Berlusconi was forced to resign in November 2011, under pressure from financial markets that had lost faith in his ability to push through reforms to reduce Italy’s public debt and enact financial reforms.
Meaning he was backing off harsh austerity measures.
--more--"
Either he is tired or they are really coming after him:
"Silvio Berlusconi defends Mussolini for backing Hitler" Associated Press, January 28, 2013
ROME — Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi praised Benito Mussolini for ‘‘having done good’’ despite the Fascist dictator’s anti-Jewish laws, immediately sparking expressions of outrage as Europe on Sunday held Holocaust remembrances.
Berlusconi also defended Mussolini for allying himself with Hitler, saying he probably reasoned that it would be better to be on the winning side.
The media mogul, whose conservative forces are polling second in voter surveys ahead of next month’s election, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony in Milan to commemorate the Holocaust.
Holocaust survivors, politicians, religious leaders, and others marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A memorial service was held at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the death camp where Hitler’s Germany killed at least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, in southern Poland.
You don't need to remind me.
In Warsaw, prayers were said at a monument to the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said humanity must always be on guard against murderous racism.
Who cares what he had to say now?
Btw, the stuff is occurring in our midst as the drone missiles strikes and EUSraeli empire oppression of Muslims continues.
In 1938, before the outbreak of World War II, Mussolini’s regime passed the so-called racial laws barring Jews from Italy’s universities and many professions, among other bans. More than 7,000 Jews were deported under the regime, and nearly 6,000 of them were killed.
Berlusconi said that ‘‘the racial laws are the worst fault of Mussolini, who, in so many other aspects, did good.’’
He later issued a statement saying he regretted that he didn’t make clear that his historical analyses ‘‘are always based on condemnation of dictatorships,’’ the Italian news agency LaPresse reported.
Meaning he recognizes he must kneel before the altar of Jewish power if he wants to regain the premiership.
--more--"
While in no way endorsing fascism, it is worth noting how perverted and demonized those rulers have been in the pages of history. Not all that surprising when you consider who controls western education curriculums and mass media. Why would those institutions lavish praise on the leaders who called out the private central banking system and those behind it? That is where the fascism comparisons to today fall apart. The fascism in service of international finance being applied today is the exact opposite of what the fascists Hitler and Mussolini were fighting for. Heck, Mussolini himself said the purest form of fascism is the melding of corporate interests with the state. Hello, AmeriKa!
But all that is lost in the conventional myths of the current day.
And if Berlusconi wins he'll be serving his term from a prison cell?
"Berlusconi is convicted of tax fraud, gets 4 years" by Rachel Donadio | New York Times, October 27, 2012
While not approving of his conduct in private, I'm more concerned that he led Italy into the coalition against Iraq. Will Italian voters remember that?
"Berlusconi vows to end Italy’s property tax" by NICOLE WINFIELD | Associated Press, January 26, 2013
ROME — Silvio Berlusconi is vowing to scrap Italy’s property tax in his first Cabinet meeting if his coalition is elected, zeroing in on Italians’ deep distaste for the tax reimposed by Mario Monti’s government to boost public coffers.
Another reason Monti is not popular.
The former prime minister outlined his latest ‘‘contract’’ with Italians on Friday as he pressed his comeback bid, promising a host of reforms, incentives, and measures to give relief to Italians suffering through a deep recession and youth unemployment at a record 37 percent.
The 76-year-old Berlusconi’s voice was strained, and by the end of his hour-plus monologue his hands were shaking and he slumped into his seat afterward. But his press office quickly denied any problem, saying he was merely tired after a strenuous performance.
Berlusconi started the program on the stage with Angelino Alfano, his heir-apparent and stated candidate for prime minister if his center-right coalition wins the Feb. 24-25 vote. Alfano took the podium for a bit, but Berlusconi returned for a solo finale to list his previous governments’ accomplishments and outline the program for a future center-right government, again raising questions about whether he or Alfano is really the main candidate.
Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party and its allies are currently trailing the center-left in polls some 27 percent to 38 percent.
They should win for reasons mentioned above.
Monti’s civic movement is garnering about 14 percent.
Meaning it is made up of the elite sector.
Monti was tapped by Italy’s president to lead the country after Berlusconi was forced to resign in November 2011, under pressure from financial markets that had lost faith in his ability to push through reforms to reduce Italy’s public debt and enact financial reforms.
Meaning he was backing off harsh austerity measures.
--more--"
Either he is tired or they are really coming after him:
"Silvio Berlusconi defends Mussolini for backing Hitler" Associated Press, January 28, 2013
ROME — Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi praised Benito Mussolini for ‘‘having done good’’ despite the Fascist dictator’s anti-Jewish laws, immediately sparking expressions of outrage as Europe on Sunday held Holocaust remembrances.
Berlusconi also defended Mussolini for allying himself with Hitler, saying he probably reasoned that it would be better to be on the winning side.
The media mogul, whose conservative forces are polling second in voter surveys ahead of next month’s election, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony in Milan to commemorate the Holocaust.
Holocaust survivors, politicians, religious leaders, and others marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. A memorial service was held at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the death camp where Hitler’s Germany killed at least 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, in southern Poland.
You don't need to remind me.
In Warsaw, prayers were said at a monument to the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said humanity must always be on guard against murderous racism.
Who cares what he had to say now?
Btw, the stuff is occurring in our midst as the drone missiles strikes and EUSraeli empire oppression of Muslims continues.
In 1938, before the outbreak of World War II, Mussolini’s regime passed the so-called racial laws barring Jews from Italy’s universities and many professions, among other bans. More than 7,000 Jews were deported under the regime, and nearly 6,000 of them were killed.
Berlusconi said that ‘‘the racial laws are the worst fault of Mussolini, who, in so many other aspects, did good.’’
He later issued a statement saying he regretted that he didn’t make clear that his historical analyses ‘‘are always based on condemnation of dictatorships,’’ the Italian news agency LaPresse reported.
Meaning he recognizes he must kneel before the altar of Jewish power if he wants to regain the premiership.
--more--"
While in no way endorsing fascism, it is worth noting how perverted and demonized those rulers have been in the pages of history. Not all that surprising when you consider who controls western education curriculums and mass media. Why would those institutions lavish praise on the leaders who called out the private central banking system and those behind it? That is where the fascism comparisons to today fall apart. The fascism in service of international finance being applied today is the exact opposite of what the fascists Hitler and Mussolini were fighting for. Heck, Mussolini himself said the purest form of fascism is the melding of corporate interests with the state. Hello, AmeriKa!
But all that is lost in the conventional myths of the current day.
And if Berlusconi wins he'll be serving his term from a prison cell?
"Berlusconi is convicted of tax fraud, gets 4 years" by Rachel Donadio | New York Times, October 27, 2012
ROME — A court in Milan convicted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of tax fraud Friday and sentenced him to four years in prison. Berlusconi is also on trial over charges that he paid for sex with an underage prostitute. He has denied the accusation.
The ruling was Berlusconi’s fourth lower-court conviction, and the first since he stepped down as prime minister in November, after years in which his personal legal battles often eclipsed the work of his government. His four-year sentence was reduced to one year under a law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.
They couldn't have let someone else out?
Besides being a blow to Berlusconi personally, the ruling comes at a time when his center-right party is unraveling and Italy is in the throes of the most dramatic political transition since the early 1990s, when he first came to power. It was just two days ago that he announced that he would not lead his party in Italy’s next elections.
Now they are surging, and he is running.
“It’s without a doubt a political sentence, the way so many other trials invented against me have been political,’’ Berlusconi said after Friday’s ruling, calling in to a news program on a channel he owns.
A lawyer for Berlusconi said the former prime minister would appeal the ruling, which must go through two more rounds of appeal before becoming definitive. It is unlikely that he will ever serve jail time. Even if a definitive ruling were reached before the statute of limitations in the case runs out next year, Berlusconi would enjoy immunity so long as he remained in the Parliament....
Another reason he is running.
On Wednesday, Berlusconi, 76, said he would not lead his People of Liberty party in Italy’s national elections next spring to replace the unelected technocratic government of Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has been guiding Italy through a perilous economic crisis. But he said that he would stay involved in politics.
Ever notice those kind of governments fare horribly at the polls?
The investigation at the heart of Friday’s ruling centered on television and movie rights that Berlusconi’s Fininvest holding company bought for US programs in the 1990s from companies in the United States. Judges said that Berlusconi and other executives of his company Mediaset, Italy’s largest private broadcaster, inflated the price of the programs through a series of offshore companies and funneled the overflow into illegal slush funds.
The court Friday acquitted the chairman of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri, a longtime Berlusconi loyalist.
Berlusconi, who has major holdings in real estate, insurance, advertising and publishing, as well as Mediaset, has been involved in dozens of legal cases.
Between 1997 and 1998, when Berlusconi was the opposition leader, he was convicted by lower courts on charges of tax fraud and corruption.
And then we won election to lead the country.
--more--"
The ruling was Berlusconi’s fourth lower-court conviction, and the first since he stepped down as prime minister in November, after years in which his personal legal battles often eclipsed the work of his government. His four-year sentence was reduced to one year under a law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.
They couldn't have let someone else out?
Besides being a blow to Berlusconi personally, the ruling comes at a time when his center-right party is unraveling and Italy is in the throes of the most dramatic political transition since the early 1990s, when he first came to power. It was just two days ago that he announced that he would not lead his party in Italy’s next elections.
Now they are surging, and he is running.
“It’s without a doubt a political sentence, the way so many other trials invented against me have been political,’’ Berlusconi said after Friday’s ruling, calling in to a news program on a channel he owns.
A lawyer for Berlusconi said the former prime minister would appeal the ruling, which must go through two more rounds of appeal before becoming definitive. It is unlikely that he will ever serve jail time. Even if a definitive ruling were reached before the statute of limitations in the case runs out next year, Berlusconi would enjoy immunity so long as he remained in the Parliament....
Another reason he is running.
On Wednesday, Berlusconi, 76, said he would not lead his People of Liberty party in Italy’s national elections next spring to replace the unelected technocratic government of Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has been guiding Italy through a perilous economic crisis. But he said that he would stay involved in politics.
Ever notice those kind of governments fare horribly at the polls?
The investigation at the heart of Friday’s ruling centered on television and movie rights that Berlusconi’s Fininvest holding company bought for US programs in the 1990s from companies in the United States. Judges said that Berlusconi and other executives of his company Mediaset, Italy’s largest private broadcaster, inflated the price of the programs through a series of offshore companies and funneled the overflow into illegal slush funds.
The court Friday acquitted the chairman of Mediaset, Fedele Confalonieri, a longtime Berlusconi loyalist.
Berlusconi, who has major holdings in real estate, insurance, advertising and publishing, as well as Mediaset, has been involved in dozens of legal cases.
Between 1997 and 1998, when Berlusconi was the opposition leader, he was convicted by lower courts on charges of tax fraud and corruption.
And then we won election to lead the country.
--more--"
Also see: Center-left candidate wins Italian primary
Pier Luigi Bersani, Sunday’s primary has been closely watched because the Democrats have a significant lead in the polls."
And if they don't win....
Pier Luigi Bersani, Sunday’s primary has been closely watched because the Democrats have a significant lead in the polls."
And if they don't win....
