Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Berlusconi no more? Elezioni Politiche 2006

Last night I had a dream that all my friends back home in the U.S. came to Italy so they could vote for the left in the Italian elections.

In Italy it was Florida all over again. Almost 60 million voted and it came down to a few thousand between the left and the right. I went to bed late watching the election coverage in Italian and it looked like at that point that the right had won, thus giving the corrupt and charasimatic Berlusconi another 5 years to fuck up Italy. Earlier that day the exit polls said the left was way out in front (sound familiar).

The next morning I was told that the left had declared victory at 3 am. I was surprised that the TV stations owned by Berlusconi hadn't declared him the winner. Yes Fox News is even more corrupt than Italian stations owned by a corrupt president.

To absolutely no one's surprise, Berlusconi will challenge the results and there will be a recount once the expatriate votes come in. So it has really only just begun. I was surpised by how much I actually cared. I know a talk a good game when it comes to international politics, but my body was reacting violently to the news. I had a stomach ache, a head ache and then I had the dream with everyone I knew coming to the rescue of Italy and then we were all arrested by Berlusconi and troops.

The next morning when I heard the left had "won", I nearly exploded with joy. We will have to see how it plays out.

Tomorrow I'm going to Bologna with Joanna and we're staying in Chiara's flat which she doesn't use anymore, (how many places do these people need?) and then we're all heading south to the seaside in Puglia to do some camping and swimming and such.

Then Joanna and I will head to Sicily, the home of my namesake and Great Grandparents. I can't wait to see the Sicilian volcanoes, I've never seen lava before. I won't buy a car because driving in Italy is just too crazy, but I did just buy a cell phone, so maybe I can call home soon.

Arrividerci.

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