Posted on 04/11/2006 10:30:40 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
ROME - Center-left challenger Romano Prodi won the Italian parliamentary election, official results showed Tuesday, but Premier Silvio Berlusconi refused to concede until all checks are completed.
"Nobody now can say they have won," Berlusconi said.
The prime minister had called for a recount in the lower Chamber of Deputies, where final results gave Prodi's coalition a razor-thin margin.
Earlier, Prodi told a news conference his government would have "constructive relations" with the United States and predicted that financial markets would "welcome with favor" his leadership.
He said he was not concerned about Berlusconi's recount call and conceded his margin was thin. But he denied that the country was "split in half," saying previous governments have been weaker and declared his coalition "politically and technically strong."
Prodi told reporters at his headquarters that his would be a government for all Italians "even those who didn't vote for us."
"Today we turn a page," he said. "We leave behind the sourness of long and difficult electoral campaign. We need to start immediately to repair the tears that were produced in the country."
Berlusconi's camp remained quiet, with the premier convening top allies at a meeting at his Forza Italia party's Rome headquarters.
Final returns showed Prodi winning the lower Chamber of Deputies by one-tenth of a percentage point: 49.8 to 49.7 percent. Under Italian electoral law, 55 percent of seats are awarded to the overall winner regardless of the scale of victory, giving Prodi's forces at least 340 seats in the 630-member lower house.
According to official returns, Berlusconi's conservative allies held a one-seat advantage in the Senate, with 155 seats to Prodi's 154. But with some 852 overseas precincts out of 896 reporting, returns indicated Prodi's forces would capture another four seats, while one seat would go to Berlusconi's allies and one to an independent party, giving Prodi the majority.
The Interior Ministry stressed that even the results it had released were provisional. It said Italy's highest court would have to confirm the results and that parliament's election committees would have to rule on any challenges.
Graphic showing Italian election results by number of seats won by the main parties in the lower house of parliament. Opposition leader Romano Prodi claimed victory in Italy's knife-edge election, confident he had snatched the Senate to complete a defeat of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.(AFP/Graphic)
Sounds like the time is ripe for a national strike; Italy hasn't had one in a few years, have they?
Silvio Gore?
Al Berlusconi?
... at least that's what comes to my mind: Florida.
Berlusconi won't bitch and moan like Gore did. If he indeed lost, he will concede quickly.
Guess he took the Fascist vote.
:)
LOL!
57 seats to COMMUNIST parties????
"57 seats to COMMUNIST parties????"
And 71 for the fascists. Only in Italy ;-)
That means extremists control almost 1/5 of the house!!!
Has he already invented the Internet?
Interesting. Thanks for posting.
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