"As centre-right Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi clings to power pending a recount of disputed ballot papers, Unione leader Romano Prodi, a former prime minister, has Italo-Australian voters to thank for his knife-edge win.
Before the votes of expatriate Italians were counted on Tuesday, Berlusconi looked to have secured a one-seat majority in the Senate, which would have allowed him to force a new election if Unione gained the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies.
Then, to his fury, the votes of immigrant Italians swung the election outcome the other way. Four of the six expatriate Senate seats (Randazzo's included) and seven of the 12 expatriate lower house seats (including one held by Melbourne social worker Marco Fedi) went to the Unione. This was enough to give Prodi control of the lower house and a two-seat margin in the Senate over Berlusconi's Casa delle Liberta (House of Freedoms) coalition, led by Berlusconi's party, Forza Italia (Go Italy). "
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What is significant here, is that Berlusconi is a true capitalist, someone who understands how to fight the war on terror, and has been our staunch ally.
The left, besides wanting power in general, targeted him for defeat precisely because he supported the US.
Note that the Italian people in Italy DID reelect Berlusconi, but the left managed to get the Italian expats to vote for them and swing the election in their favor.
The reason we should care, is that the left defeated the Spanish PM, who was our strong ally, now they have just about defeated our ally in Italy. They are working on all fronts.
"While the left-wing candidates ran on a single ticket for the Unione, the conservative vote was split between five parties, including one set up in the name of Italy's minister for expatriates, Mirko Tremaglia. In Australia, more people voted for the Unione than for all the conservative parties put together. But when votes are added from Africa and Asia, Berlusconi's team would have beaten the Unione had it run on a single ticket."
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
"We hang together, all we all hang separately", while the Dems take power.
I'm surprised this story is not getting more play. While I wouldn't quite call this election devastating to the WOT, it certainly was a strong blow against the Good Guys.
Fortunately the US Congress doesn't assign any seats in the House of Representatives to expatriates. Of course, Americans living abroad can vote by absentee ballot if they maintain a legal residence in one of the states. (Absentee ballots coming from Israel were a factor in the 2000 Florida results.) If there were extra seats for Americans living abroad, probably most of them would go to the Democrats.
So in the USA, how many of us are Americans, willing to defend our ally, Israel (and in the process, to defend our own USA from otherwise possible nuclear attacks years from now)? And how many of us have our identities stuck in some mostly anti-American "old country?"
What sort of idiotic country allows expatriates to vote? My understanding (though it may be flawed) is that these people are now citizens of other countries (in this case - Australia). So, are they allowed to maintain dual-citizenship? How stupid is that?
I wonder how many nationalized US citizens from Mexico actually maintain citizenship of Mexico too.... I thought the naturalization oath made you forsake all other citizenship, but I could be wrong.
I also know that Jewish people are allowed to maintain dual citizenship US/Israel.....
And I still don't see a legitimate purpose...
I wonder if McCain and Kerry have dual citizenship - Chi-Com/US citizens.
The real source: the KGB, which has long been rumored to have used Prodi as its point man in Italy.
ITALY ELECTIONS: Prodi won thanks to Muslim vote, Islamic group says
(Islamist-Communist alliance)
AKI | 2006 Apr 11
Posted on 04/12/2006 5:55:55 AM EDT by Wiz
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1613577/posts