Italian Elections Bring New Leader

Elite Bush Ally Berlusconi loses power. It will be interesting to see how soon the new leader, Prodi, will pull troops from Iraq. My guess is... he will pull them out pretty quick.


Parliament vote in Italy is headed toward split
By Alessandra Rizzo
Associated Press

ROME - Italy's Parliament appeared headed Tuesday toward a split between the conservative coalition headed by Premier Silvio Berlusconi and one led by his center-left challenger -- an election result that could stall the formation of a new government.

Final results in the two-day vote ending Monday showed Romano Prodi's center-left coalition winning control in the lower house of Parliament, with 49.8 percent of the vote compared with 49.7 won by Berlusconi's conservatives. The winning coalition is automatically awarded 55 percent of the seats, according to a new electoral law.

According to the results, Berlusconi's conservative allies held a one-seat lead in the Senate, although six seats elected abroad were still to be counted.

``We have won, and now we have to start working to implement our program and unify the country,'' said a jubilant Prodi, speaking to his supporters.

Berlusconi's spokesman contested the victory claim, and Prodi's allies conceded after his announcement that results in the Senate were still not complete.

During his tenure, Berlusconi, a flamboyant billionaire, had strongly supported President Bush over Iraq despite fierce Italian opposition to the war. Prodi, an economist, said he would bring troops home as soon as possible, security conditions permitting. But the issue was largely deflated before the campaign began, when Berlusconi announced that Italy's troops there would be withdrawn by year's end.

The Senate and lower chamber of Parliament have equal powers, and any coalition would have to control both in order to form a government. Both center-left and center-right leaders have said if neither side controls both houses, new elections should be called.

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