Golgothastan
30-04-2006, 03:14
Seems as though he's going to have to go. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4958354.stm) Good fucking riddance.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to resign on Tuesday - more than three weeks after his narrow election defeat.
His announcement came after his centre-right alliance failed to get its candidate elected as Senate speaker.
Italy's highest court has confirmed the victory of the centre-left coalition in both houses of parliament.
Mr Berlusconi had until now refused to concede, saying the vote was too close. He will be replaced by Romano Prodi.
The outgoing prime minister said that he would chair his last cabinet meeting at 1230 on Tuesday (1030GMT), before handing his resignation to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Although Mr Berlusconi said he recognised Mr Prodi had "won the consensus", he insisted that his own right-centre coalition won a larger share of the popular vote in the Senate in the poll on 9-10 April.
"When someone has gained 220,000 votes more (than the opposition) there is little to do," he said.
"We comply because we are democratic, but inside ourselves we remain convinced that the majority prize has been wrongly assigned."
The last line is especially puzzling: what does that mean?
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to resign on Tuesday - more than three weeks after his narrow election defeat.
His announcement came after his centre-right alliance failed to get its candidate elected as Senate speaker.
Italy's highest court has confirmed the victory of the centre-left coalition in both houses of parliament.
Mr Berlusconi had until now refused to concede, saying the vote was too close. He will be replaced by Romano Prodi.
The outgoing prime minister said that he would chair his last cabinet meeting at 1230 on Tuesday (1030GMT), before handing his resignation to President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Although Mr Berlusconi said he recognised Mr Prodi had "won the consensus", he insisted that his own right-centre coalition won a larger share of the popular vote in the Senate in the poll on 9-10 April.
"When someone has gained 220,000 votes more (than the opposition) there is little to do," he said.
"We comply because we are democratic, but inside ourselves we remain convinced that the majority prize has been wrongly assigned."
The last line is especially puzzling: what does that mean?