prodi is finished

[Dream Academy]

Mar I don't feel at all surrounded by reds here-------------only the wine is red in my circle.
Infact since last June when we are in a group of 4 people we always joke and say "so you are the 50% that voted Prodi".
Always met by glares and denials.
Still to find someone who voted for him apart from your good self obviously.

[angelo_mar]

Originally Posted by Dream Academy

Mar I don't feel at all surrounded by reds here-------------only the wine is red in my circle.
Infact since last June when we are in a group of 4 people we always joke and say "so you are the 50% that voted Prodi".
Always met by glares and denials.
Still to find someone who voted for him apart from your good self obviously.

My God !!!
Maybe better you check this site :
Speciale elezioni 2006 - Senato - Marche

The 50% is in Italy in your area is the 56,8
Do you wanna know the results of Gradara y?

Anyway let Prodi work for the other 4 years ...
Saluti

[annec]

Interesting site Angelo - seems Northern Marche is a bit redder than the South - in Fermo we appear to be the lightest shade of blue....although if I had a vote it would probably have been enough to tip it the other way.

ANYTHING is better than the return of Mr Bean

[Sancho the Fat]

Originally Posted by Dream Academy

Yes his 12 point plan is his last desperate attempt to avoid going back to the mortadella paninis!!!
What are the first 4?
1.I come back for a while.
2.D'alema takes over
3.Dini does a stunt
4.Elections

Been there seen it and got the T shirt!!!

Let me guess. That was what your friend(s) thought/hoped, and you're posting it as your own, right ? Was it the travel agent ? The local doctor ? Both ?


...

P.S. See the first post in Non so se ridere o piangere, alcune sono tristemente vere - ProGaming Italia Forum (among 2020 other hits) for an example of the typically leaden humour of that class. (You yourself posted it earlier, and they're doubtless emailing it to each other right now.) YAWN.

[liketheroman]

Please nor Casini - not a political statement, I just dont like him - too slimy

I like Fini - again not a political statement - such a balanced individual - even my numerate far left friends like him

[adriatica]

angelo

your site and its results are ut of date.... Italy voted at that time on a list of promises made by Prodi and a manifesto so long that nobody has ever bothered reading it but essentially contained all things for all people so that any question on his proposals could be answered in a positive sense....

since he took over the running of the country his single aim as far as i can work out has been to make sure that Berlusconi ...who even at the election was most probably the most popular leader in the country ...with the largest single party ... to now become even more popular and more electable...

the country as a whole now ... the rights obvious protests... but protests from his own union... hardly a weekend going by without either the communists or green parties marching against him... no global and the peace movement against him... the catholics...against... even the two main union parties have obvious and well publicised concerns...

leave aside the active political protests against him... virtually all people on a state pension here... would happily see him gone ..because they see that everything has risen since he arrived... people on low incomes find that since january and the promise made to make the rich cry with a new tax regime the people sheding the most tears are the low paid... taxs have risen for them ...those with more children under rises in regional taxation are finding themselves taxed at a higher rate... the rich that can afford the new cars find that they will get grants ...free road tax and god knows what else...while the people with the older cars ...generally the lower income or pensioners... have to share the burden of extra taxes to support these concessions...

union meetings at the fiat factory have scene the national leaders booed and shouted at that they are actually working with the Prodi government... police forces firemen have protested... in retaliation over their e5 per month pay rise...on salaries of e1200 per month...

schools and universities are protesting... cuts in funding

so yes in 2006 an election was just about won by a combination of the political left ... and thats about it...since then because of the degree of difference within this coalition there has hardly been a single law passed which has had any agreement or has not been so boched that its hasnt worked as it should...

but today ... well prodi has provided the right centre right with most probably the ability to return to government with an even larger majority than the last time ... because virtually all polls here show swings ranging from 10 to 15 % against the present government and the leadership as 75 to 25 in favor of berlusconi against prodi... an unheard of figure here before this government started work

so thats today...not ten months ago

[giovanni]

Do not know how to answer you adriatica.

All i do know is that it was certainly no bed of roses for the people or
industry whilst berlo was in charge.

He had more then enough time to make his mark/franc/euro and thats what
he did, but the country was going to the dogs!

Surley prodi should be given just as much time to try to undo the damage
that he inherited and make his mark?

and just to stop any rebulks along the line of "look at the mess berlo inherited"

He had 5 or 6 years to address them.

Prodi needs the same, and its about time people realised that it is impossible
to make improvements without EVERYONE "the people" having to make
sacrifices.

Afterall i assume that those on here who live in Italy,had to make some sort
of sacrifice? workhard, safehard, or go without some other luxury? to be able
to get their dream? surely it wasn't handed to them on a plate?

And so thats the problem Italy faces and has done for decades, they believe
that their standard of living should be HIGHER than what actually they can
attain through industrial productivity.

Sooner or later somebody has got to be prepared for some hard graphed and
low rewards, if they are to attain a decent standard of living without
bankrupting the country.....

[Dream Academy]

So when will the majority of people working in local government and mainly left wing, start to earn their daily bread instead of sponging.
How many shoddy, lazy people sit on chairs in local offices to keep them warm???
What about all the new hospitals, airports, schools etc which have been started and left unfinished for years.
Tangentopoli when did all that start and under who?
I say ask MAGGIE to come over for a stint.
Put the place back on its feet.

[annec]

Originally Posted by Dream Academy

I say ask MAGGIE to come over for a stint.

Well she was Mr Bean's heroine - which must be good enough reason to keep her tucked out of sight in the Lords where she can't do any more harm

[adriatica]

Gio
Realise we differ a lot in our perception of things...past and present and always look forward to your views....
In essence Italy suffered a lot when it entered the Euro... to put it mildly. Taken in not by Mr b but by the left... it led not surprisingly to massive inflation when all figures were rounded up in the conversion and although it has led to inflationary stability it has been hard here for Italians to balance their income against costs cause the wages have just not kept in line ... one of the few things not rounded up in the conversion...
The problem with Italy and its entry was basically that the books were cooked to enable it to meet the criteria... debts hidden ...production figures and costs of government skewed so that on paper Italy looked to have met the strict regulations for joining... of course after a short time the accounts had to catch up with reality and loo and behold it was all a mess....
The mess would not have been so bad if it hadn’t coincided with the world economy going into a quite period where little real growth was being generated anywhere and competition from emerging countries in the production of cheaper goods affected large producers like Italy....
So Mr B arrived on the scene and coped with it in the best way he could ...spending internally on large projects so that when the depression cycle came to an end...they always do... Italy would be somewhat prepared to grow quickly and compete... if you look at the figures for the last ear you will see that this is just about what has happened... Italy now has growth and is in line with EU guides on the deficit... this is basically nothing to do with the new government because these figures run a good way behind new legislation or plans and would be reliant on things put in place during 2005
The big mistake in my eyes is that the new government was determined to conjure up a black hole of money missing and to base its financial provisions and projections on this... so bringing forward a finance act of major cuts and major tax increases for everyone... and as it has worked out since people started opening their wage packets at the end of January it has not helped anyone on low incomes at all... they are in fact now that local tax rises are beginning to kick in paying even more over to government local or otherwise...
What do you need when growth starts in a country ...you need to sustain it... what has happened is that we have a tax system to depress it...and whilst other countries are benefiting Italy is mired down in the swamp of new legislation and over taxation...
Now basically if either left or right...could get a clear run at governing the country I believe we would all be better off... the problem as always and its more pronounced on the left is the small extremes... and its that side of things that no one here seems to be able to manage to shake off... the communists here are in a position of potency which far outweighs their democratic presence and we all... including the centre left suffer...
What they are scared of now...and the people from their side that have brought the government down have been severely punished or sacked is that finally Italian politicians from both sides will et together and draw up a new election system to allow once and for all a political party or parties of closely tied views to run the place...
To be honest I couldn’t care less if it was right or left as long as it is centre... and basically on either side we have 95 % of parties that fall into this line and could govern the place well
I also consider it naive to follow the berlusconi bad line... there isn’t a politician here that doesn’t have a past full of secrets that wouldn’t be seen as negative if the full truth ever came out... he’s no worse or better in that sense... he is a clever man. and has made his way here with more enemies than friends... because he has no background with the intellectuals or the ruling class here... Prodi coming through that time revered method of University lecturer is supported on the institutional front ... but very little in the popular sense... but his past and present do not stand up well if all we are deciding on when saying who is more it to run the place is to how much fiddling has gone on in the money sense... he has as murky a background as berlusconi...less well publicised...
... I would love to see them both gone and a Fassini/Fini competition... neither of whom could most probably be regarded as angels... but both clever and both good at what they do...