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I’m genuinely scratching my head over why the thread "do you believe in innocence A. Knox" got moved from World in Close Politics back again. It really feels like it belongs under World—I mean, they already moved it to World and Yesterday once before, only to dump it right back into Close Politics. Everything surrounding this whole mess is happening globally, across all sorts of different locations, so it's clearly a global issue. Plus, now the post count isn't updating and I can't even upload images... looking at the other topics sitting in that section, there’s just zero logic behind this move. 🤷
Look, this thing is still an incredibly active situation. It’s going to be relevant for at least another year, maybe longer, especially if things get messy with extradition requests and legal hurdles or whatever. I won't go down the rabbit hole of those details right now.
So, if @the edge or one of the mods could give me a straight answer, I'd appreciate it.🙂
wearybear4 said:Martin Schulz: Don't vote for Berlusconi
Berlin - The President of the European Parliament, German leader Martin Schulz—whom former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi once compared to a concentration camp guard—has urged Italians not to back the media mogul in the upcoming elections.
Schulz is just the latest in a long line of Italian politicians terrified that if Berlusconi returns to power, he’ll wreck the reforms Rome pushed through under former PM Mario Monti, which actually managed to get investors back on board within the eurozone.
"Silvio Berlusconi has already steered Italy toward disaster with his irresponsible leadership and personal outbursts," Schulz told the German newspaper "Bild."
"The stakes for these elections are massive, especially ensuring we don't lose the confidence built by Mario Monti. I'm confident Italians will make the right choice for their country," the European Parliament President added.
There’s been serious bad blood between Berlusconi and Schulz—who people call a "no-nonsense social democrat"—dating all the way back to 2003. Back then, after a series of outbursts in the European Parliament, an annoyed Berlusconi actually snapped at him with that infamous guard comment.
And it's not just German politicians he clashes with. He’s had a string of awkward run-ins with Chancellor Angela Merkel too. He made some crude comments about her appearance once, stood her up at a summit because he was busy chatting on his cell phone, and even once jumped out from behind a statue during her official visit to Italy just to yell "peek-a-boo" at her.
A columnist for the New York agency “Bloomberg” isn't pulling any punches: if Berlusconi’s People's Freedom party wins, it’s a total disaster. The markets would tank instantly because, over three terms, Berlusconi proved he’s completely incapable of making real reforms. Investors would likely freak out about the country's ability to handle its debt—which is sitting at 127 percent of GDP—and dump Italian bonds immediately.
It looks like business circles in the USA are rooting for the list led by Pier Luigi Bersani’s party, which comes from the Italian communists. Honestly, they’d probably prefer a win for the wealthy Monti.
Just a quick correction here, but I think we all get the gist of what’s going on. 🙂
That old con artist... honestly, "scoundrel" is just another word for everything they do over there. If that coalition between PD and Maria Monti manages to pull off a stable majority after the elections, he might find himself heading straight to a dead-end job—maybe something like working at a shuttered factory in Detroit or just fading into obscurity. And if things go south even further—say, if Antonio di Pietro actually lands the Presidency in May—well, let's just say the Pope is going to have a very long, very difficult road ahead. Things are looking grim. 😁
