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Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images
Supporters cheer comedian-turned-political agitator, Beppe Grillo, as he arrives for his final rally in Rome's Piazza San Giovanni on Friday. Italians are fed up, and no one is tapping that emotional vein better than comic-turned-political agitator Grillo and his anti-establishment 5 Star Movement.
ROME - Italians began voting on Sunday in one of the most closely watched elections in years, with markets nervous about whether it will produce a strong government to pull Italy out of recession and help resolve the euro zone debt crisis.
A huge final rally by anti-establishment-comedian-turned-politician Beppe Grillo on Friday before a campaigning ban kicked in has highlighted public anger at traditional parties and added to uncertainty about the election outcome.
Voters started casting their ballots at 7 a.m. (1 a.m. ET). Polling booths will remain open until 9 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) on Sunday and between 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. (midnight and 10 a.m. ET) on Monday. Exit polls will come out soon after voting ends and official results are expected by early Tuesday.
Filippo Monteforte / AFP - Getty Images
Comedian-turned-political agitator, Beppe Grillo, speaks during his final rally in Rome's Piazza San Giovanni on Friday.
The election is being followed closely by financial markets with memories still fresh of the potentially catastrophic debt crisis that brought technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti to power more than a year ago.
Italy, the euro zone's third-largest economy, is stuck in deep recession, struggling under a public debt burden second only to Greece's in the 17-member currency bloc and with a public weary of more than a year of harsh austerity policies.
Economic austerity has fueled anger among Italians grappling with rising unemployment and shrinking disposable incomes, encouraging many to turn to Grillo, who has tapped into a national mood of disenchantment.
Final polls published two weeks ago showed center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani with a 5-point lead, but analysts disagree about whether he will be able to form a stable majority that can push though the economic reforms Italy needs.
Bersani is now thought to be just a few points ahead of center-right rival Silvio Berlusconi, the four-times prime minister who has promised tax refunds and staged a media blitz in an attempt to win back voters.
Berlusconi criticism
Berlusconi hogged the headlines on Sunday after he broke the campaign silence the previous evening attack magistrates, saying they were "more dangerous than the Sicilian mafia" and had invented allegations he held sex parties to discredit him.
The 76-year-old billionaire, who faces several trials on charges ranging from fraud to sex with an underage prostitute, was criticized by his election rivals for making the comments after the campaigning ban had come into force.
Ciro De Luca / Reuters
Silvio Berlusconi, leader of People of Freedom party, appears on a screen during his political rally in Naples Friday.
While the center left is still expected to gain control of the lower house, thanks to rules that guarantee a strong majority to whichever party wins the most votes nationally, a much closer battle will be fought in the Senate, which any government also needs to control to be able to pass laws.
Seats in the upper house are awarded on a region-by-region basis, meaning that support in key regions can decisively influence the overall result.
Pollsters still believe the most likely outcome is a center-left government headed by Bersani and possibly backed by Monti, who is leading a centrist coalition.
But strong campaigning by Berlusconi and the fiery Grillo, who has drawn tens of thousands to his election rallies, have thrown the election wide open, causing concern that there may be no clear winner.
Surveys have shown up to 5 million voters are expected to make up their minds at the last minute, adding to uncertainty.
Italy's Interior Ministry urged some 47 million eligible voters to not let bad weather forecasts put them off, and said it was prepared to handle snowy conditions in some northern regions to ensure everyone had a chance to vote.
Related:
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Pope's resignation could thwart Berlusconi comeback
Italy's comeback kid Berlusconi defends Mussolini
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Tough times, I didn't know it was that bad for Italy.
"Italy, the euro zone's third-largest economy, is stuck in deep recession, struggling under a public debt burden second only to Greece's in the 17-member currency bloc and with a public weary of more than a year of harsh austerity policies."
High oil price manipulations with invented reasons like Iraqi wars and sanctions on Iranian oil and highly corrupt politicians (Silvio Berlusconi one of the strong contenders for Oscar in corruption and immorality) have contributed to the mess/tough times Italian citizens are facing.
For average citizens and helpless, it is all austerity measures and more taxes!
Don't pick Berlusconi, pick Pepperoni.
PIGS - acronym for those EU countries in deep $hit, I mean..deep debt
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Spain.
.
So if you see these countries's economy take off, you are actually seeing PIGS Fly.
Pigotry--
i thought the list of bad economies was PIIGS--Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain
On an election day they go 13 hours without updating the story.
Really on the ball there, NBC or MSN or MSNBC or whatever.
WHO IS WINNING?
15 hours , no update.
Hi Jonathan,
I don't get your point. You think the Iraq war was concocted to artificially increase oil prices? That seems to be your argument. So I'll bite...How? And, more importantly for prices, how does the Iraq war which for oil related reasons has had no significant upward effect on prices for at least 6 or 7 years have more consequence to Italy's failing economy than, say, it's century long dalliance with socialism?
Berlusconi, a man the American media love to call a conservative, is as socialistic as many other European "rightists". What he isn't is a free market capitalist, or a small "d" Democrat (which has nothing to do with the party in America). Absent some flourish of logic and reason on your part I think your comment is flatly false. But hope springs eternal.
Rich: Hope, you have read my detailed post below on oil price manipulations and its impact.
I had to sum up the realities in my small post.
My problem is that if I give details: your post is too big! Comment below on my post is one example.
I had to do some research to give that detailed post.
Oil and auto companies lobbyists will certainly disagree with my logics and realities.
Some in oil reserve and auto companies areas imagine that high oil prices benefit them.
But too illogicals (high oil price manipulations and Islamic extremisms and so on) don't stand for long.
22 hours no update.
It's a bad day for almost ALL elections because idiots abound and vote for most anyone. They then run the city, state or country into the ground with poor management and corruption. When folks get into a position of power take heed.
Italians need to step up and elect Berlusconi Prime Minister AND Pope.
An election for a comedian turned politician, and an election for a pope? Maybe a comedian turned pope is the answer for their economic woes. Maybe the entertainment industry is more of the problem, than part of the solution.
"Economic austerity has fueled anger among Italians grappling with rising unemployment and shrinking disposable incomes, encouraging many to turn to Grillo, who has tapped into a national mood of disenchantment."
Watch result of invented mess in Italy, Greece, Spain and other oil importing nations due to high oil price manipulations!
Just like before each Iraqi wars, autocratic, highly corrupt and despotic bigoted Sunnis of versions belonging to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwaiti and Sunni oil rich nations are stage managing their dances and actions through oil companies, extremist Jewish lobbys and their puppets in the US, Britain, EU and other nations on Syria and Iran.
With sanctions on Iranian oil, oil prices which was around $40 in 2009 has crossed $110 now.
Everyone is ignoring that Iranians can easily get/buy nukes from Pakis. As a matter of fact, Pakis sold nuke technology to Iran, N. Korea and Libya’s Gadhaffi.
If Iraqi wars gave us PIIGS, there will more nations added to PIIGS due to sanctions on Iranian oil.
IRAQ WARS
Net results of Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, oil companies and their lobbyists directed 1991 and 2003 Iraqi wars are
WINNERS
1. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE and other rich ME sharks became richer by manipulating oil prices too high.
2. Oil companies and their lobbyists also benefitted. Oil prices, which were hardly $30 a barrel before 1991, shot up to $140 a barrel.
3. Since 2003, future traders, rating agencies, Wall Street and oil companies and their lobbyists transferred five trillion dollars from oil importing countries to oil exporting nations.
4. Rich Sunni ME sharks (Saudi Arabia in particular) funded Salaffi and Wahhabi mosques and Islamic radicals and terrorists all over the world. These Sunni Islamic radicals and terrorists are rampaging all over the world. World’s 80 percent of problems are due to them.
LOSERS
1. General US and European nations’ public. There have been high unemployment, cut in welfare measures, housing market collapse and more miseries. Since 2001, US spent three trillion dollars on Iraq and Afghan wars. Did the Saudis and co foot the bill?
2. Poor soldiers killed and injured and their families. In Iraq and Afghan wars 6300 soldiers were killed and 40000 injured.
3. High budget deficits and heavier borrowing. Many nations (PIIGS) and people are on line to bankruptcy!
4. Iraq will plunge into bloody sectarian civil wars leading to the creation of Shiastan, Sunnistan and Kurdistan. Here the losses are of Iraqis.
First off, people outside of Europe couldn't care any less about what happens to Italy. And secondly; Jon man...you seriously gotta split your sh*t up into chapters if your gonna be writing this much.
utamegi25: Those interested will read it. Others are free to ignore.
I am not dictating that people read what I post.
Yeah...great cut and paste job Jonathan.....not. Obama keeps tells us we are energy indenedent and we know obama would never lie to us right? Especially since gas is double since he took office and he wanted $8.00/gallon to push green energy for China.
like it or not as the case may be vet - fossil fuels are LIMITED
and Uta - nobody cared that the US fell into a deep recession, eh? news to be buddy...
navyvet98: Hope you knew more than this.
put a fork in it has explained better.
Oil substitutes are needed instead of doing research from the tail end of "green energy", "less exhaust" or some other crap.
Energy out of solar, wind are some alternatives. Currently electric batteries are immediate needs.
You will see the changes as we move on.
I certainly hope the Italians realize the only way to solve their debt problems is to spend much more money than they presently are.
No one is interested in providing them any more money to spend...
it doesnt really matter what the REAL vote is, the banksters will be the REAL winners just like everywhere else
The Laws of Economics will prevail regardless of the outcome of the vote...if there's only half a sandwich in the lunch pail, voting for two sandwiches isn't going to make any difference...
Wait.......too much debt is bad??? Thats not what obama said. He says spend baby spend.
March 1 is FRIDAY - SEQUESTER DAY
Can't they just spend their way out of debt like Our POS president wants
us to do? After all it's working so well in Greece isn't it?
Austerity is working so well in Spain and Ireland, maybe it will work better in Italy.
When countries have spent 30 years digging a hole, they can't fill the hole in an afternoon...
The real issue is that the American economy doesn't need 25% of the work force any longer to produce everything the economy consumes...there is no recession...there is a contraction of the work force...people that don't have jobs aren't going to get jobs unless they are willing to work as clerks in stores...
Computerization allows 1 skilled worked with the appropriate equipment to manufacture as much as several people use to produce...and when labor is needed much of the work is sent off shore where the same good can be produced at far less cost than is the US...
Bottom line it's time for a lot of people in the US to accept lower paying service sector jobs and realize they aren't going to be able to maintain the life style they grew up to expect...protest or not your choice but you can't change the Laws of Economics...
Or truck drivers. There are 200,000 unfilled truck driving jobs in the US.
The European version of heaven and hell:
In heaven, the police are British, mechanics are German, cooks are French, lovers are Italian, and the Swiss run the government.
In hell, the police are German, mechanics are French, cooks are British, lovers are Swiss, and the Italians run the government.
Pope and his inner circle lecture and dance in both heaven and hell with their big varieties of good, bad, ugly and beastly!