Yesterday at 7 PM, over half of the voters (52.10%) had cast their ballots in the electoral boxes, which will accept the last votes until today at 3 PM.
True to its land of cinema, Cinecitta, the Italian election day was marked by some incidents that only the Italians can concoct for us.
Firstly, a minor incident occurred at polling station 502 where the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, was accompanying his mother to fulfill her voting duty. Up to that point, nothing unusual happened except that the leader of the “Forza Italia” movement clearly directed his “mamma” to tick the symbol of his party. He was reprimanded by a representative of “L’Ulivo,” the left-wing alliance, and Silvio Berlusconi retorted with one of his tirades: “You really are the Italy that does not want any good.”
Another controversy involved the presence of crucifixes in some polling stations. It took the intervention of the carabinieri in a Treviso polling station to “remove” this ostentatious religious symbol, which had no place in an electoral site. Crucifixes had been removed at the opening of some polling stations without causing any controversy. Peppone and Don Camillo must be having a good laugh about it!
Controversy also ensues on page 4 of “La Gazetta dello Sport” where Silvio Berlusconi is shown triumphantly holding up the Champions League trophy won by the club he presides over, AC Milan. According to representatives of L’Ulivo, “This advertisement is a violation of the rules governing the Italian electoral campaign.” Italian politics is not as smooth as the ball of its favorite sport.
Nice Première will, as soon as possible, bring you the results of this election, which still has some surprises in store.
