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 ItalyBerlusconi Proves to Be Resilient and PersistentIn June 2001, Silvio Berlusconi, a conservative
billionaire, was sworn in as prime minister. He pledged to reduce
unemployment, cut taxes, revamp the educational system, and reform the
bureaucracy. His critics were alarmed by the apparent conflict of interest
of a prime minister who also owned 90% of Italy's media. He was accused of
Mafia connections and was under indictment for tax fraud and bribery.
Found guilty in three out of four of his trials, he was acquitted in all
of them on appeal. Several other cases are pending.
In April 2005, regional elections had disastrous
results for Berlusconi's center-right coalition. The dismal state of the
economy was blamed for the poor showing. In parliamentary elections held
April 2006, the center-left Union coalition led by Romano Prodi won 49.8%
of the vote and Berlusconi's House of Liberties coalition won
49.7%—a mere 25,000 vote difference. Berlusconi refused to concede
and called for a recount. He eventually relented, and Prodi was given the
go-ahead by the newly installed president Giorgio Napolitano to form a
government. Prodi served as prime minister once before (1996–98) and
also as president of the European Union. Prodi's government proved fragile
almost immediately. Indeed, he submitted his resignation in Feb. 2007,
just nine months into his term, after a key foreign-policy vote about the
deployment of troops to Afghanistan and an expansion of a U. S. military
base failed in the Senate. Days later, the Senate, facing the prospect of
Silvio Berlusconi returning to power, narrowly passed a vote of confidence
in Prodi's government and he remained in office. Less than a year later, in Jan. 2008, the Udeur party
bolted from his coalition, costing Prodi his majority in the senate. He
survived a no-confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament, but lost
in the Senate, 161 to 156, forcing his government to resign. Parliament
was dissolved, and elections were set for April. Berlusconi saw the crisis
as an opportunity for a political comeback. On April 15, 2008, with support from the Northern League, Berlusconi and his center-right government
won the elections, ensuring him a third term as prime minister.
On May 8, 2008, Berlusconi was sworn in for his third term as prime minister and announced his cabinet, which remains dominated by center-right politicians and includes few women.
On July 23, 2008, the Senate and lower chamber
approved a bill that grants immunity to the four most powerful elected
officials while they are in office, including the prime minister, the
president, and the speakers of the two chambers of Parliament.
After two consecutive quarters of negative growth, Italy was declared officially in recession in November 2008.
An earthquake of magnitude 6.3 hit central Italy in April 2009. At least 275 people were killed and 28,000 were left homeless. The town of L'Aquila was the epicenter of the earthquake, but as many as 26 towns were affected.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Italy
.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Italy
National Statistical Institute
www.istat.it
.
Information Please® Database, © 2008 Pearson
Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
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