Anti-pot Berlusconi defeated in Italy

DdC · 04-11-2006, 06:04 PM

Anti-pot Berlusconi defeated in Italian election
*
Now, let's hope Italy reverses the damage and changes back those pot laws soon.
escapegoat

Prodi hails Italy poll 'victory'

Italy's centre-left leader Romano Prodi says he has won the right to become the country's prime minister following a narrow victory in the general election.

Latest results give Mr Prodi's bloc 49.8% against 49.7% for the ruling centre-right in the lower house.

An official projection shows a slim majority in the Senate - the upper house - for Mr Prodi's bloc.

But Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition is disputing the results and refusing to admit defeat.

An aide to Mr Berlusconi demanded a "scrupulous" investigation into why an estimated 500,000 ballots were annulled.

Mr Prodi's bloc is thought to have won the vote in the lower house by just 25,000 votes.

Final confirmation of the result will hinge on results expected later on Tuesday from Italian voters living abroad.

They elect six senators to the upper house, and whether those senators join Mr Prodi's or Mr Berlusconi's coalition may prove crucial.

'Wake up Italy'

Italians awoke on Tuesday to newspaper headlines declaring that the election had split the country in two.

Mr Prodi, a former prime minister and former president of the European Commission, appeared certain that his coalition had earned the right to govern.

We want peace, we want unity, we want economic recovery and harmony
Romano Prodi

He would have the authority to lead the country for five years despite the apparent narrow margin of victory, he added, vowing to "wake up Italy".

"We want peace, we want unity, we want economic recovery and harmony," he told a news conference.

Mr Prodi said he had spoken to Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi earlier on Tuesday, but he was still waiting for Mr Berlusconi to concede.

"I am waiting for a phone call from Mr Berlusconi because this is what happens in mature democracies."

The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says that even if Mr Prodi has secured a majority in both houses of parliament, his razor-thin majority in the Senate will make it difficult to govern the country.

Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire and media magnate who has been prime minister since 2001, has not yet commented directly on the results.

Narrow gap

The winning coalition will automatically be awarded 55% of the lower house seats - 340 in total - under a new electoral law.

The lower and upper houses have equal power in Italy's electoral system. One bloc must win both to prevent parliamentary stalemate.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Neither of the two main parties impressed me
Roby, Treviso, Italy
Senator Lucio Moran, a Berlusconi ally, said the prime minister's party was obliged to inquire about the results.

"The gap is so narrow we have to check the spoiled ballots, especially those who have been contested by our representatives or representatives of other parties. The gap is so narrow that we have to ask that."

Milan's stock exchange opened 1% down on Tuesday amid concerns over political deadlock.

Italy's economy has remained sluggish for much of Mr Berlusconi's tenure, and the country has substantial foreign debts.

"We have to immediately send a message to the markets, to whomever wants to invest in Italy, that the country is not going to fall apart," said Culture Minister Rocco Buttiglione, a member of Mr Berlusconi's party.

Acrimony

Defeat for Mr Berlusconi would end Italy's longest-serving government since World War II.

The result follows an acrimonious campaign and a high turnout on polling day. More than 83% of the electorate cast a vote.

During the campaign, Mr Berlusconi mocked left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likened the prime minister to a drunkard.

Exit polls released straight after the voting ended suggested that Mr Prodi's coalition had gained a narrow victory, but the situation became confused as the night progressed.

The formation of a new government will have to wait until after the election of a new Italian president next month. Mr Ciampi's seven-year term of office is about to expire.

Story from BBC NEWS
Published: 2006/04/11 12:10:17 GMT © BBC MMVI
--
Italy: Joint Operation
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n178/a09.html
Newshawk: MAP's DrugNews is read in about 125 countries
Rate this article Votes: 0
Pubdate: Wed, 08 Feb 2006
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2006 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact: letters@guardian.co. uk
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: John Hooper
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

JOINT OPERATION

John Hooper Reports on the Government's Efforts to Force Through a New, Zero-Tolerance Drugs Policy

Anyone planning a holiday in Italy and thinking of enjoying a quiet spliff while, let's say, watching the sun go down over the Bay of Naples, had better think again.

A vote in the Italian parliament yesterday means that a new, zero-tolerance policy on drugs is almost certain to become law within the next couple of months. With the aroma of defiantly smoked cannabis floating in the air outside, lawmakers approved a measure that abolishes the distinction between hard and soft drugs and makes possession, as well as dealing, a criminal offence.

The proposed penalties for possession have a distinctly Italian flavour. They include being banned from riding a scooter and being forbidden to enter a football stadium.

Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government had virtually assured the endorsement of the new guidelines by tying them into a bill providing the necessary legislation for security measures at the Turin Winter Olympics, which begin on Friday. Having already passed the upper house of parliament, they are virtually assured of reaching the statute book, though anti-prohibitionists are appealing to the country's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, not to sign them into law.

Today, they wheeled a giant, papier-mache model of a spliff into the square outside parliament in the centre of Rome, set off coloured flares, chanted, sang and then - joined by some of the legislators opposed to the bill - lit up. Paolo Cento, a leader of Italy's Green party, was among those who took part in the protest smoke-in.

Several opposition MPs said the government was distancing the country from its European partners, several of whom have already implemented, or are least considering, decriminalisation. But Isabella Bertolini, deputy leader in parliament of Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, said the main point of the proposed law was to impose a "hard line on the dealers who sow death".

Italy's own drugs laws were significantly relaxed after a referendum in 1993. The U-turn is the brainchild of Gianfranco Fini, Mr Berlusconi's deputy in government and leader of the formerly neo-fascist National Alliance.

Two years ago, he declared that a new approach was needed because drug-taking was a "rejection of the most elementary duties of the individual towards the various communities in which he or she lives".

Another reason for the clampdown, he argued, was the increased strength of the cannabis derivatives reaching Italy. "The joint of 10 years ago had an active ingredient of at most 1.5%", he said. "Today, you can find them with as much as 15%".

Yesterday's bill re-establishes the concept, abolished in 1993, of a normal daily supply as a way of distinguishing between drug-users and drug-traffickers. The task of fixing precise quantities for each drug will be delegated to the health ministry.

Anyone caught with more than the permitted amount will be liable to between six and 20 years in jail. Those found with less also risk trial and conviction, but the penalties will be a lot less severe.

Government supporters have argued that this sharp distinction will ensure that no one is jailed for mere possession. But opposition politicians insist that, if the allowable quantity for a drug is set too low, someone in possession of, say, a week's or month's supply could end up going to jail for years.

How the proposed new law will affect foreigners is still unclear, but the original draft proposals included a provision according to which tourists found with even a single ecstasy pill would have their passports impounded.

DdC · 04-11-2006, 06:06 PM

Italy Seeks To Bring in Tough Law on Drugs

"Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience ... Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."
Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, 1950

Italy Passes Worst Marijuana and Drug Laws in the World
The Italian government has approved a law that increases sanctions against people who smoke marijuana, putting the drug on a par with cocaine and heroin.
F U L L S T O R Y http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4646.html

In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty, He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own.
Thomas Jefferson, 1814

Catholic Church on Cannabis
In a new pastoral manual issued last week by the Vatican, the Catholic Church called on the governments of the world to resist the temptation to legalize the drug traffic. The manual, "Church, Drugs, and Drug Addiction," was produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry after Pope John Paul II called in 1997 for a study of "the distressing drug problem in the world."

Peace seeker · 04-12-2006, 04:11 AM

power to Romano Prodi

he seems like a good man

did you see Berlusconis face in the news???

poor loser

the guy is in his 70's and his concerns is to dye his hair black, implant new hair and get face lifts. Basically he became the laughing stock of Europe with his speeches.

Would you want someone like that for prime minister?

he is also Dubyas best buddy

Jimmy Coonan · 04-12-2006, 09:27 AM

Bene, bene. Berlusconi was a corrupt asshole, I'm glad he's out. Only good thing about him was the occasional good joke. I hope that dumb new drug law will be repealed; even if it isn't repealed, I hope they'll just not enforce it. Italians don't get as hung up on what's "legal" and "illegal" as Nordic peoples and Americans; they have enough common sense to ignore stupid laws.

04-11-2006, 06:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
DdC Decade Yahookan Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Santa Cruz,CA,USA Posts: 2,117 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 51 Thanked 607 Times in 399 Posts	Anti-pot Berlusconi defeated in Italy Anti-pot Berlusconi defeated in Italian election * Now, let's hope Italy reverses the damage and changes back those pot laws soon. escapegoat Prodi hails Italy poll 'victory' Italy's centre-left leader Romano Prodi says he has won the right to become the country's prime minister following a narrow victory in the general election. Latest results give Mr Prodi's bloc 49.8% against 49.7% for the ruling centre-right in the lower house. An official projection shows a slim majority in the Senate - the upper house - for Mr Prodi's bloc. But Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's coalition is disputing the results and refusing to admit defeat. An aide to Mr Berlusconi demanded a "scrupulous" investigation into why an estimated 500,000 ballots were annulled. Mr Prodi's bloc is thought to have won the vote in the lower house by just 25,000 votes. Final confirmation of the result will hinge on results expected later on Tuesday from Italian voters living abroad. They elect six senators to the upper house, and whether those senators join Mr Prodi's or Mr Berlusconi's coalition may prove crucial. 'Wake up Italy' Italians awoke on Tuesday to newspaper headlines declaring that the election had split the country in two. Mr Prodi, a former prime minister and former president of the European Commission, appeared certain that his coalition had earned the right to govern. We want peace, we want unity, we want economic recovery and harmony Romano Prodi He would have the authority to lead the country for five years despite the apparent narrow margin of victory, he added, vowing to "wake up Italy". "We want peace, we want unity, we want economic recovery and harmony," he told a news conference. Mr Prodi said he had spoken to Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi earlier on Tuesday, but he was still waiting for Mr Berlusconi to concede. "I am waiting for a phone call from Mr Berlusconi because this is what happens in mature democracies." The BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says that even if Mr Prodi has secured a majority in both houses of parliament, his razor-thin majority in the Senate will make it difficult to govern the country. Mr Berlusconi, a billionaire and media magnate who has been prime minister since 2001, has not yet commented directly on the results. Narrow gap The winning coalition will automatically be awarded 55% of the lower house seats - 340 in total - under a new electoral law. The lower and upper houses have equal power in Italy's electoral system. One bloc must win both to prevent parliamentary stalemate. HAVE YOUR SAY Neither of the two main parties impressed me Roby, Treviso, Italy Senator Lucio Moran, a Berlusconi ally, said the prime minister's party was obliged to inquire about the results. "The gap is so narrow we have to check the spoiled ballots, especially those who have been contested by our representatives or representatives of other parties. The gap is so narrow that we have to ask that." Milan's stock exchange opened 1% down on Tuesday amid concerns over political deadlock. Italy's economy has remained sluggish for much of Mr Berlusconi's tenure, and the country has substantial foreign debts. "We have to immediately send a message to the markets, to whomever wants to invest in Italy, that the country is not going to fall apart," said Culture Minister Rocco Buttiglione, a member of Mr Berlusconi's party. Acrimony Defeat for Mr Berlusconi would end Italy's longest-serving government since World War II. The result follows an acrimonious campaign and a high turnout on polling day. More than 83% of the electorate cast a vote. During the campaign, Mr Berlusconi mocked left-wing voters and Mr Prodi likened the prime minister to a drunkard. Exit polls released straight after the voting ended suggested that Mr Prodi's coalition had gained a narrow victory, but the situation became confused as the night progressed. The formation of a new government will have to wait until after the election of a new Italian president next month. Mr Ciampi's seven-year term of office is about to expire. Story from BBC NEWS Published: 2006/04/11 12:10:17 GMT © BBC MMVI -- Italy: Joint Operation URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n178/a09.html Newshawk: MAP's DrugNews is read in about 125 countries Rate this article Votes: 0 Pubdate: Wed, 08 Feb 2006 Source: Guardian, The (UK) Copyright: 2006 Guardian Newspapers Limited Contact: letters@guardian.co. uk Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175 Author: John Hooper Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy) JOINT OPERATION John Hooper Reports on the Government's Efforts to Force Through a New, Zero-Tolerance Drugs Policy Anyone planning a holiday in Italy and thinking of enjoying a quiet spliff while, let's say, watching the sun go down over the Bay of Naples, had better think again. A vote in the Italian parliament yesterday means that a new, zero-tolerance policy on drugs is almost certain to become law within the next couple of months. With the aroma of defiantly smoked cannabis floating in the air outside, lawmakers approved a measure that abolishes the distinction between hard and soft drugs and makes possession, as well as dealing, a criminal offence. The proposed penalties for possession have a distinctly Italian flavour. They include being banned from riding a scooter and being forbidden to enter a football stadium. Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government had virtually assured the endorsement of the new guidelines by tying them into a bill providing the necessary legislation for security measures at the Turin Winter Olympics, which begin on Friday. Having already passed the upper house of parliament, they are virtually assured of reaching the statute book, though anti-prohibitionists are appealing to the country's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, not to sign them into law. Today, they wheeled a giant, papier-mache model of a spliff into the square outside parliament in the centre of Rome, set off coloured flares, chanted, sang and then - joined by some of the legislators opposed to the bill - lit up. Paolo Cento, a leader of Italy's Green party, was among those who took part in the protest smoke-in. Several opposition MPs said the government was distancing the country from its European partners, several of whom have already implemented, or are least considering, decriminalisation. But Isabella Bertolini, deputy leader in parliament of Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, said the main point of the proposed law was to impose a "hard line on the dealers who sow death". Italy's own drugs laws were significantly relaxed after a referendum in 1993. The U-turn is the brainchild of Gianfranco Fini, Mr Berlusconi's deputy in government and leader of the formerly neo-fascist National Alliance. Two years ago, he declared that a new approach was needed because drug-taking was a "rejection of the most elementary duties of the individual towards the various communities in which he or she lives". Another reason for the clampdown, he argued, was the increased strength of the cannabis derivatives reaching Italy. "The joint of 10 years ago had an active ingredient of at most 1.5%", he said. "Today, you can find them with as much as 15%". Yesterday's bill re-establishes the concept, abolished in 1993, of a normal daily supply as a way of distinguishing between drug-users and drug-traffickers. The task of fixing precise quantities for each drug will be delegated to the health ministry. Anyone caught with more than the permitted amount will be liable to between six and 20 years in jail. Those found with less also risk trial and conviction, but the penalties will be a lot less severe. Government supporters have argued that this sharp distinction will ensure that no one is jailed for mere possession. But opposition politicians insist that, if the allowable quantity for a drug is set too low, someone in possession of, say, a week's or month's supply could end up going to jail for years. How the proposed new law will affect foreigners is still unclear, but the original draft proposals included a provision according to which tourists found with even a single ecstasy pill would have their passports impounded.

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04-11-2006, 06:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
DdC Decade Yahookan Join Date: Feb 1999 Location: Santa Cruz,CA,USA Posts: 2,117 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 51 Thanked 607 Times in 399 Posts	Italy Seeks To Bring in Tough Law on Drugs "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience ... Therefore [individual citizens] have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring." Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, 1950 Italy Passes Worst Marijuana and Drug Laws in the World The Italian government has approved a law that increases sanctions against people who smoke marijuana, putting the drug on a par with cocaine and heroin. F U L L S T O R Y http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4646.html In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty, He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. Thomas Jefferson, 1814 Catholic Church on Cannabis In a new pastoral manual issued last week by the Vatican, the Catholic Church called on the governments of the world to resist the temptation to legalize the drug traffic. The manual, "Church, Drugs, and Drug Addiction," was produced by the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry after Pope John Paul II called in 1997 for a study of "the distressing drug problem in the world."

04-12-2006, 04:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
Peace seeker free the herb Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 6,844 Thanks: 773 Thanked 551 Times in 385 Posts	power to Romano Prodi he seems like a good man did you see Berlusconis face in the news??? poor loser the guy is in his 70's and his concerns is to dye his hair black, implant new hair and get face lifts. Basically he became the laughing stock of Europe with his speeches. Would you want someone like that for prime minister? he is also Dubyas best buddy

04-12-2006, 09:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jimmy Coonan Old School Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 4,843 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 81 Thanked 122 Times in 87 Posts	Bene, bene. Berlusconi was a corrupt asshole, I'm glad he's out. Only good thing about him was the occasional good joke. I hope that dumb new drug law will be repealed; even if it isn't repealed, I hope they'll just not enforce it. Italians don't get as hung up on what's "legal" and "illegal" as Nordic peoples and Americans; they have enough common sense to ignore stupid laws.

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