Berlusconi loses sorely
The week's news at a glance.
Rome
The center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi lost Italy’s parliamentary elections this week by a hairsbreadth. The center-left bloc led by Romano Prodi claimed victory in the lower house by one-tenth of a percentage point—49.8 percent to 49.7 percent—the narrowest margin in Italian history. The tiny margin still translates into a decent majority, because under Italian law, whoever wins the election gets 55 percent of the seats regardless of the scale of victory. Berlusconi won’t go quietly, though. He’s demanding a recount. “The margin is under 25,000 votes,” said Paolo Bonaiuti, Berlusconi’s spokesman. “Such a tiny difference requires a scrupulous checking of the counting.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published