Hulk Hogan, where are ya?

No siree, never a dull moment in Italian politics, that’s for sure! Because of a variety of reasons tied to the war in Afghanistan (and Italy’s participation in that conflict), the expansion of the U.S. airbase in Vicenza and gay marriages (a definite no-no for the Vatican), Romano Prodi’s government fell on February 21st. Prodi, the prime minister, had to immediately hand in his resignation to the Italian president, Napolitano.

Nothing new in that one might say as Italy has had so far over 50 governments since the end of WW II. But what happened in the Italian senate is not only ludicrous, it’s also offensive and typically Italian. But before describing what exactly happened, let us back-track a wee bit to what the Romans gave us, mainly the senate and the famous four letters which are also the symbol of the city of Rome: S.P.Q.R. (in Latin, “Senatus PopulusQue Romanus”, in Italian, "Il Senato e il Popolo Romano", in plain English it means, “The Senate and the Roman People”). One would think that senators in general are not only paid rather well but also command respect, are well-educated, well-versed and also polite (not to mention civilised too). Well, not in Italy: the scenes on tv and in the papers the other day of the “glorious” Italian senate were simply appalling: senators who threw newspapers in the air in a sign of jubilation, senators who yelled, who pushed other senators (some even prevented others from voting) and who even insulted fellow senators with words such as “ass…”! and “You’re a piece of sh..”!

Not too surprising that the rest of the world doesn’t often take Italy terribly seriously. The only thing missing in the senate was Hulk Hogan to body-slam a few senators, including 7-time Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti (who is pushing close to 90 soon)!

All this shouldn’t be all too surprising. Many years ago, when Ronaldo was playing for Inter, there was an all-important match between Inter and Juventus in Milan’s San Siro stadium. Ronaldo was clearly taken down in the Juve penalty area but the ref didn’t award Inter the pk. The game was played on Sunday. The debate surrounding that missed pk went on until the following Thursday. Massimo Mauro, a former Naples, Udinese and Juve player (he had played respectively with the likes of Maradona, Zico and Platini!), at the time was an honourable member of parliament. A fellow by the name of Grammazio, of the neo-fascist "National Alliance" party, was SO incensed (an Inter fan perhaps?) that he had it out with Mauro, even launching his microphone at the former soccer player-turned-politician! Indeed NEVER a dull moment in Italian politics…