Long live the liberals!

Italy’s center-left coalition  went to the polls yesterday to pick their leader.  From five candidates.  And the favorite of my Italian true love came in a distant third. He’s Nichi Vendola, governor of the  Puglia region.  If I could have voted, I’d probably have supported Vendola,  too. I trust my true love in these sorts of matters. Especially when decisions apply to Italy. We both are undisputed liberals.  But I may be more liberal than she.  I wasn’t disappointed that Pierluigo Bersani, secretary of Italy’s Communist Party,  finished  first.  With 44 percent of the almost 4 million votes. Next Sunday, there’ll be a run-off between Bersani and the second place finisher, Matteo Renzi, the mayor of Florence. He’s 37. And says it’s time for a younger generation to lead Italy. Bersani is 61. Renzi says he wants to defeat Bersani fair and square. But that if he loses, he’ll support Bersani.   Meanwhile, I can’t imagine a communist pulling off an election victory in America. Impossible. Because liberal Americans aren’t nearly as liberal as liberal Italians.   In Carbonia, where I live, communists sit on the city council. And the beautiful palm-tree-lined  main drag I walk daily is named after a communist hero of the 1930s, Antonio Gramsci.  Anyway, seems a good chance that the center-left coalition might  win the Italian election next spring. I certainly hope so. That would be a breath of fresh air. Fortunately, Italians dumped conservative billionaire and buffoon Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister two years ago. In favor of a technocrat, Mario Monti. But for leftists, that ain't good enough. The swing has to continue. To full-fledged socialism. To a narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor. That’s my battle cry in America. And it’s my credo living in Italy, too.  Long live the liberals! All over the world. –Jim Broede