Europe elects another "Pro US" Head of State

[Christians4LessGvt]

Just in case you missed it because the dinosaur media likes to downplay things like this

Pro US Silvio Berlusconi was victorious in the Italian elections and is the newly
elected Prime Minister of Italy.

Note: Berlusconi is 71 just like McCain. So much for the age factor being an issue.

Silvio Berlusconi ran as a conservative. 

In a previous term Berlusconi gave Bush important (and hard-to-get) support for his decision to invade Iraq and topple the government of Saddam Hussein. Berlusconi's earlier government also sent 3,000 Italian troops to post-invasion Iraq. And this guy just won in Italy.

Angela Merkel in Germany did not run on an anti-American ticket. 

France's Sarkozy was elected with his Pro US stance.

Berlusconi's opponent ran as the Italian Obama.  He lost by 11 points. 

Liberals and Democrats keep telling you that we're hated around the world,
that our image is horrible, all these pro-American leaders, candidates, in
Europe are winning elections in landslides.

[modestyblase]

I love Berlusconi. No good reason, I just do.

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11050099

Excerpt:
Still unfit
It was Mr Berlusconi's conflicts of interest and his tangled web of judicial proceedings that first led The Economist to judge him unfit to be prime minister. We stick to that view. When he suggests that magistrates should be subject to mental-health checks, or when one of his close associates, a senator who is appealing against conviction for associating with the Mafia, says a convicted mob killer was a hero, there are good reasons to argue that Mr Berlusconi should not lead his country.

Yet the biggest challenge now for Mr Berlusconi does not concern conflicts of interest, court cases or the Mafia. It is the dire state of the Italian economy. Indeed, economic woes provide the third explanation why disillusioned voters preferred him to the centre-left. They felt that Mr Prodi's government had done nothing for them except to increase their tax bills. And, against all previous experience of Mr Berlusconi's tawdry governments, many people still want to believe in the magic that made him Italy's richest man. They hope that some of it may rub off on them, making all Italians richer.

Voters have good cause to fret about the economy. In the past two decades Italy has unquestionably become the sick man of Europe. The IMF forecasts that, both this year and next, its economy will grow by a mere 0.3%, the slowest rate of growth in the European Union and among G8 rich countries. This year Italy's GDP per head has fallen below the EU average for the first time. Next year, it will fall below Greece, after being overtaken by Spain in 2006. Even against a slowing world economy, Italy stands out for its dim prospects.

The country's slow growth has persisted under governments of centre-right and centre-left. Its causes are deep-rooted and structural, so they will take years to remedy. Italy is deemed by international watchdogs to be one of the most heavily regulated of all rich countries. Trade unions and special interests have repeatedly fought off attempts at reform. Infrastructure is crumbling, the investment climate is unwelcoming, inflation is troubling and productivity growth has been low (indeed, it has recently been negative). The education and health-care systems are deteriorating. Public administration is inefficient and corrupt, especially in the south?the latest evidence being the Naples garbage mountain.