The Matthew Online

Who will be the next president of the United States?

By Brooke Payne

ROME, Oct. 2 - The Guarini Institute hosted a roundtable discussion Wednesday night at John Cabot University titled, “One Month to Go - The U.S. Presidential Election and Europe.”  A group of qualified panelists discussed key issues and defining characteristics of the upcoming election.  JCU's Aula Magna Regina auditorium was full of people eager to hear the panelists make sense of this most unusual election.

The 2008 election was called, “the election of the missing candidate,” by panelist Lucio Martino.  There are a series of anomalies this year: Because of poor approval ratings of the Bush administration, the current vice president, Dick Cheney, is not running for president. Instead, the Republican Party nominee John McCain,  known as a maverick in his party, chose a woman as his running mate, Sarah Palin. On the Democrat side, Barack Obama, the first Afro-American has won the Party nod. This year's ballot looks nothing like the traditional Anglo-Saxon male ticket.

$800 million spent on U.S. presidential campaign, and for what?

By Ottavia Criss

ROME, April 24 - A though-provoking panel discussion took place on Wednesday at John Cabot University's Aula Magna Regina Auditorium hosted by the Guarini Institute.

This interesting debate kicked off with a power point presentation by Lucio Martino, a specialist in U.S. politics. Did you know almost $800 million has been spent campaigning? He said the world is tired of hearing about the American elections, which have been discussed since 2000. Martino pointed out that history has shown that the party that remains divided until the last minute is usually the one that loses the White House. He predicts John McCain will win.

 

Berlusconi tapped as odds-on favorite in upcoming election

By Nadin Aloufi

ROME, April 8 – Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's leading center-right politician, is expected to win the upcoming national elections, becoming the nation's next prime minister, political experts assembled at the American University of Rome said on Friday.

After the collapse of Romano Prodi's government in February, Italians will go back to the polls this Sunday and Monday for a chance to vote for another prime minister and his government. Although there are many political parties running in the general election, Berlusconi's "Popolo della Liberta" is considered the favorite over his main rival Walter Veltroni, a center-left politician running on the "Partito Democratico" ticket. 

 

Berlusconi's fix for female unemployment: comedy or cruel reality?

By Alison Graham

ROME, April 1- Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's billionaire politician, has again surrounded himself in controversy, this time advising a 24-year-old Italian woman that the path to success is to marry a rich man.

The comments, made on 12 March and broadcasted throughout the country, has created divisions through Italy, leaving some outraged, some amused, and some a bit desperate. Dr. Lucia Aiello, a professor at JCU, said that Berlusconi’s quip left her feeling “humiliated”.

What did Berlusconi say?

U.S., the lone superpower, but for how much longer?

By Kim Bogachuk

ROME, March 30 – America is "living in a paradox,” and distress will most likely follow, said JCU President Franco Pavoncello on March 5 during a panel discussion about a recent article published in Limes, the Italian Geopolitical Review.

In front of an audience of JCU students and professors, Pres. Pavoncello, a political science expert, said the United States' ever-present role in foreign affairs is beginning to weaken the country back home. He adds that although America is still the engine of financial markets, it is suffering economically due to its mounting level of debt accrued from its missions abroad.

A contrarian view on Iraq: hope

By Jeanette Pollara

ROME, March 6 - On a regular basis, the Bush Administration's mission to bring Western-style democracy to Iraq comes under fire, triggering the obvious question: is it possible to bring a stable, democratic government to the war-torn country?

At least one American political consultant thinks so.

During a faculty lecture on Feb. 28, Dr. Paul Rundquist gave this opinion, as well as discussing democratization and the slowing of the Third Wave. The evening's event was based on the title of Samuel P. Huntington’s book about tracing the spread of democracy.

After the fall, can Italy's govt bounce back?

By Jeanette Pollara

ROME, Feb. 26 - After a surprise collapse of the Romano Prodi government last week, Italians anxiously await a crucial vote in the coming days to see if the prime minister can stage a comeback and return to power. But the question remains: if Prodi wins a vote of confidence on Wednesday, as expected, will his center-left government be strong enough to last a full term in power?

 

A Royal presidency in France? The world wonders

By Ainsley Woakes

ROME, Dec. 18 – A woman has been appointed head of state in Germany, Britain and India. Could it happen next in France?

Last month, Segolene Royal made history in France. Voters chose the 53 year-old Socialist politician as the country’s first-ever female presidential candidate.

Now, the election, scheduled for April 22, 2007 will have the world watching, as Royal, mother of four, could become the first woman president of the world's fifth largest economy. And, after Germany's Angela Merkel, shek would be the second female head of state of a G8 Nation. If Royal proves victorious in April, it would be a major step for women in politics. But just what would these implications be?

Rally brings out Berlusconi supporters

By Atalia Howe

ROME, Dec. 5 - Hundreds of thousands gathered in Rome on Saturday to join conservative opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi in his attacks on the government’s plans to raise taxes, just days after the former prime minister was hospitalized after collapsing at a political rally.

Dems sweep to victory, end 12-year Congressional drought

By JCU Correspondents

ROME, Nov. 9 - Democrats regained control of the House and hold a tenuous majority in the Senate after Tuesday's historic election day victory, ending the Republican's 12-year run of power as voters equate the failures of the war in Iraq with the GOP.

The Democrats' apparent one-seat lead in the Senate could be increased as soon as today as election officials re-examine the tally in Virginia. If the Democrats can retain their 7,200-vote lead in the Virginia Senate race, pitting Democratic challenger Jim Webb against incumbent George Allen, they will maintain a two-seat lead.

Voter dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq cost Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld his job.