Italian election stolen by communists?(Giorgio Napolitano presidents election)

Giorgio Napolitano, usually described as a "former communist," was elected by the Italian parliament on May 10 to serve as Italy's president, the first communist to win the largely ceremonial post. The first and most important act that he performed as head of state was to invite Romano Prodi to form a government. Under Italy's parliamentarian system, a prime minister-elect cannot govern until the president asks him to do so.

Prodi claimed victory in the April election for prime minister, with the narrowest margin in Italy's postwar history. However, the election was marred by "irregularities," including ballot boxes containing thousands of uncounted ballots found in Rome after the vote count. Incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has refused to concede defeat and is awaiting the results of an official investigation, even though he has turned over the office to Prodi. On May 22, Prodi was given final approval by the Italian parliament.

The elections of Napolitano and Prodi are especially striking, in light of recent revelations about Soviet penetration of Italy's government. In March, a parliamentary commission headed by Senator Paolo Guzzanti directly accused the Soviet Union of planning and directing the 1981 assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II in ...