Italian-Canadians… or rather Canadian-Italians

Hyphenated Americanization is a familiar construct - African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Murphy-Americans. There are hyphenated Italians too. But with a rather significant difference. They don't have to be Italian citizens, to be so described. Yet they can still vote in Italian elections. This story needs a standup comic for the most appropriate telling. And a rimshot at the punchline. Doug Saunders at the Toronto Globe and Mail reports "Italian Canadian voters pivotal in electing Prodi." The votes of 40,000 Canadian citizens who qualify as "Italians abroad," some of whom have never set foot in Italy and many of whom don't speak Italian, played a pivotal role in the defeat of billionaire Silvio Berlusconi in Italy's election yesterday, according to poll results released late last night. For the first time in history, a country's political fate appears to have been determined by citizens of other countries, after Mr. Berlusconi introduced a scheme in 2002 that defines eligible Italian voters by blood lines rather than residency. … The "Italians abroad" voting scheme was designed by Mirko Tremaglia, the 80-year-old Minister of Italians in the World. An unapologetic defender of the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, Mr. Tremaglia is said to have modelled the scheme after a Fascist scheme that defined Italians as a race. Under Mr. Tremaglia's new electoral law, eligible voters are defined as anyone with a continuous line of male descendants going back to a man born in Italy. The voter needs only to register with an Italian consulate, and does not have to speak Italian, have visited Italy or even have parents who were born in Italy. … Most Italian observers, including Mr. Berlusconi's officials, had apparently expected the "Italians abroad" to support Mr. Berlusconi's coalition. But Mr. Prodi was apparently aware that the foreign voters could provide his electoral salvation. His campaign spent considerable money sending campaign messages to Canada this year. A letter sent to Italian-Canadian households across Canada promised "to restore the deep cuts" made by Mr. Berlusconi's coalition to Italian consular services in Canada, and to make funds available for visits. --- via AMERICAblog