Hi everybody!

The time is simply running and so not only there is a new semester in progress already but also Easter break is almost here…soon I’ll be going back home and Erasmus will be over…how sad.

Anyways, another proof of this un-stoppable feature of time is these elections coming up. I haven’t been that familiar with the voting situation in Italy but I clearly remember the last presidential elections in the US...and it seems as a year ago not five.

My task for this week is to compare the left wings of both of these countries, their programs and ways to make people vote for them.

I just spent about an hour watching various videos on You Tube with Hillary Clinton. The ways these politicians try to get people on their side is very fascinating - the gestures, smiles, carefully chosen phrases, looks, tone of voice, diction, etc. George W. Bush being elected twice just proves how important these factors in the campaign are. Hillary Clinton, as well as all the other candidates, uses all of them and has one extra advantage, her feminine side, which is so new to the presidential elections. She uses it in her performances as a connector to her audience, as well as her jokes and facial expressions.

In her speeches she concentrates on health care, ending war in Iraq and winning war in Afganistan, economy and hard work, which is her main solution to all the problems that need to be solved. During her speeches she always turns to the individuals, who she met or experienced working with. It seems as some kind of American sentiment to do so, but it seems to work very well.

I honestly tried to listen to Veltroni’s speeches, which are on his webpage. However, it was very difficult to even follow, less so to try to understand what his message is. He does not use very much those techniques that will bring the attention on what he is trying to say, as the Americans do. I’ll be happy to read other’s posts about the Italian elections, because it is indeed difficult to comprehend…☹.