2006 Italian Open (tennis), Review
The men's tournament was won by Rafael Nadal with a five-set victory against the Swiss top seed Roger Federer. The women's draw was won by Swiss player, Martina Hingis, who prevailed 6–2, 7–5, against Dinara Safina.


2006 Italian Open (tennis), Review
Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama were victorious in the women's doubles, beating Francesca Schiavone and Květa Peschke, while third seeds Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor beat sixth seeds Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in the final of the men's doubles.


2006 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's Singles
Rafael Nadal defeated  Roger Federer 6–7(0–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5)


2006 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Men's Doubles
Mark Knowles /  Daniel Nestor defeated  Jonathan Erlich /  Andy Ram 6–4, 5–7, [13–11]


2006 Italian Open (tennis), Finals, Women's Doubles
Daniela Hantuchová /  Ai Sugiyama defeated  Francesca Schiavone and  Květa Peschke 3–6, 6–3, 6–1


2006 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Fabrice Santoro were the defending champions, but had different outcomes. While Llodra did not compete this year, Santoro partnered with Nenad Zimonjić and reached the Quarterfinals, before losing to Jonas Björkman and Max Mirnyi.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Doubles
Mark Knowles and Daniel Nestor won the title, defeating Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 6–4, 5–7, [13–11] in the final. It was the 4th title of the year for the pair, and the 43rd title for Knowles and 45th title for Nestor, in their respective careers.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles
Defending champion Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title, defeating Roger Federer in the final, 6–7(0–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5), to win the Men's Singles title at the 2006 Italian Open.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, The final
Rafael Nadal recovered from the brink of defeat against Roger Federer to capture the Rome Masters and equal the record for consecutive wins on clay. Nadal came back from 4-2 down and saved two match points in the final set before triumphing 6–7(0–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5).


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, The final
The win, which took over five hours, took Nadal to 53 straight wins on clay, matching Guillermo Vilas' record. It also put the 19-year-old level with Björn Borg on 16 titles won as a teenager.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, The final
Federer, who had beaten Nadal only once in five attempts before the Rome Masters, started well, clinching a high-quality first set after playing a near-perfect tiebreak. And the world number one was on top for most of the second set but Nadal's trademark battling qualities kept him in it and out of the blue, he somehow earned a set point at 5–4. The teenager was unable to take that one but edged another tiebreak to draw level.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, The final
The momentum was by now with Nadal and he looked to have made a decisive move when a break at 2–2 gave him the third set. He had chances to break early in the fourth set but the Spaniard let his struggling opponent off the hook and Federer made him pay. The top seed raced through the fourth set and took control of the decider by taking a 4–1 lead. The Rome crowd, including Prince Albert of Monaco and Omar Sharif, looked on in disbelief as first Nadal levelled at 4–4 then fought off Federer again at 5–6. Nadal's double fault, the first of the match from either player, helped Federer earn two match points but the world number one's usually reliable forehand failed him on both occasions and the Spaniard survived.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, The final
Federer still had chances to win in the tiebreak which he led 5–3, in particular when he mishit a forehand which would have given him a 6–3 lead. However, Nadal underlined his talent on the dirt by clinching the tiebreaker and wrapping up his fifth win in six attempts over Federer.


2006 Italian Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.


2006 Italian Open – Women's Doubles
The Women's Doubles Tournament at the 2006 Italian Open took place between 8 May and 22 May on the outdoor clay courts of the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama won the title, defeating Francesca Schiavone and Květa Peschke in the final.


2006 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Amélie Mauresmo was the defending champion, but she withdrew due to illness.


2006 Italian Open – Women's Singles
Martina Hingis won the first title in four years, beating in the final Dinara Safina with the score 6–2, 7–5.


2006 Italian Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds received a bye into the second round. Champion seeds are shown in bold while text in italics indicates the round in which seeds were eliminated.


2006 Italian Senate election in Lombardy
Lombardy renewed its delegation to the Italian Senate on April 9, 2006. This election was a part of national Italian general election of 2006 even if, according to the Italian Constitution, every senatorial challenge in each Region is a single and independent race.


2006 Italian Senate election in Lombardy
Differently from the national result, the election was won by the centre-right coalition of the House of Freedoms. Forza Italia was the largest party in the election with 28%, ahead of the Democrats of the Left (12%) and Lega Nord (11%). Eleven provinces gave a majority or a plurality to Silvio Berlusconi's alliance, while voters of the Province of Mantua supported the new Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi.


2006 Italian Senate election in Lombardy, Background
Silvio Berlusconi's House of Freedoms arrived to this election after a series of bad results. Forza Italia had lost 5 points at regional level during the 2004 European election, while the Province of Milan shifted to the left in the same occasion. 2005 regional election had confirmed centre-right Regional President Roberto Formigoni, but its coalition lost more than 8 points.


2006 Italian Senate election in Lombardy, Background
On the other side, in 2005 Romano Prodi had launched his new larger coalition, The Union, merging in a single alliance quite all oppositions to Berlusconi's majority: The Olive Tree, the Communist Refoundation Party and Antonio Di Pietro's Italy of Values, which in Lombardy were joined by the Lombard Autonomy League.


2006 Italian Senate election in Lombardy, Electoral law
The new electoral law for the Senate was established in 2005 by the Calderoli Law, and it is a form of semi-proportional representation. A party presents its own closed list and it can join other parties in alliances. The coalition which receives a plurality automatically wins at least 26 seats. Respecting this condition, seats are divided between coalitions, and subsequently to party lists, using the largest remainder method with a Hare quota. To receive seats, a party must overcome the barrage of 8% of the vote if it contests a single race, or of 3% of the vote if it runs in alliance.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division
The 2006 Italian general election was the first in the country's history in which Italian and dual citizens living outside the country could vote by postal ballot in international electoral districts. Twelve members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and six members of the Italian Senate were elected in this way.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division
Italian and dual citizens in North America and Central America (including the Caribbean) elected one member of the Italian Senate. The winning candidate was Renato Turano of Romano Prodi's election coalition, The Union.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The process
All electors could vote for a political list and also cast a first preference vote for a specific candidate. The party with the highest number of list votes won the Senate seat, and the winning party's candidate with the most first preference votes was declared elected.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
Seven electoral lists contested the North and Central American Senate division. The same lists also fielded candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and North and Central America.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia party ran its own slate. Two other parties aligned with Berlusconi's government ran separate lists: the moderate conservative Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and Mirko Tremaglia's right-wing For Italy in the World, which was specifically focused on diaspora issues. (Another party in Berlusconi's coalition, the Lega Nord, also appeared on the ballot, although this seems to have been due to a technical error).


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
The main opposition group from the previous parliament, Romano Prodi's centre-left Union party, ran a united slate. One of the Union candidates noted that the state of the party lists favoured his group's chances of election.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
The centrist Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad also fielded a list, as did the far-right Tricolour Flame party.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The parties
Each of the party lists comprised two candidates, except for the Northern League and Tricolour Flame which fielded one apiece.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The results
Romano Prodi's Union received the most votes. Renato Turano received the most first preference votes from this list and was declared elected.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, The results
Source: , Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011. Voters were not required to give a preference vote for any candidate.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, Detailed results by country
More than ninety-five per cent of votes cast in this election were from the United States of America or Canada. The American result was a virtual tie between Berlusconi's list and Prodi's list. In Canada, Prodi's list won a significant victory. Renato Turano credited the Canadian turnout as vital for his election.


2006 Italian Senate election, North and Central American division, Detailed results by country, United States of America
Source: , Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011.


2006 Italian Superturismo Championship
The 2006 Campionato Italiano Superturismo Season was the second season of the Italian Superturismo Championship since its recreation in 2005 (at the same time as the ETCC, the promoted Italian championship, was turned into the WTCC). It had several well-known contenders, such as Alessandro Zanardi, Emanuele Naspetti and retired ski-racer Kristian Ghedina. Overall a total of seven race weekends of two races each were held at six different circuits. The championship was won by Roberto Colcigao driving for SEAT.


2006 Italian constitutional referendum
A constitutional referendum was held in Italy on 25 and 26 June 2006. The reforms were proposed and initially approved during Berlusconi II and III cabinet between October 2004 and November 2005. If ultimately approved by referendum, in continuation with the 2001 constitutional enacted modifications, these reforms would have substantially completed the transformation of Italy from a unitary state into a federal republic.


2006 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background, proposed changes and outcome
Second confirmatory referendum in Italian republican history, launched on the initiative of the center-right legislature XIV, it aimed at modifying the second part of the Constitution of Italy in several respects. The constitutional law revision, approved by an absolute majority of the members of the Italian Parliament, according to the provisions of art. 138 of the constitution, had opened the possibility to the request for confirmation by one of the three subjects provided for by the article. This request was received by more than one fifth of the members of a chamber, by more than 500,000 voters and by more than five regional councils.


2006 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background, proposed changes and outcome
Voters were asked whether they approved of amending 57 articles of the constitution. They would have given more power to the Prime Minister by allowing him or her to dissolve parliament, appoint and dismiss ministers, and control government policy. The President of Italy would have become guarantor of the constitution and the republic's federal unity.


2006 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background, proposed changes and outcome
The reforms would have also ended Italy's perfect bicameralism: the Chamber of Deputies would have been given responsibility for foreign policy, defense and immigration, and the Senate – renamed "Federal Senate" – responsibility for nationwide federal law. The Italian Parliament as a whole would have undergone a reduction in the number of deputies (from 630 to 518) and senators (from 315 to 252) for a total cut of 175 MPs, down from 945 to 770 seats. Consequently, the reforms would also have increased the power of the regions, giving them control of education, healthcare, law and order, as well as giving them representation in the Supreme Court of Cassation.


2006 Italian constitutional referendum, Political background, proposed changes and outcome
The proposals were opposed by incumbent Prodi II Cabinet, and were rejected by 61.29% of voters.


2006 Italian general election
The 2006 Italian general election for the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament was held on 9 and 10 April 2006. Romano Prodi, leader of the centre-left coalition The Union, narrowly defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms.


2006 Italian general election
Initial exit polls suggested a victory for Prodi, but the results narrowed as the count progressed. On 11 April 2006, Prodi declared victory; Berlusconi never conceded defeat explicitly but this is not required by the Italian law.


2006 Italian general election
Preliminary results showed The Union leading the House of Freedoms in the Chamber of Deputies, with 340 seats to 277, thanks to obtaining a majority bonus (actual votes were distributed 49.81% to 49.74%). One more seat is allied with The Union (Aosta Valley) and 7 more seats in the foreign constituency. The House of Freedoms had secured a slight majority of Senate seats elected within Italy (155 seats to 154), but The Union won 4 of the 6 seats allocated to voters outside Italy, giving them control of both chambers.


2006 Italian general election
On 19 April 2006, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that Prodi had indeed won the election, winning control of the Chamber of Deputies by only 24,755 votes out of more than 38 million votes cast, and winning 158 seats in the Senate to 156 for Berlusconi's coalition. Even so, Berlusconi refused to concede defeat, claiming unproven fraud.


2006 Italian general election
Recent developments, including publishing of a controversial documentary film about alleged frauds in the ballot counting during the election, brought in December 2006 the Electoral Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies to request for a recount of all ballot papers, starting from a 10% sample.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign
During the election campaign, a political battle began between Romano Prodi, who led the centre-left coalition The Union and had been President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 and Prime Minister of Italy from 1996 to 1998. On the other hand, Silvio Berlusconi led the centre-right House of Freedoms; Berlusconi had been the incumbent Prime Minister since the 2001 general election, and had previously served as Prime Minister also in 1994 and 1995.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms was the coalition supporting the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and mainly included the same parties as in the previous general election.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, House of Freedoms
The New Italian Socialist Party (NPSI), a small social-democratic party composed of former members of the late Italian Socialist Party and led by former 1980s and 1990s minister Gianni De Michelis, which was part of the Berlusconi III Cabinet as a minister without portfolio, suffered a split on its last national congress (21 to 23 October 23, 2005), with a left-wing faction, led by Bobo Craxi, son of the late Bettino Craxi, who decided to immediately leave the House of Freedoms and unilaterally elected Craxi himself as new party leader. The NPSI contested the election with a joint list with the Christian Democracy for the Autonomies.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, House of Freedoms
As for the candidate who led the coalition into the general election, Berlusconi experienced an actual loss of support from Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), who asked for a return of the electoral law to a proportional system (which would most likely favour them) and a primary election to formally decide the alliance's candidate for Prime Minister.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, House of Freedoms
When the party list representation system was restored (albeit a form very different from the UDC proposal) and Marco Follini, critic of several reforms imposed by Berlusconi on the whole coalition, resigned from the UDC secretaryship, the possibility of a change of leadership inside the House of Freedoms was significantly reduced. On 27 October 2005, Lorenzo Cesa was appointed as new UDC secretary, becoming the successor of Follini himself. The coalition announced a "three-forwards" system, meaning that the Prime Ministerial candidate will be the political leader, among Casini, Fini and Berlusconi, whose party will win most votes. Since Berlusconi's party was known to be by far the largest one, it was understood that Berlusconi was the actual candidate.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, House of Freedoms
One event which caused heavy criticism from the opposition was the support, sought and obtained by Berlusconi, of a number of fascist movements and parties, notably the Social Alternative of Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the former dictator of Italy, and Luca Romagnoli, a holocaust denier. Supporters of Berlusconi responded to this pointing to the presence in The Union of two communist parties, which had among their candidates anarchist activist Francesco Caruso and a transgender, Vladimir Luxuria.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, The Union
The Olive Tree coalition, expression of the Italian centre-left, was expanded as The Union, and led for the election by former Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission Romano Prodi, who had already beaten Berlusconi in the 1996 general election. Prodi's candidacy was confirmed by a national primary election, held on 16 October 2005. The former coalition was enlarged in order to cover the whole ensemble of Italian centre-left to left-wing factions.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, The Union
The Rose in the Fist was officially founded on 25 September 2005, when the Italian Radicals, a libertarian-influenced party, officially declared an alliance with the Italian Democratic Socialists (SDI) in the form of a confederation, with explicit references to the politics of Tony Blair, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Loris Fortuna, an Italian politician in the 1970s who became famous for his laicist proposals, and is considered the father of the law on divorce.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, The Union
This confederation immediately caused a stir for not having signed the political platform of The Union, being the only centre-left party not to do that; the Rose in the Fist, represented by Emma Bonino in the final platform meeting, in fact protested about insufficient mentions of social issues such as legalisation of civil unions.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, The Union
The Socialists, led by Bobo Craxi, who were the breakaway left wing of the New Italian Socialist Party which emerged the House of Freedoms, was supposed to join the Rose in the Fist confederation, but instead reorganised itself in a single party, which however failed to get over the 2% of national votes. However, Bobo Craxi was able to enter in the Lower House, as he was one of the leading candidates for The Olive Tree in Lombardy.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral campaign, The Union
The Union is also supported by a number of minor parties and movements, although of those only the Pensioners' Party has any elected representation (1 Member of European Parliament).


2006 Italian general election, Debates
For some time, Silvio Berlusconi had challenged Romano Prodi to a debate on national television. Prodi, however, said he would accept only if certain rules had been set. Possibly because he thought he was behind in the polls, Berlusconi saw the debate as a chance to turn the tables, and accused Prodi of fleeing from him. It is notable that, in the 2001 elections, it was Berlusconi who refused to meet the centre-left candidate, Francesco Rutelli.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
Two televised debates were set by the Parliamentary Committee of Inspection on RAI, which had the goal of ensuring equal treatment for the two political sides. However, Prodi contested the deliberation of this Committee, which allowed Berlusconi to also hold a final televised speech after the debates as Prime Minister. Prodi refused to participate in any debate until this final speech had been cancelled. The issue was resolved on 3 March, when Berlusconi finally agreed to cancel the final speech.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
The debates lasted about 90 minutes each, did not include commercials, and had a preset time for each answer and each reply, and the obligation to film only the speaking person at any given time. The candidates were also forbidden to bring any kind of notes with them, even though they could write some down during the debate, and no audience was allowed to participate. This set of rules was very unusual in Italian political talk shows, where politicians usually interrupt each other, talk simultaneously and for as long as they can hold the word.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
Questions to candidates are posted by two journalists from the Italian press: the moderator himself was not allowed to ask any questions, but only to present the debate and guarantee respect of the rules. At the end of the debates, the candidates are allowed to make a final statement of 3 minutes.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
The first televised debate, held on 14 March, was broadcast live on Rai Uno, and moderated by Clemente Mimun, Director of TG1. It featured questions from journalists Roberto Napoletano of Il Messaggero and Marcello Sorgi of La Stampa. It was watched by over 16 million people, a record for a political TV show. During his final speech, Berlusconi, who often overran his intervention times, attacked the rules of the debate, in his opinion too strict, whereas Prodi praised them, pointing out the fact that they are used in US debates this way, as well. Some observers commented that Berlusconi had been disappointing in this debate, scribbling nervously while he was talking and at a point confusing Iran and Iraq; while all politicians claimed their candidate had won the debate, it was generally agreed that Berlusconi had not dealt a strong blow to Prodi.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
The second debate, moderated by Bruno Vespa, an Italian journalist and anchorman, was held on April 3 and broadcast live on Rai Uno, featuring questions from Napoletano and Sorgi (same journalists of the first debate). It was dominated by the economic proposals and was more intense, with much stronger tones between Prodi and Berlusconi. In this debate, Berlusconi had the possibility of making the final 3-minute statement: in this time, he delivered his "surprise blow" proposing the abolition of ICI, a local tax on real estate whose money belongs to local city councils.


2006 Italian general election, Debates
Later on, it turned out that Berlusconi's proposal was not completely agreed upon in the rest of the House of Freedoms, and Prodi, immediately after the debate, noted "about ICI, I want to know what the centre-right mayors think about".


2006 Italian general election, Platforms, The Union
After a long discussion, the centre-left coalition released its official platform on 10 February 2006, and presented it to the public the next day. However, the Rose in the Fist refused to sign it in, because it did not explicitly include some issues, such as civil unions and LGBT rights. The platform has been criticised by the House of Freedoms because of its 281-page length.


2006 Italian general election, Platforms, The Union
A reduced, more readable, version of the official political platform  was released by the coalition, in order to answer the critics from the centre-right coalition.


2006 Italian general election, Platforms, House of Freedoms
The platform of the House of Freedoms was released on 25 February. It was 22 pages long, and it was defined as the continuance of the first five years of centre-right government. It is different by the contract with Italians (just five basic points) which characterised the 2001 general election. It was criticised as "vague" and "propaganda".


2006 Italian general election, Opinion polling
According to the opinion polls released, mainly commissioned for national newspapers, magazines and TV stations, The Union was clearly leading the race to the general election. The three surveys which show a majority of votes for the House of Freedoms were all commissioned by Berlusconi's party Forza Italia. Notably, the surveys of Penn, Schoen & Berland, a U.S. research firm, were commissioned by Berlusconi because he claimed the national surveys to be politically biased.


2006 Italian general election, Opinion polling
According to the Italian par condicio law, it is forbidden to publish any opinion polling in the 15 days which precede the election (25 March, in this case).


2006 Italian general election, Opinion polling
The final result (49.8% Union vs 49.7% House of Freedoms) was about 3% different from almost all polls (including all the exit polls) reducing the expected 5% gap between the coalition to a difference of about 0.1%. On Italian TV some tried to explain this discrepancy claiming that some House of Freedoms voters were ashamed to admit that they planned to vote for them. Others claimed that the last week of electoral campaign, dominated by Berlusconi's proposal of cutting ICI and by the media's insistence on the alleged new taxes advocated by The Union, persuaded a large number of Italians, usually uninterested to politics, to cast a vote for the House of Freedoms.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Election date
In July 2005, President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi asked current PM Silvio Berlusconi about the opportunity for an early election for the first half of April 2006, in order to prevent a big political deadlock (the mandate of President Ciampi himself would be over in May 2006 and a newly elected government was not likely be in office within three weeks). Berlusconi however refused the deal, claiming he would stay in office until the due date of his term.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Election date
But, on 18 October, Berlusconi announced that the election would be held on 9 April 2006, eventually following the suggestions from President Ciampi. Berlusconi also announced that the next administrative elections (which include the mayoral elections of Rome, Milan and Naples) will be held in May, the day after Romano Prodi had asked to vote for all elections the same day, in April. Berlusconi stated this was due to his fear that good government by centre-left mayors could favour the centre-left in the general election. Critics say holding all elections on the same day could save millions of euros in public expenditure.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Par condicio law
One of the main topics that was relevant for this general election was the par condicio law. Its name, in Latin, means equal treatment; a special law which guarantees all the main majority and opposition political forces to have equal media treatment, in terms of times and spaces, and, furthermore, denies political commercials for TV and radio outside some dedicated transmissions.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Par condicio law
Berlusconi had declared several times that he wants the par condicio law to be either repealed or at least changed in a much lighter way. Critics and opponents said that Berlusconi's willingness to have the law abolished were dictated by his almost complete control of 6 channels (his family holding company controls Mediaset, which broadcasts three national private channels, and controls indirectly, as Head of Government, the three RAI public broadcasting channels).


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Par condicio law
In his latter government years, Berlusconi attempted to accelerate his desires; however UDC, who is part of the Berlusconi government, declared several times its opposition to either abolish or change the par condicio law, with secretary Lorenzo Cesa, after his election as party leader, who pointed out his refusal of any change of the law.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Par condicio law
The law however did not prevent Berlusconi from using his TV channels of Mediaset, and even SMS via cellphones, to manage to get more votes. During the election day Berlusconi's channels aired a lot of messages to remind people who were watching his TV channels to use their vote together with spots saying "Mediaset gives you everything without asking for anything in return".


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Par condicio law
While these spots didn't break the par condicio law, it was broken by some of the journalists (especially Emilio Fede, well known for his political ideas) of the Berlusconi's channels and in March and April 2006, the Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni fined twice his privately owned channels for violation of the par condicio law, the biggest fine to date (300,000 €).


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Tax breaks
Before winning the 2001 general election and becoming Prime Minister of Italy, Berlusconi signed in a TV show a Contract with Italians, where he promised, if elected, to fulfil at least four of the five points included in it. One of the main points regarded a tax break for income levels, whereas The Olive Tree policy was essentially to maintain a progressive taxation system.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Tax breaks
The generalised tax break was somewhat enacted in 2005, and included in the last Financial Measure.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Tax breaks
The opposition blamed Berlusconi for doing the tax break in one of the worst economic periods for the country, with no coverage for the resulting debt, and accused Berlusconi's allies of accepting the tax break in return for better power positions; during the negotiations for the Financial Measure, the National Alliance leader, and, at that date, vice-premier, Gianfranco Fini, was moved to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and UDC leader Marco Follini, who had no ministerial role before that date, was chosen to replace Fini.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Tax breaks
In the electoral campaign, Berlusconi and the whole centre-right coalition almost daily criticised the left, alleging that Prodi would increase taxes if elected, pointing out the centre-left proposal to have a 5% cut of the tax wedge.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Tax breaks
Taxes became the main topic for the end of the electoral campaign, with Berlusconi citing Prodi would reintroduce the inheritance tax, abrogated in 2001, and increase the tax system on treasury bills (BOT, CCT) and would tax stockmarket trading. Prodi pointed out the fact that he would reintroduce the inheritance tax only for the very rich people, and would not increase the taxes on treasury bills.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Foreign reputation
A good friend of George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin, Berlusconi supported the American invasion of Iraq, and, during the Italian EU presidency, suggested to Chairman of the PES Group in the European Parliament Martin Schulz, during a talk, a role of kapo (concentration-camp inmate appointed as supervisor) for a hypothetical movie, claiming he would be "perfect" for the role.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Foreign reputation
When Berlusconi entered the Strasburg Parliament he was welcomed with posters in various languages addressing him as "Godfather of Europe", explicitly referring to Francis Ford Coppola's cinematic series about the mafia, without respecting his high institutional role as EU Council president. Afterwards Mr Berlusconi exploded at the insisting questions of MP Schulz. This diplomatic incident cooled down the Italy-Germany foreign relations for a period. Eventually a phone call between the Prime Minister and German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder put an end to the dispute.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Foreign reputation
In 2001 Berlusconi declared Western civilisation to be "superior to Islam", which he was very much criticised for.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Foreign reputation
But in particular the international English-speaking press, such as Financial Times and Newsweek, criticized Berlusconi's work. Several times, before and after his election as prime minister, the weekly worldwide magazine The Economist accused Berlusconi of being essentially "unfit to lead Italy".


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, New voting rights for Italians living abroad
For the first time in Italian history, Italian citizens living abroad were able to vote by postal ballot (without having to physically return to Italy to cast their vote) for 12 deputies and 6 senators who will represent them in the Italian Parliament, an unusual system that was supported by Silvio Berlusconi and promoted by Mirko Tremaglia. These parliamentary seats are organised into four constituencies (Europe, North & Central America, Latin America, and Africa/Asia/Oceania). Candidates must live in their respective constituencies.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, New voting rights for Italians living abroad
Forty-two percent of eligible voters abroad participated in the elections. Prodi's The Union managed to secure 4 of the 6 Senate seats, while Berlusconi's Forza Italia and an Independent candidate each gained 1 of the remaining 2 seats, aiding Prodi in gaining a majority in the Italian Senate. In the House of Deputies, 7 seats went to The Union, 4 to Berlusconi's coalition, and one to an Independent candidate. In North America, candidates from Toronto and Chicago were elected to the House of Deputies while the candidate from New York City was elected to the Senate.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, New voting rights for Italians living abroad
Berlusconi claimed, in challenging the election results, that there were irregularities in the vote abroad. The result of the vote may have been influenced by the fact that numerous right-wing parties put forward candidates in the constituencies abroad, while there were few centre-left candidates, thereby splitting the centre-right vote. This tactical error may be explained through the novelty of the vote abroad.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Voting rights for Italians living abroad prior to 2006
Italian citizens living outside of Italy have always had the De Jure right to vote in all referendums and elections being held in Italy (provided they had registered their residence abroad with their relevant consulate). However until late 2001, any citizen wishing to vote, was required to physically return to the city or town in Italy where he or she was registered on the electoral roll. The only exception to this rule was for the Italian elections to the european parliament in which voters could cast their ballot at their nearest consulate but only if they had their residence in one of the other 14 European Union nations.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Voting rights for Italians living abroad prior to 2006
Until 2001 the Italian Republic offered citizens living abroad a free return train journey to their home town in Italy in order to vote, however the portion of the train journey that was free of charge was only on Italian soil. Any costs incurred in getting from their place of residence abroad to the Italian border had to be covered by the citizen wanting to vote, therefore a free return train journey was hardly an incentive for the large Italian communities living as far away as in the United States, Argentina or Australia.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Voting rights for Italians living abroad prior to 2006
For this reason very few Italians abroad made use of this right to vote, unless they lived in cities and towns that bordered to Italy such as in Germany, Switzerland, France and Austria. Various Italian minorities living abroad (notably in the United States) protested frequently at this lack of political representation especially if they paid taxes on property owned in Italy.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Voting rights for Italians living abroad prior to 2006
After numerous years of petitioning and fierce debate, the Italian Parliament, in late 2001, finally passed a constitutional law allowing Italian citizens living abroad to vote in elections in Italy by postal ballot. The change was the result of a thirty-year struggle to recognise the rights and special interests of Italians who have migrated abroad but retained their Italian identity.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Voting rights for Italians living abroad prior to 2006
Italians wishing to excise this right must first register their residence abroad with their relevant consulate.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
During the last few months of 2004, the House of Freedoms coalition proposed a large reform of the current Italian Constitution, which was formulated in 1948.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
It proposes several changes to the current political system: it reduces the number of MPs from about 950 to 750, it gives more power to the prime minister (no longer called president of the council), there will be no possibility to express a vote of no confidence against the prime minister without indicating his successor (similar to Germany's constructive vote of no confidence); it puts an end to the necessity of a law being approved by both Chambers, attributing a clear competence to each of them; it gives more power to the regions, with several references to devolution, the main programme point of the Northern League, still guaranteeing, according to the new version of article 127, the national interest, which had been cancelled by the previous reform of the left.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
The Italian Constitution prescribes that both chambers must accept every modification to the constitution twice within three months, and, if it passes with less than two thirds of the votes at the second scrutiny, a national referendum on the modification can be held (the reform will make it always possible to call such a referendum).


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
Since the centre-left opposition opposed to the new constitutional reform, describing it as "dangerous", "separatist", and "antidemocratic", the first procedural step, that is, the approval by the Chamber of Deputies, was done successfully in October 2004, but with less than ⅔ of the lower-house votes, making possible the confirmative referendum. The second favourable polling, in Senate, was done in March 2005, whereas the third one occurred on October 20. During the third polling, former UDC leader Marco Follini announced he would abstain from the final vote, not support anymore the constitutional reform, followed by his party fellow Bruno Tabacci.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
On November 17, the Senate approved the constitutional reform in its final instance; Northern League leader Umberto Bossi attended the discussion and the voting, returning to the Parliament, even if just as spectator, after his illness. During the vote, Domenico Fisichella announced his opposition to the reform, and his immediate resignation from the party, going against the party line about the issue. Italian MPs quite easily change party and even coalition: in the legislature between 1996 and 2001 15% of MPs did so.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
The House of Freedoms' proposal of constitutional reform has been done in a unilateral way - no agreement with the opposition, whereas the current Italian Constitution was written after World War II by all the national political forces (except the fascists), ranging from Liberals, to Christian Democrats, to Socialists, to Communists and others. According to the House of Freedom, this policy was adopted in order to correct the constitutional reform approved by the former centre-left majority in 2001 (Constitutional law 3/2001) with the same modus - no agreement with the opposition. However, the new reform deeply modifies constitutional system of Italy, while the 2001 reform just partially modified a section of the Constitution.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Constitutional reform
The national referendum, requested by the centre-left opposition and a number of associations and regions - even by the centre-right ruled Lombardy, has been kept on 25–26 June 2006 and it has been concluded with the refusal of the constitutional reform by 61.32% of voting.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, 2005 regional elections
On 3 and 4 April 2005, regional elections were held in 13 Italian regions (the election in Basilicata was put off for two weeks because of irregularities). The final result actually reversed the political scenario of Italy, with the opposition centre-left coalition The Union winning in 11 regions, while the governing centre-right coalition House of Freedoms maintaining only two of the eight regions they were ruling before the election. These results have brought some right-wing members, including vice-premier Marco Follini, to ask for early national election.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Centre-left primary election
On 16 October 2005, a primary election was held to officially declare the one and only candidate for the centre-left coalition The Union. Over four million voters have participated to the election.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Centre-left primary election
Major candidate Romano Prodi, who has been one of the main supporters of the primary election, gained a clear win, obtaining about 75% of the votes and defeating Communist Refoundation Party leader Fausto Bertinotti, Green Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, former magistrate Antonio Di Pietro, Catholic centrist Clemente Mastella, independent candidate Ivan Scalfarotto and far-left candidate Simona Panzino. The election was also opened to non-Italian official residents, even if they will not be eligible to vote for the general election.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Economic issues
Italy was the only European country in which there is an almost-zero rate of growth in economy, and one of the highest debts in the whole EU, which brought Berlusconi to ask successfully to have the Treaty of Maastricht parameters relaxed.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Economic issues
This led to several critics of the Berlusconi's policy on economy, strictly linked to the work of the Italian Ministry of Economy of Giulio Tremonti, which was forced to resign in 2004 after heavy protests from parties of his own coalition, especially the National Alliance, and returned to his previous cabinet position one year later, following the resignation of Domenico Siniscalco; Tremonti's work for trying to fill the cash deficit was often based on amnesties for infringement of tax and building regulations. Prodi and the centre-left often criticised that facet of the Italian centre-right.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Job security
The regulation of temporary employment was first introduced as "pacchetto Treu" during the 1996–2001 centre-left government. It was then changed by Minister of Labour Roberto Maroni in 2003, introducing a high number of temporary labour forms and made temporary labour cheaper than permanent.


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Job security
The centre-left heavily criticised the current law, claiming it has damaged the future of the younger people. More recently, Prodi defined the current labour law as "much worse than French CPE".


2006 Italian general election, Political issues, Job security
The centre-left has proposed to put temporary and permanent job costs on the same level, contain the number of temporary labour forms, and regulate internships.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system
Since 1994 and 2001 general elections, Italy had a mixed electoral system, with 75% of the seats assigned through a plurality voting system, and 25% through a proportional one.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system
The Italian Chamber of Deputies has 630 seats, the Senate 315 (exactly half).


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
A white paper for a proportional-only electoral system was presented to the Chamber of Deputies on 13 September 2005, only seven months before the 2006 general election. This reform, strongly backed by the centrist Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), proposed a 4% threshold before a party gained any seats, and a majority bonus of (at least) 340 seats for the winning coalition, the total votes for each coalition being the sum of the votes of those coalition parties which had won at least 4% of the national votes. The new proposal was approved by parliament.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
An electoral survey published on 15 September 2005 by the national left newspaper La Repubblica claimed that, with the initial proposal of electoral reform become law, the House of Freedoms would win the next elections 340-290, even if they won only 45% of votes and the opposition coalition The Union won 50%, because The Union also includes several small parties with less than 4% of national votes. This could have been avoided if the small opposition parties ran on a common ticket. Aim of this bill of reform was to reduce the number of parties, and particularly the moderate centre-left would have taken advantage in respect to the smaller radical left parties.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
The UDC, commenting on the proposal, asked for the abolition of the 4% cut-off clause, whereas the National Alliance did not show any favour to this attempt of reform, with its leader Gianfranco Fini claiming to want first to vote for the constitutional reform, and then for the new voting system, on condition that the 4% cut-off were not repealed.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
This proposal of law was strongly questioned by the opposition coalition, who defined it an "attempted coup". Opposition leader Romano Prodi said it was "totally unacceptable".


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
Several newspapers politically oriented to the left nicknamed the electoral system proposal by the House of Freedoms as "Truffarellum", after "truffa" (Italian for "fraud") and the "Mattarellum", (from Sergio Mattarella), the most common name for the previous Italian electoral law (there is a recent custom to nickname new electoral systems by a somewhat Latinised version of the name of the lawmaker; another one is the system used in regional elections, the so-called "Tatarellum" from Pinuccio Tatarella).


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
Notably, some smaller opposition parties, such as Communist Refoundation Party and Union of Democrats for Europe (UDEUR), supported a proportional electoral law; nevertheless, they declared they were against an electoral reform by this parliament, because the current law would be changed too close to the 2006 general election.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had previously been a strong supporter of the plurality-based electoral law; in 1995, talking about his coalition, he even defined the plurality principle as "our religion".


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
A modified version of the first proposal, this time with a 2% threshold for entering Parliament and without vote of preference for candidates, but still without the support of the opposition, was presented to the Chamber of Deputies. The voting count started on 11 October 2005; the lower house of Italian parliament then approved the electoral reform on 14 October. The new electoral was then eventually approved on December 16, 2005, and countersigned by President Ciampi on 23 December 2005.


2006 Italian general election, Electoral system, Approval of a new voting system
Roberto Calderoli, the main author of this electoral reform, defined this law "a rascality" (using the mildly vulgar term "porcata"). Ironically, the new electoral law allowed Prodi to count on a large majority in the Chamber and to obtain majority also in the Senate, where the House of Freedoms had more votes (49.88% vs. 49.18% for The Union).


2006 Italian general election, Results for the Senate of the Republic, Italy (18 regions out of 20), Notes
Note: 7 Senators for life: Francesco Cossiga (Former Italian President), Oscar Luigi Scalfaro (Former Italian President), Giulio Andreotti (Former Italian Prime Minister), Rita Levi Montalcini (Nobel Prize winner for Medicine 1986), Emilio Colombo (Former Italian Prime Minister), Giorgio Napolitano (Former President of Italian Chamber of Deputies and Minister of the Interior), Sergio Pininfarina.


2006 Italian general election, Vote count controversy
Although The Union led initial exit polls and was quickly expected to win the election, the gap with House of Freedoms narrowed as the votes were tabulated. The initial Interior Ministry results showed that Prodi had won the Chamber of Deputies by 25,204 votes, and Prodi declared victory on 11 April. Berlusconi, however, refused to concede, claiming discrepancies in the vote counting process, with 43,028 Chamber ballots and 39,822 Senate ballots to be re-checked by the Interior Ministry. Berlusconi also claimed problems with the vote from abroad, which was critical in giving The Union a majority in the Senate.


2006 Italian general election, Vote count controversy
Five ballot boxes were also found on the streets in Rome after the election. On 14 April, however, the Interior Ministry announced that there had been a mistake in the report of the number of ballots to be rechecked. Only 2,131 Chamber ballots and 3,135 Senate ballots merited re-examination (reducing the total number of disputed ballots from the over 80,000 initially reported to just over 5,000). The result of this check added equally a few hundred votes to each coalition. Analysts also believed that the vote from abroad was so overwhelmingly in favour of The Union that the election would be highly unlikely to be overturned in Berlusconi's favour.


2006 Italian general election, Vote count controversy
The last ruling of the supreme court ("Corte di Cassazione") on 19 April 2006 stated that Prodi won the election by 24,755 votes. On 23  November 2006, the Rome Attorney's office announced to have started an inquiry following the release of Uccidete la democrazia (Kill the Democracy), a documentary movie about a supposed attempt by the centre-right government to manipulate the electoral results by switching a large number of blank ballot papers, which notably fell down from 4.2% to 1.1% of all valid papers (over one million less), to votes for the Forza Italia party.


2006 Italian general election in Aosta Valley
The Italian general election of 2006 took place on 9–10 April 2006.


2006 Italian general election in Aosta Valley
In the Aosta Valley single-seat constituency Roberto Nicco (Democrats of the Left, Autonomy Liberty Democracy) was elected deputy, while incumbent senator Augusto Rollandin (Valdostan Union, Aosta Valley coalition) was defeated by Carlo Perrin (Valdostan Renewal, Autonomy Liberty Democracy).


2006 Italian general election in Lombardy
The Italian general election of 2006 took place on 9–10 April 2006.


2006 Italian general election in Lombardy
The election was won in Lombardy by the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition, differently from what happen at the national result. Eleven provinces gave a majority or a plurality to Silvio Berlusconi's alliance, while voters of the Province of Mantua supported the new Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.


2006 Italian general election in Sardinia
The Italian general election of 2006 took place on 10–11 April 2006.


2006 Italian general election in Sardinia
The election was won in Sardinia by the centre-left The Union, which prevailed also nationally.


2006 Italian general election in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
The Italian general election of 2006 took place on 10–11 April 2006.


2006 Italian general election in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
In Trentino the centre-right came first narrowly ahead of the centre-left, as it happened nationally, while in South Tyrol the South Tyrolean People's Party led the centre-left to a major victory, but lost almost 10% of the vote from 2001 due to the alliance with Italian parties.


2006 Italian general election in Veneto
The Italian general election of 2006 took place on 10–11 April 2006. The election was won in Veneto by the centre-right House of Freedoms coalition by a landslide in an election narrowly won by the centre-left The Union at the national level.


2006 Italian local elections
A number of elections for the renewal of both municipal councils and mayors were held in Italy on 28 and 29 May 2006. Notably, these election regarded the four biggest cities in the country, Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin. Other relevant cities where municipal elections were held included Cagliari, Varese, Novara, Ravenna, Rimini, Ancona, Siena, Salerno and Catanzaro.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Rome
Incumbent mayor Walter Veltroni, of The Union ran for a second mandate.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Rome
The House of Freedoms, which initially considered not to present a unique candidate, in fact proposed the unitary candidacy of Gianni Alemanno, prominent member of the National Alliance and Minister for Agriculture in the second Berlusconi cabinet; before that, both Mario Baccini of the UDC, Minister for Public Function in the Berlusconi cabinet, and Member of the European Parliament Alfredo Antoniozzi of Forza Italia considered the candidacy. There are also twelve other minor candidates.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Rome
Veltroni, member and former secretary of the Democrats of the Left, as well as former editor-in-chief of newspaper L'Unità, won the Mayor office in 2001, after having defeated Antonio Tajani of Forza Italia in the ballot round.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Rome
A majority of pollsters predicted an easy victory for Veltroni in the first electoral round.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Milan
Since incumbent mayor Gabriele Albertini of the House of Freedoms completed his second mandate, as Italian law does not allow more than two consecutive mandates, his coalition had to nominate a different candidate, Letizia Moratti, currently Minister for School and University in the Berlusconi cabinet. She faced Bruno Ferrante of The Union, former city prefect, chosen after a primary election which saw also Nobel prize Dario Fo to compete in it. Some other candidates considered the candidacy, notably Ombretta Colli, former president of the Province of Milan.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Milan
Differently than Rome, the Milan election was thought to be characterized by a close race between the two main opponents.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Naples
In the Campanian capital city, and largest city in Southern Italy, incumbent mayor Rosa Russo Jervolino of The Union competed for another mandate. She faced Franco Malvano of the House of Freedoms, as well as a number of minor competitors, of which Marco Rossi Doria was considered the most important one. Pollsters predicted Iervolino to be clearly first-placed in the election.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Turin
Sergio Chiamparino, centre-left incumbent mayor elected in 2001, competed for another mandate. The centre-right mayoral candidate was Rocco Buttiglione, former Minister and MEP, as well as prominent member of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats. Seven other minor candidates ran in the election.


2006 Italian local elections, Municipal elections, Other provincial capital cities
Cities where a centre-left candidate was elected as mayor are indicated with red; cities where a centre-right candidate was elected are indicated with blue, and cities where a second round is needed are indicated with gray.


2006 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2006 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the sixth race of the 2006 Motorcycle Grand Prix season. It took place on the weekend of 2–4 June 2006 at the Mugello Circuit.


2006 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round six has concluded.


2006 Italian presidential election
The Italian presidential election of 2006 was held on 8–10 May 2006. The result was the election of Giorgio Napolitano, the first time a former member of the Italian Communist Party had been elected to the Presidency of the Italian Republic.


2006 Italian presidential election
Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 2006 general election. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.


2006 Italian presidential election, Procedure
In accordance to the Italian Constitution, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators, the Deputies and 58 regional representatives entitled to vote. The election was held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 1,009 voters in order to elect a president, or 673 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 505 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years. The term of the incumbent president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, was due to end on 18 May 2006 (, but eventually already on 15 May).


2006 Italian presidential election, Procedure
The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Fausto Bertinotti, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the President of the Senate Franco Marini.


2006 Italian presidential election, Chronology
On 2 May 2006 the President of the Chamber of Deputies Fausto Bertinotti, in agreement with President of the Senate Franco Marini, convened the two houses of the Italian Parliament, integrated with a number of representatives appointed by the twenty Italian regions, in a common session on 8 May in order to commence voting for the election of the new President of the Italian Republic.


2006 Italian presidential election, Chronology
Outgoing President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, 85, was asked to run for another mandate by the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms, with the strong support of the centre-left coalition The Union. However Ciampi declined to run again, noting that "none of the past nine presidents of the Republic has been re-elected. I think this has become a meaningful rule. It is better not to infringe it".


2006 Italian presidential election, Chronology
On 10 May 2006 Giorgio Napolitano, the candidate endorsed by the center-left coalition, was elected on the fourth ballot with 543 votes. His term officially started with a swearing-in ceremony held on 15 May 2006.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, First ballot (8 May)
The Union initially proposed lifetime Senator Giorgio Napolitano as its official candidate, in an attempt to reach an agreement with the House of Freedoms, whose votes would have been necessary to have a successful election at the first ballot; however, the centre-right opposition declared it did not intend to vote for Napolitano, and instead announced its own members would vote for Gianni Letta.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, First ballot (8 May)
After this announcement, the Union declared that its members would cast a blank vote in the first ballot, in order not to waste Napolitano's candidacy, with the exception of the Rose in the Fist, which would vote for either Adriano Sofri or Emma Bonino. Inside the centre-right, the Christian Democracy for the Autonomies and the New Italian Socialist Party voted for the journalist Giuliano Ferrara.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, First ballot (8 May)
The voting operations started at 16:00 CEST; as no candidate obtained the 673 votes requested to win the election, a new ballot was held in the morning of May 9.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, First ballot (8 May), Results
Among the other votes cast, there were one vote each for Linda Giuva, wife of Massimo D'Alema, singer/songwriter Francesco Guccini and controversial writer Oriana Fallaci. A vote for Giorgio Almirante, historical leader of the Italian Social Movement who died in 1988, was declared invalid.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Second ballot (9 May)
This ballot, as well as the first, required a majority of 673 votes. After several discussions about the opportunity to vote for Giorgio Napolitano, the House of Freedoms decided to cast a blank vote too. However, the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats declared its members could vote for Napolitano in the next ballot, an opinion that was not shared within the coalition. Due to the lack of consensus and the row in the opposition, the Union members decided to continue withholding their votes for Napolitano. Rather than casting a blank vote, the centre-left party UDEUR instead decided to vote in this ballot for an own symbolic candidate, Giuseppe De Rita.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Second ballot (9 May), Results
Among the other votes, there were one vote each for rock musician Vasco Rossi and Luciano Moggi, general manager of the football team Juventus F.C..


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Third ballot (9 May)
After the second ballot, Silvio Berlusconi declared his coalition would never vote for either Giorgio Napolitano or any other candidate associated with the Democrats of the Left, and would continue casting blank votes for both the third and probably also the fourth ballot. However, Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, an ally of Berlusconi in the House of Freedoms, declared that his party considered it "a mistake not to vote for Giorgio Napolitano as President of the Republic" and expressed a wish for a large consensus among the political forces on Napolitano's name. On the other hand, the Union declared its members would again cast a blank vote in this ballot, but would vote for Napolitano in the fourth ballot, to be held on May 10, for which a plain majority of votes would be required for a successful election.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Fourth ballot (10 May)
The fourth ballot is the first one that requires only a simple majority for a successful election, that is, 505 votes; thus, the Union could elect its own candidate without needing to find agreement with the House of Freedoms.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Fourth ballot (10 May)
The Union declared its members would vote for Giorgio Napolitano in this ballot. The House of Freedoms declared that its members would cast a blank vote; however, the decision was not taken unanimously, as the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats clearly showed its approval of Napolitano's candidacy. Former secretary of the party Marco Follini declared he would vote for Napolitano.


2006 Italian presidential election, Ballots, Fourth ballot (10 May)
The voting operations, started at 9:30 CEST, resulted in the election of Giorgio Napolitano as President of the Italian Republic.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
There has been criticism from across the political spectrum about the presidential elections, mostly from the minority right-wing coalition. Since the speakers of both houses of parliament were chosen by the winning coalition, the House of Freedoms demanded an impartial candidate for the role of president. The Union stressed the fact that the Italian Constitution demands that the president be a defender of the constitution, hinting that such a quality was scarce among the opposition members.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
Most of the criticism focused on how the president was to be elected. Surprisingly, given the enormous heat and animosity shown in the preceding general elections, the two coalition leaders organized a meeting to try to come up with a candidate that was acceptable to both. The attempts failed quickly, with the Union arguing that the House of Freedom was not interested in any candidate, and the House of Freedom arguing that the Union was not proposing any that were acceptable.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
Silvio Berlusconi, the leader of the opposition, was the most vocal opponent of any candidate that came from the former Italian Communist Party, in line with the anti-communist stance he had taken in the campaign. His allies, especially the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (UDC), openly disagreed with his intransigence but vowed to stick with their ally's decision.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
Yet, when Napolitano was elected, Silvio Berlusconi gave an interview to one of his political magazines Panorama saying that the UDC betrayed him by letting 60 of his electors cast a blank vote on the first ballot, instead of supporting the official candidate Gianni Letta. When the UDC argued that this might have spelled the end of the Coalition, Silvio Berlusconi quickly changed his stance by saying, as he often had, that he had been "misunderstood" and that he never gave that journalist an interview.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
The candidacy of Massimo D'Alema was supported by his party, the Democrats of the Left, and by others parties of the coalition, such as the Party of Italian Communists, the Communist Refoundation Party and Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy, but opposed by others, such as the Rose in the Fist, arguing that his candidacy was driven by a particracy's mentality. Also, part of the left-wing coalition considered D'Alema far too willing to conduct backroom deals with the opposition. Some moderate journalists liked D'Alema because his presidency would have given Romano Prodi a stabler government, since the biggest party of the Union had not been rewarded with any institutional position.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
In the opposition coalition, while Silvio Berlusconi vehemently opposed a D'Alema presidency, some of his aides, such as Marcello Dell'Utri, and some aligned newspapers, such as Il Foglio, campaigned for D'Alema. However, the official stance of the centre-right was that D'Alema, being an important left-wing politician and having participated in the election campaign, was ill-suited for president, a role that it is supposed to be impartial.


2006 Italian presidential election, Criticisms and reactions
However, when the Union proposed Giorgio Napolitano, a senator for life that in recent years had not had a prominent role in politics, the House of Freedom objected that the Union should have presented a list of names. In the end, the House of Freedom chose to cast a blank vote. Some right-wing newspapers protested the communist background of the new president.


2006 Italian regional elections
Regional elections were held in some regions of Italy during 2006. These included:


2006 Italy rugby union tour
The 2006 Italy rugby union tour was a series of two matches played in June 2006 in Japan and Fiji by Italy national rugby union team. After a convincing victory against Japan, the team managed by Pierre Berbisier, lost against Fiji,


2006 Italy rugby union tour, Results
Japan: 15.Keiji Takei, 14.Kosuke Endo, 13.Atsushi Moriya, 12.Yuta Imamura, 11.Nataniela Oto, 10.Shotaro Onishi, 9.Wataru Ikeda, 8.Hajime Kiso, 7.Ryota Asano Inose (capt. ), 6.Tomoaki Nakai, 5.Tomoaki Taniguchi, 4.Takanori Kumagae, 3.Ryo Yamamura, 2.Yuji Matsubara, 1.Tomokazu Soma,  – replacements: 16.Takashi Yamaoka, 17.Yuichi Hisadomi, 18.Hitoshi Ono, 19.Takashi Kikutani, 22.Hiroki Mizuno, 22.Hiroki Mizuno, 22.Hiroki Mizuno  –  No entry : 20.Mamoru Ito, 21.Hideyuki YoshidaItaly: 15.David Bortolussi, 14.Benjamin de Jager, 13.Andrea Masi, 12.Mirco Bergamasco, 11.Denis Dallan, 10.Ramiro Pez, 9.Paul Griffen, 8.Josh Sole, 7.Mauro Bergamasco, 6.Silvio Orlando, 5.Marco Bortolami (capt. ), 4.Santiago Dellape, 3.Carlos Nieto, 2.Fabio Ongaro, 1.Andrea Lo Cicero,  – replacements: 16.Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17.Fabio Staibano, 18.Carlo Antonio del Fava, 19.Robert Barbieri, 20.Simon Picone, 21.Andrea Marcato, 22.Michele Sepe


2006 Italy rugby union tour, Results
Fiji: 15.Norman Ligairi, 14.Mosese Luveitasau Yabakitini, 13.Kameli Ratuvou, 12.Seru Rabeni, 11.Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 10.Seremaia Baikeinuku, 9.Jacob Rauluni, 8.Netani Talei, 7.Alifereti Doviverata, 6.Ifereimi Rawaqa, 5.Simon Raiwalui (c), 4.Isoa Domolailai, 3.Apisai Nagi Mavua, 2.Sunia Koto Vuli, 1.Josese Baleikasavu,  – replacements: 17.Ravuama Samo, 18.Kini Salabogi, 19.Akapusi Qera, 20.Emosi Vucago, 22.Maleli Kunavore     –  No entry : 16.Joeli Lotawa, 20.Emosi Vucago, 21.Jo ToraItaly: 15.David Bortolussi, 14.Pablo Canavosio, 13.Andrea Masi, 12.Mirco Bergamasco (capt. ), 11.Michele Sepe, 10.Ramiro Pez, 9.Paul Griffen, 8.Josh Sole, 7.Mauro Bergamasco, 6.Sergio Parisse, 5.Carlo Antonio del Fava, 4.Santiago Dellape, 3.Carlos Nieto, 2.Fabio Ongaro, 1.Andrea Lo Cicero,  – replacements: 16.Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17.Matias Aguero, 18.Fabio Staibano, 19.Marco Bortolami, 20.Robert Barbieri     –  No entry: 21.Simon Picone, 22.Gert Peens


2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
The 2006 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was an ice hockey tournament held in Břeclav, Czech Republic and Piešťany, Slovakia between August 8, 2006 and August 12, 2006. The venues used for the tournament were Zimní Stadion in Břeclav and Zimny Stadion in Piešťany. Canada defeated the United States of America 3-0 in the final to claim the gold medal, while Russia defeated Sweden 4-2 to capture the bronze medal.


2006 Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast local election
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast local election, 2006 is a local election in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast that took place on March 26, 2006. Seats were split among five political parties and blocks, which received at least 3% popular vote.


2006 Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast local election, Overview
The elections were largely won by Our Ukraine Bloc with the greatest majority of 57% in the Yaremche municipality. The lowest popularity of the political bloc was in the biggest cities in the region Ivano-Frankivsk and Kolomyia and if the city of Ivano-Frankivsk Our Ukraine marginally has won, the Kolomyia municipality was decisively "overtaken" by the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.


2006 Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast local election, Overview
The greatest support for the region's third party Ukrainian National Bloc was shown in the western corner of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast where in the Bolekhiv municipality and the Dolyna Raion the party managed to make over 10% mark. Also, remarkable performance of the Revival of Prykarapattya that even though barely made it to the regional council it had a substantial support in the Verkhovyna Raion where it, however, became the third party. Revival of Prykarpattya also became third in the Kolomyia municipality and the Kolomyia Raion.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump
The 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump was a health crisis in Ivory Coast in which a ship registered in Panama, the Probo Koala, chartered by the Singaporean-based oil and commodity shipping company Trafigura Beheer BV, offloaded toxic waste to an Ivorian waste handling company which disposed of it at the port of Abidjan. The local contractor, a company called Tommy, dumped the waste at 12 sites in and around the city in August 2006. The dumping, which took place against a backdrop of instability in Abidjan as a result of Côte d'Ivoire's first civil war, allegedly led to the death of 7 and 20 hospitalized and the other 26000 people were being treated for symptoms of poisoning.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump
In the days after the dumping, almost 100,000 Ivorians sought medical attention after Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny opened the hospitals and offered free healthcare to the capital's residents.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump
Trafigura originally planned to dispose of the slops – which resulted from cleaning the vessel and contained 500 tonnes of a mixture of fuel, caustic soda, and hydrogen sulfide – at the port of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The company refused to pay Dutch company Amsterdam Port Services (APS) for disposal after APS raised its charge from €27 to €1,000 per cubic meter. The Probo Koala was reportedly turned away by several countries before offloading the toxic waste at the Port of Abidjan. An inquiry in the Netherlands in late 2006 confirmed the composition of the waste substance.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump
Trafigura denied any waste was transported from the Netherlands, saying that the substances contained only tiny amounts of hydrogen sulfide, and that the company did not know the substance was to be disposed of improperly. After two Trafigura officials who traveled to Côte d'Ivoire to offer assistance were arrested and subsequently attacked in jail, the company paid US$198 million for cleanup to the Ivorian government, without admitting wrongdoing in early 2007. A series of protests and resignations of Ivorian government officials followed this deal.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump
In 2008, a civil lawsuit in London was launched by almost 30,000 Ivorians against Trafigura. In May 2009, Trafigura announced it would sue the BBC for libel after its Newsnight program alleged the company had knowingly sought to cover up its role in the incident. In September 2009 The Guardian obtained and published internal Trafigura emails showing that the traders responsible knew how dangerous the chemicals were. Trafigura agreed to a settlement of £30 million (US$42.4 million) to settle the class action suit against it. Law firm Leigh Day, which represented the Ivorian claimants, was found guilty of negligence after £6 million of the settlement funds were embezzled.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Background
In 2002, Mexican state-owned oil company Pemex began to accumulate significant quantities of coker gasoline, containing large amounts of sulfur and silica, at its Cadereyta refinery. By 2006 Pemex had run out of storage capacity and agreed to sell the coker gasoline to Trafigura. In early 2006, Pemex trucked the coker gasoline to Brownsville, Texas, where Trafigura loaded it aboard the Panamanian registered tanker Probo Koala, which was owned by Greek shipping company Prime Marine Management Inc. and chartered by Trafigura.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Background
Trafigura desired to strip the sulfurous products out of the coker gasoline to produce naphtha, which could then be sold. Instead of paying a refinery to do this work, Trafigura used an obsolete process on board the ship called "caustic washing", in which the coker gasoline was treated with caustic soda. The process worked, and the resulting naphtha was resold for a reported profit of $19 million. The waste resulting from the caustic washing would typically include hazardous substances such as sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide and phenols.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Dumping
On 2 July 2006, the Probo Koala called at Amsterdam port in the Netherlands to discharge the slops contained in the vessel's dedicated slops tanks. During the transfer such a foul smell was released onto the city that the disposal company Amsterdam Port Services B.V. (APS) decided to consult with the city of Amsterdam. After half the waste was transferred APS increased the handling fee 30-fold. APS then informed the ship's master that authorities had given permission for the slops previously removed to be returned to the vessel.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Dumping
The Probo Koala departed Amsterdam on 5 July 2006 for Paldiski, Estonia, with the full knowledge and approval of the Dutch authorities. After taking on unleaded gasoline in Paldiski it left on 13 July 2006 on a previously-planned voyage to Lagos, Nigeria. In Lagos it unloaded the gasoline. Two offers to unload the slops in Lagos were refused by the captain and on 17 August 2006 the vessel sailed for Abidjan.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Dumping
On 19 August 2006, the Probo Koala offloaded more than 500 tons of toxic waste at the Port of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. This material was then spread, allegedly by subcontractors, across the city and surrounding areas, dumped in waste grounds, public dumps, and along roads in populated areas. The substance gave off toxic gas and resulted in burns to lungs and skin, as well as severe headaches and vomiting. Seventeen people were confirmed to have died, and at least 30,000 injured.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Dumping
The company claimed that the waste was dirty water ("slops") used for cleaning the ship's gasoline tanks, but a Dutch government report, as well as an Ivorian investigation, disputed this, finding that it was toxic waste. During an ongoing civil lawsuit by over 30,000 Ivorian citizens against Trafigura, a Dutch government report concluded that in fact the liquid dumped contained two 'British tonnes' of hydrogen sulfide. Trafigura, following an investigative report by the BBC's Newsnight program, announced on 16 May 2009 that they would sue the BBC for libel.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Immediate effects
The scope of the dumping and the related illnesses were slow to emerge. While the first cargo was offloaded in August 2006, the dumping continued for almost three weeks before the population knew what was happening. But as early as 19 August, residents near the landfill at Akouédo knew that trucks were dumping toxic liquid into the landfill and blocked the entrance of one of the trucks to the dump, which had been freshly painted with the logo of a newly created company.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Immediate effects
Residents near several landfills in the suburbs of Abidjan began complaining publicly of foul-smelling gas in the first week of September, and several people were reported to have died. Protests broke out in several areas against both the companies dumping liquid waste and the government. On 4 September, the government called for protesters to allow free circulation of traffic so the area's hospitals, which were complaining of a flood of injured, could operate. In the aftermath of the crisis, many top government figures resigned. This mass resignation has been called "unprecedented" in Côte d'Ivoire's history. In an effort to prevent the contamination of the food chain, large numbers of livestock (among them 450 pigs) affected by the dump were culled.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Trafigura's description of events
On 19 August 2006, the tanker ship Probo Koala, chartered by the company Trafigura and docked at the port of Abidjan, transferred a liquid into tankers owned by a firm called Compagnie Tommy. The company claims the ship had been chartered by Trafigura to transport oil to another West African port, and was returning to Europe, empty. The transfer at Abidjan, according to the company, was a routine maintenance stop, not a delivery of waste from European ports.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Trafigura's description of events
Trafigura claims that this was done under agreement that the waste would be treated and disposed of legally, and that the substance was waste ("slops") from the routine washing of Probo Koala's tanks. Again according to Trafigura, it became apparent that the untreated slops had been dumped illegally at municipal refuse dumps. They contend that the slops were an alkaline mix of water, gasoline, and caustic soda, along with a very small amount of foul-smelling and toxic hydrogen sulfide.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Trafigura's description of events
Further, the company says that their tests show that, while noxious, the slop from their ship could not have caused deaths, no matter how poorly it was handled by a third party. The company contends that the people of Abidjan, especially those living near dumps, suffered from a lifetime of exposure to toxic substances, not from their actions.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Rejection in Europe
The Probo Koala had its cargo rejected here by Amsterdam Port Services BV, and was to be charged €500,000 in nearby Moerdijk. On 19 August it offloaded a liquid waste in Abidjan, paying around €18,500 for its disposal.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Rejection in Europe
According to the City of Amsterdam's report, before it dumped the waste in Abidjan, the Probo Koala was in port in the Netherlands from 2 to 5 July 2006. There the ship attempted to have the waste processed in Amsterdam, but Amsterdam Port Services BV, the company that had contracted to treat the waste, refused after its staff reported a noxious odor coming from the waste, which sickened several workers. A company specializing in the disposal of chemical waste, Afvalstoffen Terminal Moerdijk in nearby Moerdijk, tendered for the disposal of the waste (based on the samples it received) for €500,000. Instead, the material was pumped back into the Probo Koala, which then left port on 5 July, appearing on 19 August in Côte d'Ivoire, where Compagnie Tommy, which was registered only days before the arrival of the Probo Koala, was contracted for €18,500 to dispose of the waste.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Rejection in Europe
The company contends that no waste was transported from Europe, and the incident was an accident caused by the mishandling by an Ivorian company of waste water used to wash the ship's storage tanks. A Dutch newspaper reported on this possibility, saying the waste could have been generated as a result of attempted on-board desulfurization (removing mercaptans) of naphtha in a Merox-like process. In this way high mercaptan-laden gasoline is upgraded to meet certain country-specific specifications.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, The incident, Rejection in Europe
This would explain the water/caustic soda/gasoline mix and also the presence in trace amounts of a certain catalyst called ARI-100 EXLz, generally used in this process. It would on the other hand not explain the presence of hydrogen sulfide, as the final stage of the Merox process is an organic disulfide unless the attempt at desulfurization had failed. The company has always contended that the amount of hydrogen sulfide in the waste was small. Press and government findings contend there was a substantial amount of hydrogen sulfide dumped, some 2 tonnes, of the 500 tonnes of dumped liquid.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Deaths and illnesses
In the weeks following the incident the BBC reported that 17 people died, 23 were hospitalized, and a further 40,000 sought medical treatment (due to headaches, nosebleeds, and stomach pains). These numbers were revised upward over time, with the numbers reported by the Ivorian government in 2008 reaching 17 dead, dozens severely ill, 30,000 receiving medical treatment for ailments connected to the chemical exposure, of almost 100,000 seeking medical treatment at the time. While the company and the Ivorian government continue to disagree on the exact make up of the chemicals, specialists from the United Nations, France, and the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) were sent to Abidjan to investigate the situation.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Fall of government
Following revelations by local press and government on the extent of the illnesses involved, the nine-month-old transitional government of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny resigned. The government vowed to provide treatment and pay all medical costs associated with the waste dump.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Lawsuit by victims and compensation
On 11 November 2006, a £100 million lawsuit was filed in the High Court in London by the UK firm Leigh Day & Co. alleging that "Trafigura were negligent and that this, and the nuisance resulting from their actions, caused the injuries to the local citizens." Martyn Day, of Leigh Day & Co said, "This has been a disaster on a monumental scale. We hold Trafigura fully to account for all the deaths and injuries that have resulted from the dumping of their waste." In response, Trafigura announced on Monday 13 November 2006 that it had started libel proceedings against British lawyer Martyn Day, of Leigh Day & Co.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Lawsuit by victims and compensation
On 20 September 2009, both cases were dropped in an out-of-court settlement. Trafigura announced it would pay more than $46 million to claimants, noting that 20 independent experts had examined the case but were "unable to identify a link".


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Lawsuit by victims and compensation
The package would be divided into groups of $1,546 which would then be paid to 31,000 people. The deal came soon after a report by the UN claimed there was "strong prima facie evidence" that the waste was responsible for injuries. The company responded by saying they were "appalled at the basic lack of balance and analytical rigour reflected in the report." The Ivorian National Federation of Victims of Toxic Waste said Trafigura was trying to avoid a legal case. Trafigura claimed that at least 75% of the receivers of money agreed with the deal.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Lawsuit by victims and compensation
In January 2010, The Guardian reported that solicitors Leigh Day, working for the victims of toxic poisoning, had been ordered by a Côte d'Ivoire court to transfer victim's compensation to a "shadowy local organisation", using the account of Claude Gouhourou, a "community representative". Martyn Day, a partner in the firm, feared that the cash would not reach the victims.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Arrests
Shortly after it became apparent that the toxic slops from the Probo Koala had led to the outbreak of sickness, two Trafigura executives, Claude Dauphin and Jean-Pierre Valentini, travelled to Abidjan. They were arrested on 18 September, four days after their arrival, and were held in Abidjan's Maca prison, charged with breaking Côte d'Ivoire's laws against poisoning. There were several reported attacks of the two executives during their imprisonment. Trafigura called for their immediate release, but this did not occur until a settlement for the cleanup was paid to the Ivorian government.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Arrests
Seven Ivorians were eventually brought to trial in Abidjan for their part in the dumping. The head of the Ivorian contractor who dumped more than 500 tonnes of toxic liquid was sentenced to 20 years in prison in November 2008.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Ivorian government finding
A November 2006 Ivorian government report into the incident said that Trafigura was to blame for the dumping of waste, and was aided by Ivorians. A government committee concluded that Trafigura knew that the nation had no facilities to store such waste and knowingly transported the waste from Europe to Abidjan.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Ivorian government finding
The report further claimed that the "Compagnie Tommy" which actually dumped the substance "shows all the signs of being front company set up specifically to handle the Trafigura waste", and was "established in a period between Trafigura's decision not to pay for expensive waste disposal in Amsterdam and its ship's arrival in Abidjan."


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Ivorian government finding
The government fact-finding committee had no prosecutorial powers, and its findings were rejected by the company. The committee also found that officials in the Port of Abidjan and a variety of local and national bodies either failed to plug holes in environmental laws or were guilty of ignoring laws through corruption.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Company payment
On 13 February 2007, Trafigura agreed to pay the Ivorian government £100 million (US$198m) for the clean-up of the waste; however the group denied any liability for the dumping, and as a part of the deal the government would not pursue further action against the group. The Trafigura employees Claude Dauphin, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Nzi Kablan, held by the Côte d'Ivoire authorities after the incident, were then released and charges were dropped against them. Further prosecutions against Ivorian citizens not employed by Trafigura continued.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
On 6 December 2006, an independent inquiry launched by the City of Amsterdam concluded that the city was negligent when they allowed Trafigura to take waste back on board the Probo Koala in Amsterdam in July. Part of the Probo cargo was offloaded with the intent to have it processed with an Amsterdam waste processing company but when this turned out too expensive Trafigura took it back. The responsible local civil servants were reportedly unaware of existing Dutch environmental laws that would not allow its export given these circumstances.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
On 19 December 2006, a majority of the Dutch House of Representatives expressed their desire for a new investigation into the Probo Koala. On 8 January 2007, The Guardian reported that the legal team for Leigh Day had arrived in Abidjan, and would begin taking statements from thousands of witnesses in the area.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
In late 2008 a criminal prosecution was begun in the Netherlands by the Dutch Public Prosecutors office. While the trial was not scheduled to begin until late 2009, the head of Trafigura, Claude Dauphin, was specifically cited as not under indictment. Rather the company itself, the captain of the Probo Koala, and Amsterdam port authorities would be charged with "illegally transporting toxic waste into and out of Amsterdam harbour" and falsification of the chemical composition of the ship's cargo on documents.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
The Dutch Supreme Court ruled on 6 July 2010, that the Court of Appeal should review again whether Claude Dauphin can be prosecuted for his part in the Probo Koala case, specifically for leading the export of dangerous waste materials. Earlier the Court of Appeal had ruled that this was not possible.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
On 23 July 2010 Trafigura were fined €1 million for the transit of the waste through Amsterdam before being taken to the Côte d'Ivoire to be dumped. The court ruled that the firm had concealed the problem when it was first unloaded from a ship in Amsterdam. While previous settlements have been made in the case this is the first time Trafigura have been found guilty under criminal charges over the incident. On 16 November 2012 Trafigura and the Dutch authorities agreed to a settlement.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Dutch inquiry
The settlement obliges Trafigura to pay the existing 1 million euro fine and in addition the company must also pay Dutch authorities a further 300,000 euros in compensation - the money it saved by dumping the toxic waste in Abidjan rather than having it properly disposed of in the Netherlands. The Dutch also agreed to stop the personal court case against Trafigura's chairman, Claude Dauphin, in exchange for a 67,000 euro fine.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
In September 2006, Trafigura commissioned the internal "Minton Report" to determine the toxicity of the waste dumped in Abidjan. The Minton Report was subsequently leaked to the WikiLeaks web site and remains available there.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
On 11 September 2009, Trafigura, via lawyers Carter-Ruck, obtained a secret "super-injunction" against The Guardian, banning that newspaper from publishing the contents of the Minton report. Trafigura also threatened a number of other media organizations with legal action if they published the report's contents, including the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and The Chemical Engineer magazine. On 12 October, Carter-Ruck warned The Guardian against mentioning the content of a parliamentary question that was due to be asked about the Minton Report.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
Instead the paper published an article stating that they were unable to report on an unspecified question and claiming that the situation appeared to "call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1689 Bill of Rights". The suppressed details rapidly circulated via the Internet and Twitter and, amid uproar, Carter-Ruck agreed the next day to the modification of the injunction before it was challenged in court, permitting The Guardian to reveal the existence of the question and the injunction. The 11 September 2009 injunction remained in force in the United Kingdom until it was lifted on the night of 16 October.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
The report contains discussion of various harmful chemicals "likely to be present" in the waste—sodium hydroxide, cobalt phthalocyanine sulfonate, coker naphtha, thiols, sodium alkanethiolate, sodium hydrosulfide, sodium sulfide, dialkyl disulfides, hydrogen sulfide—and notes that some of these "may cause harm at some distance".


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
The report says potential health effects include "burns to the skin, eyes and lungs, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of consciousness and death", and suggests that the high number of reported casualties is "consistent with there having been a significant release of hydrogen sulphide gas".


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Minton Report and legal controversy
The version published on WikiLeaks, which has been republished by The Guardian, appears to be a preliminary draft, containing poor formatting and one comment in French. Trafigura has stated that the report was only preliminary and was inaccurate.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Suppressed BBC report
Faced with a libel case which under British law could drag on for years and cost millions of pounds on 10 December 2009, the BBC removed the original story entitled "Dirty Tricks and Toxic Waste in the Ivory Coast", along with accompanying video, from its website. The story featured interviews with victims in Côte d'Ivoire, including relatives of two children who, it claimed, died from the effects of the waste. The story also claimed that Trafigura brought "ruin" on the country in order to make a "massive profit". The stories remain available on WikiLeaks. On 15 December 2009, the broadcaster agreed to apologise to Trafigura for the "Dirty Tricks" report, pay £25,000 to charity, and withdraw any allegation that Trafigura's toxic waste dumped in Africa had caused deaths.


2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste dump, Aftermath, Suppressed BBC report
But at the same time, the BBC issued a combative statement, pointing out that the dumping of Trafigura's hazardous waste had led to the British-based oil trader being forced to pay out £30m in compensation to victims. "The BBC has played a leading role in bringing to the public's attention the actions of Trafigura in the illegal dumping of 500 tonnes of hazardous waste", the statement said. "The dumping caused a public health emergency with tens of thousands of people seeking treatment."