So Who's the Italian Katherine Harris?

In the unlikely event that an Italian pal trashes American democracy at a cocktail party, you need only bring up the 2006 election. It's still not over, as PM Silvio Berlusconi is doing an Al Gore impression that puts Darrell Hammond to shame. The country's Supreme Court has verified the victory of center-left candidate Romano Prodi by 24,000 votes—but Berlusconi hasn't conceded defeat. Bloomberg adds this interesting factoid:

U.S. President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI have yet to call Prodi to congratulate him. French President Jacques Chirac and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair have already recognized Prodi's victory.

A country's fate hangs in the balance while the Pope makes up his mind? I thought we stopped that when we elected JFK.