Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi today maintained his refusal to concede victory to Romano Prodi in national elections that ended four days ago, prolonging a dispute over the closest vote in Italian history.

Berlusconi continued to reject the outcome, even after provisional results today showed that the number of contested ballots was too small to change the result in his favor.

“Nothing has changed, regardless of how the official recount ends and whoever gains the majority in the Chamber,” Berlusconi wrote in a letter to the editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera, Italy’s biggest-selling newspaper. “We are faced with a stalemate situation, one in which, at least on the basis of the popular vote, there are no winners or losers.” ~Bloomberg

Berlusconi has discovered a new kind of democracy, where no one ever has to lose. What an ingenious solution to the dangers of majoritarian rule!

Berlusconi has not yet turned the situation into a scene from Roma, but he promises to put on an entertaining display for a little while longer!