Who elected the new Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti?  Not the people of Italy, but one man, the Italian President Giorgio Napolitano.

Here’s the thing, in Italy the position of President is not one of much power.  The Prime Minister is the top dog.  It’s like John Boehner appointing Barack Obama’s successor (some people would like that).

Italy’s new national government will not be elected either, it will be hand picked by the new hand picked Mario Monti.   Italian officials are using the excuse that Italy can’t wait for elections.

The same can be said about the new Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos.  He was hand picked, not elected.

Some opponents of Papademos said he’s planning on delaying the scheduled Greek national elections, that are supposed to be held on February 19, 2012.  When Papademos was asked about such a rumor, he simply said that as far as he was concerned, no specific time frame had been set for national elections!

According to the opposition Greek Socialist Party, Lucas Papademos asked for a promise of no political interference in his plans for Greece, and he got it.

This sure looks like the big banks have taken control of Italy and Greece: Both Monti and Papademos have a long history working in the banking/finance industry. Both have gone to university in the U.S., or taught in U.S. universities.  Both men are members of the European chapter of the Rockefeller founded Trilateral Commission!