Much was made of the issues of age and experience in last year's presidential election. Be it Barack Obama's youth and 
inexperience or John McCain's penchant for Matlock and Early Bird Specials, if there was a conversation going on about politics chances are the subject of age (and/or Tina Fey) was brought up at some point. Well wait till those folks who thought age was more than just a number get a load of this story.
Maria Donati of the tiny Italian village of Saleducio is running for a spot on her local Town Council in the upcoming June elections. Normally that wouldn't warrant much of a mention outside of Bella Italia, except for one minor detail worth noting: this coming September Donati will be celebrating her 102nd birthday. Yes that's right; it is possible the world will soon have an elected official older than Robert Byrd.
According to UPI, Donati is running for council on the Civic Non-Party Ticket for the Common Good. If elected her ambitions seem to be pretty straightforward, and one would think attainable. "I want to improve the roads around here and listen to everyone's problems as I always have done," Donati told UPI. "One thing is for sure: I have a century's worth of experience to draw on." No one would argue that point.
Politics is something of a family business in Donati's clan. Her grandson Roberto is running for Mayor of the village, and her daughter and son-in-law are running for the right to sit alongside their family matriarch on the council. If elected, Donati seems ready and willing to assist her relatives in any political quagmires they might encounter.
"Roberto is still so young, what does he know? He needs my help and I have 100 years of experience," Donati told Italian news service Ananova in what sounds like a less-than-resounding endorsement. "There are things that I have seen and been through in my life which would be a very great use to him and everyone else who runs the town. I am sure I can bring something they need." Give her credit, that's a more well thought out argument than anything Strom Thurmond presented during the last 20 years of his career, or the first 50 years for that matter.
Laugh all you want, but Donati's candidacy is being taken seriously by at least a few locals. "She would make a very popular choice," 67 year old Sylvio Baresi told Ananova. "The older generation has a lot of common sense when it comes to things like economics and balancing city budgets."
In the past Italy has been known as a country that will readily hand the reigns of power over to non-traditional candidates. From slightly unhinged entrepreneurs to former adult film stars, Italian voters are pretty open-minded when it comes to their government officials. If enough voters share Baresi's opinion, there's a very good chance that Saleducio residents will be bringing their concerns and grievances to Nonna Donati before long. At this point perhaps the only thing that can derail her candidacy would be suspending her campaign to fly back to the capital to deal with a developing economic crisis. You would have to think no one would be that stupid though; after all, age breeds wisdom.
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