An Investigative Journalist

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging · 2 Comments

Where I am often to be found, which also happens to be the HQ of one of Italy’s major newspapers, I often bump into a nice chap who happens to be a form of investigative journalist.

The last time I met this guy, we chatted about an article he had written on the misappropriation of some EC funds, which had been most probably funneled into the funds of a few of Italy’s political parties. He told me how he needed to be a little careful while gathering information for his articles, as apparently, digging too deeply into the affairs of the powerful and dodgy could be dangerous. That’s not only ‘bye, bye career’ dangerous, but, possibly ‘bye, bye, full stop’ dangerous.

I remember another time I met this guy and I was on about my blog. I asked him if he had a blog too. His reply was in the negative, and when I enquired why, his reply gave me the impression that doing so may not be all that safe. I imagine he was referring to running a blog about the subjects he often writes about, as I don’t imagine a wine blog stepping on too many toes.

Now that the B man is back, it will be interesting to see if press freedom sinks back down to the lows it hit during his last government. And it will be curious to see whether his government’s ‘reforms’ attempt to silence that noisy, but annoying, bunch of pretend journalists, in other words - us bloggers. Prodi had a go, and failed, but Silvio is much more ‘furbo‘ than old Prodi, so who knows what may be around the corner…

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Tags: Berlusconi, Blogging, Italy, Prodi

The Archetypal Italian Does it Again

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under Italian politics · 8 Comments

Mr Berlusconi has once more grasped power in Italy, as he enters his third (and final??!!) term in office. However, even if the centre did not do too badly, the people were wary of the regurgitated one - Veltroni, which is probably why he did not win. One the other hand, the extreme left took a real battering.

That the extreme left should have done so badly is not much of a surprise to this blogger, even if some Italians find it so. Back in the UK, those in the know realised that old style socialism and communism had become out moded. Most of the workers now had the rights and money they had always sought, and now they wanted the same advantages as their middle class peers, ie lower taxes and better services. Hence the centrist ‘New Labour’. The same has happened in Italy. The left did its job, and did itself out of a job in the process.

But what will happen to Italy now that Berlusconi has been given the mandate? Good question. On paper he appears to have enough of a majority to push through a few much needed reforms, but the reality is that Berlusconi is still an old school Italian, and old school Italians do not like change. In fact, they detest it.

In Mr B’s case, one suspects that he will only bring about change if he sees that he can gain some personal commercial advantage, as more or less happened during his previous reign. This is to be expected; after all, he is a businessman. But he won’t miss the opportunity to give the appearance of pandering to the people to keep himself up top. And he has the media power to help him to do this, seeing as he now effectively controls most of it in Italy.

The tanned one has been promising hard times for Italians in the months ahead, and tax cuts.

Just what will happen really is anyone’s guess. One thing is sure though, with Berlusco in power, it will be quite a show. But whether it will be an Oscar winning performance, well……….

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