Is Italy a Normal Country?

Things are starting to look abnormally ominous for press freedom in Italy.  Legislation introducing new wire-tapping, or rather, anti-wire-tapping stroke press gagging rules, took a step closer to being written into Italy’s law books yesterday after the bill proposing the changes passed though Italy’s Senate.

Italy Wants to Gag its Press

Senators who are members of the Italian Values opposition party caused a stir yesterday when they occupied government seats in Italy’s Senate in protest at the attempt to push the bill through.  The unruly senators where duly kicked out of Italy’s senate until voting on the wire-tapping bill was to commence.

Former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi stated that the proposed legislation will cause breathing problems for democracy in Italy.  Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo commented that the new laws have not been thought through well enough.

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Wire Tapping Troubles in Italy

As ever, lots is going on in Italy.  From films criticising the current ‘regime’ to proposals to save Italy millions.  What all these goings-on have in common is controversy, as often seems to be the case in Italy. One thing in particular is causing a major stir – the Berlusconi government’s modifications to Italy’s telephone surveillance or ‘wire-tapping’ laws.

On the wire-tapping front, something which stood out was the public stance taken last week by the USA on the proposed changes to Italy’s wire-tapping legislation.  The United States does not often comment publicly on Italian shenanigans, but this time it felt ought to.  The US Justice Department is concerned that the new legislation will make it much more difficult to crack down on organised crime.

Yesterday, Monday, Berlusconi called for the legislative process on the wire-tapping front to be accelerated to light speed.  Maybe he has a few important phone calls to make?

While Berlusconi is in a hurry to push this law through, others, including many journalists, are worried that the legislation will effectively gag Italy’s press.

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Draquila Feuds

Sabina Guzzanti, an Italian comedian and political satirist, is behind the documentary film Draquila – L’Italia Che Trema – Italy Trembles.  At the Cannes Film Festival fringe, Guzzanti’s film received a standing ovation.

Guzzanti’s documentary examines what happened in the aftermath of the 2009 earthquake in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Back home in Italy, Sandro Bondi, Italy’s Culture Minister, boycotted Cannes on the grounds that Draqulia was, as he put it, a “propaganda” film, which insulted Italians and damaged Italy’s image abroad.

No stranger to controversy, having almost been prosecuted for saying naughty things about the Pope, Guzzanti, on account of Draquila, has found herself once more in the spotlight.  Her film, on general release in Italy from May 7th, is apparently doing rather well in Italy’s cinemas.  Of course, the only people going to see the film are anti-Berlusconi types.

In the eyes of the Berlusconi government, Sabina Guzzani is persona non grata.

What’s all the fuss about?

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Berlusconi Tightens His Grip

Italy’s regional election results are in.  Silvio Berlusconi and his ally, Umberto Bossi have cause for celebration.  Italy’s right led by inimitable Mr Media Berlusconi has claimed a victory which in times of hardship, and in the face of endless sleaze and corruption scandals, has surprised some in Italy.

The key Italian regions of Piedmont and Latium went to Italy’s right, leaving the battered left nursing two open wounds, and wondering what the heck happened.

In part, Berlusconi’s vice like grip in Italy’s media, combined with his media manipulation talents have contributed towards his leaving Italy’s left in his wake.  But Italy’s left must share some of the blame.  The main left wing party, the centre-left PD Democratic Party, is led by the rather grey and dull Bersani.  In keeping with his own persona, Bersani fielded candidates which were equally dull, or at least, were perceived as being so.  The left does not have a great reputation in Italy, and Italians may well suspect that opening their arms to the left once more will result in Italy returning to the kind of revolving door politics which characterised the country since the end of the Second World War.

You’ve got to hand it to Silvio, love him or hate him.

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Disdain For Democracy?

Silvio Berlusconi is now being formally investigated for interfering with the media in Italy.  Apparently, Berlusconi is particularly irked with one Michele Santoro, the presenter of a political talk show called AnnoZero.  It has to be said that Santoro and his team often probe into the seedier affairs of Italy’s current, and controversial, prime minister.

Reports on the Mills case, plus assertions that Berlusconi is involved with the mafia rattled the tanned supremo’s cage so much that he allegedly gave a television watchdog boss an ear bashing in an attempt to have Santoro’s talk-show silenced.  Berlusconi’s attempt, this time, failed, however previous attempts did bear fruit. The partiality of one of Italy’s prime time news programmes, TG1, which goes out at 8 every evening on the RAI 1 Italian government controlled television channel, has been called into question.

Presenter of AnnoZero - Michele Santoro

The TG1 case involved the misreporting of the facts of the now internationally well known bribery case involving English lawyer, John Mills, and Italy’s number one politician, Silvio Berlusconi.  On the day that the Mills case was brought to an end by a statute of limitations, the TG1 news reported that Mills had been absolved of all guilt.  This was not accurate.  The case fizzled out due to Italy’s notoriously slow legal mechanisms which often brings cases to an inconclusive end.  It would have been more accurate to have reported that the case had been brought to an end by Italy’s statutory limitation laws.  Such a report, however, would not have made Italy’s master, Silvio Berlusconi look too good.

What may well have happened, but we will probably never know for sure, is that the right leaning Augusto Minzolini, the editor of the TG1 news programme concerned, received advice from upon high as to how to present the conclusion of the Mills’ bribery case.  The advice was designed to ensure that someone, possibly Italy’s prime minister, was bathed in a favourable light.  The TG1 case caught a fair amount of attention, but has not caused much of a stir, owning to the power someone exerts over Italy’s television.

Reportedly, Berlusconi controls around 90% of Italy’s media, a figure which, I think many will agree, is somewhat excessive for a serving prime minister in what is supposed to be a democracy.  Indeed, such a high level of control is not good for democracy.  Not good at all.  Now, though, the clever Mr Berlusconi, who is trying hard to gloss over recent, and embarrassing bungles regarding this weekend’s regional elections, amongst other scandals, has been claiming that he is the democratic one, and that it is everybody else who is undemocratic.

Hang on a moment – but who is being investigated for trying to keep his opponents off air?

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Scoop by Il Fatto Quotidiano

Il Fatto Quotidiano, Italy’s newest, and possibly, most independent national newspaper, created a scoop yesterday by claiming that Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi had been attempting to have TV shows critical of him summarily removed from Italy’s airwaves.

Silvio Berlusconi

Caught up in this media manipulation episode; Italy’s latest scandal of many; is the head of Italy’s supposedly independent television watchdog, AGCOM, one Giancarlo Innocenzi, and, to make matters a little worse, the Director of the RAI One state television channel’s prime time TG1 news service, Augusto Minizoli, has also been named in investigations.

As if Berlusconi’s party’s recent election bungles were not enough, now Italy’s beleaguered Prime Minister and, by all accounts, wannabe Italy Editor in Chief, is once again in a pickle.

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