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.

200,000 Turn Out to Protest in Rome

Today in Rome mass demonstrations against the recent actions of the Berlusconi government, in connection with its handling of the election slate mess, and other scandals, have been held.  According to the online offerings of Italian newspapers La Repubblica and Il Corriere della Sera, around 200,000 Italians have taken to the streets today to lament what is happening in Italy.  Who can blame them?

Some photos of the crowds of people who turned up at the protest can be seen here:  Photos from La Repubblica

One Scandal after Another

Berlusconi’s government seems to be facing one scandal after another.  It’s almost as if the scandals are lining up, with each one quietly awaiting its turn to be revealed.  How Berlusconi has managed to survive this virtually continual barrage of explosive stories just about beggars belief.

Commies and Judges

Of course Berlusconi’s people are saying that these scandals are nothing more than an attempt by Italy’s left, and its judiciary, to bring down Berlusconi.

Anyone who has been Italy watching for the last year or so will have noticed that Italy seems to be attracting more than its fair share of international attention, what with even the BBC’s irreverent Mock the Week teams pulling Berlusconi’s leg.

Perhaps Berlusconi could have been a little less direct in his criticism of Italy’s judiciary.  After all, if you go around bad-mouthing judges, sooner or later they will fight back.  As a result of continual criticism, that interesting little morsel of information which might or might not involve judiciary bashing Berlusconi might just happen to find itself at the top of various prosecutor’s to-do lists.  Indeed, this seems to have been the case – the investigations which form the basis Il Fatto Quotidiano’s latest revelations began as a fairly ordinary investigation into credit cards, would you believe!

Had Silvio Berlusconi’s past involved no more than a few run ins with the police for going a little too fast in his Ferrari, and not much else, then he might have got away with his attacks on Italy’s judiciary, which he recently labelled as ‘Taliban’.  By his own admission though, Berlusconi is no saint.

Poking Prosecutors is not Wise

When one has appeared in court on more than on occasion, continually ruffling the feathers of a bunch of intelligent well-educated people such as judges is, perhaps, not the greatest of ideas.  As a consequence of their probable annoyance, Italy’s prosecutors and judges may have ended up harbouring the odd grudge or two against Italy’s tanned leader.  And what better time than on the eve of important elections to have a quiet chat with a national Italian newspaper, Il Fatto Quotidiano, about investigations into whether Italy’s Prime Minister has been employing somewhat underhand methods to try and keep his foibles out of sight of the public?

What’s that old saying? Ah yes, the bigger you are, the harder you fall.  So far though, and much to the surprise of everyone outside of Italy, Berlusconi has merely been teetering.  Some do expect his house of cards to come tumbling down, and one of those people would appear to be none other than Berlusconi’s very own ally, one Gianfranco Fini.

Scandals Galore in Italy

Recently in Italy, we have had (see, too, Silent Storms in Italy which was mentioned by Italy’s L’Espresso):

• investigations into backhanders in connection with G8 construction works,
• accusations against a Berlusconi politician for collusion with the mafia,
• the gagging of television programs critical of Italy’s government,
• the election mess up,

and now this, Italy’s very own Prime Minister who has been apparently trying to silence democracy in Italy by, amongst other things, reportedly trying to kick the programme Annozero off air.

What’s next?  A coup d’etat?  Oh, and I’m not joking, the word ‘coup’ has been bandied around in the Italian press for a few weeks now, and even a policeman thinks it could happen…

But the really annoying thing is that all these scandals are painting a horribly bleak picture of Italy, when there are plenty of other sides to the country which are extremely merit-worthy, and there are lots of great people in Italy too.

Perhaps the time has come for someone to call it a day and stand down.

At the same time, Berlusconi attempted to put an end, once and for all, to all the confusion surrounding the election muddle in Rome.  Only the attempt seems to have led to further confusion.

During said press conference, during which, incidentally, Italy’s defence minister manhandled a journalist who insisted on asking Mr B about the recent Bertolaso bribery case, Berlusconi gave his party’s official version of events surrounding the presentation of election documents in Rome by his candidate, Renata Polverini.

Yesterday, Polverini’s candidacy had been rejected once more, this time by a Rome court which examined the case.  The court held that, firstly, the government issued interpretative ’save the election’ decree was not applicable, and secondly, at the end of the day, Polverini’s team simply turned up too late for her documents to be properly registered.

Apparently though, the press and the judges have got it all wrong.  Berlusconi’s party’s left hand did know what the right hand was doing, it was another, left (commie), hand which did the bungling – the papers did not arrive late, even if every one else thinks, or reported, that they did. In support of his claim, Berlusconi gave a blow by blow account of what happened during the presentation of the Polverini documents, and used it to shove the blame firmly onto the shoulders of the bureaucrats who handled the papers.

We can only hope, vainly probably, that now Berlusconi has first hand experience of Italian red-tape, he might get round to doing something about it.

From Confused to Befuddled

Despite the attempt to resolve the confusion, observers, like this here blogger, stand as confused as ever.

Were the documents delivered on time, or were they late?  In stating that the documents arrived too late, the Italian press got hold of the wrong end of the stick in Berlusconi’s eyes.  How can the Italian press, much of which is run by Berlusconi, have got their facts so wrong?

If Berlusconi’s version of events is the right one, why then was it necessary for Berlusconi’s people to produce a funny little ‘interpretative decree’ mini-law?  This ‘mend the mess’ law was designed to persuade the administrative courts of Rome and Milan to re-admit Berlusconi candidates.

While the court in Milan did readmit the Berlusconi candidate, the court in Rome agreed that the initial rejection of Rome candidate Renata Polverini’s papers was legitimate.  Why, if the documents were delivered on time, did the Rome court not confirm Polverini’s candidacy?   Surely if the documents arrived in time, the court would have said so, and the matter would have ended there.

One might also suggest that maybe it was not such a great idea to try to register important electoral papers at the very last moment.  Berlusconi’s party obviously had not heard of ‘Murphy’s Law’.  Or maybe they had, and wanted to stir up a little controversy to divert attention away from other scandals…

If the whole thing is merely a tempest in a teacup, why all the fuss?

Reactions

The Italian opposition parties reactions to Berlusconi’s claims have ranged from stating that Berlusconi’s version of events is pure fantasy (Bersani), to labelling Berlusconi as the devil incarnate (Di Pietro)!

Then there is the march.

The March March

To counter the street protests organised by opposition parties to complain about the handling of the election paper mess and the ‘interpretative decree’, Berlusconi has called on his own party faithful to take to the streets.  Only during his press conference, Berlusconi mentioned the 20th March as the date of the march, but now, confusingly, the 21st March is being mentioned as the date when Berlusconi supporters are expected to march through the Rome piazzas in support of their leader.  Although, from what I’ve understood, something similar will be held on the 20th anyway.  Even Berlusconi supporters might admit to being a little confused by the two March marches.

At both of these rallies, Berlusconi’s number two, Gianfranco Fini, will be conspicuous by his absence.  When questioned on this by Italy’s rumour mongering press, Fini remained rather cagey as to why he’s not going to turn up along with the other party faithful.  This sends out a confusing message, in that if all of what Berlusconi has been saying is true, why won’t Fini offer his support?

Rome March or Marathon?

Then we come to the other ever so slightly confusing fly in the increasingly opaque ointment.   On the 21st March there is the Rome marathon.  Holding a political rally in the midst of marathon confusion is probably not the best of ideas.  Unless, of course, Berlusconi is to run in the Rome marathon!

To kick off, we’ve got the allegations of corruption levelled at Guido Bertolaso, the head of Italy’s civil defence organisation. This affair is still fizzling away, although Bertolaso seems to have evaded most of the flack.

The Bertolaso affair though, was merely the tip of an iceberg.

Money Laundering Corporations

Next up there has been a huge tax evasion and money-laundering scandal involving a company in the Telecom Italia group, major internet provider Fastweb, and a senior Italian politician who has now resigned after allegations that he only managed to obtain his seat in the Italian parliament as a result of mafia organised vote-rigging.

The money laundering scandal is still at full blaze, and today the former head of one of Italy’s biggest internet providers Fastweb, is having long and not so cosy chats with investigators.

But there’s more:

Election Bungle

Belusconi’s party is at the centre of one almighty election bungle which is giving the impression that left and right hands within his party have no idea what is going on.

The net result of this right royal foul up, which has angered Berlusconi, is that Berlusconi’s party might well be excluded  from forthcoming regional elections in both Lazio and Lombardy.

Lazio and Lombardy are key regions for Berlusconi’s party, so if the mess is not put right, things will be awfully embarrassing for dear Silvio.

UPDATE: 5 March 2010

It looks as though Berlusconi and Co may have come up with a solution to the regional election mess.

From what I’ve understood from Interior Minister Roberto Maroni’s press conference this evening, legal eagles have read Italian electoral law in detail and have ascertained that while there are time limits for the presentation of electoral documentation, the interpretation is that administrative authorities can only point out errors, but cannot actually reject the documentation on the grounds of inaccuracies.

In Maroni’s opinion this interpretation means that no intervention in terms of new legislation will be required.  If this is indeed the case, and the interpretation is accepted by the courts, Berlusconi’s, and others candidates who’ve had their electoral documentation rejected, will still be able to stand in the elections.  Problem solved.  To give weight to the opinion of the Italian government, a “decreto interpretativo” – interpretative decree – will be issued.  This will serve to clarify the law for Italy’s regulatory bodies.

What remains to be seen is whether the Italian government’s interpretation is shared by the Tar – Regional Administrative Courts – which have been reviewing the problem documentation presented by some Italian political parties.  The soon to be issued interpretative decree should help the Tar people see eye to eye with the Berlusconi government.

The bungle fixing “interpretative decree” intervention is not a heavy handed legislative solution to the situation.

An update on this will follow, once the situation has become clearer. 

End of 5 March update.

Update: 7 March

The ‘interpretative decree’ move instigated by the Berlusconi government to sort out the election bungle has lead to howls of protest from three corners:

• Antonio Di Pietro – the leader of the Italian Values party, and out spoken critic of Berlusconi’s government, has called for the ‘impeachment’ of Napolitano Italy’s president, on the grounds that by signing the Berlusconi decree, the President did not respect Italy’s constitution.  Under Italian law the concept of impeachment does not exist.  However Di Pietro strongly believes that Napolitano has not acted in the interests of Italian democracy.

Further, Di Pietro considers the decree to be yet another ad personam move by Berlusconi’s goverment which does more for Berlusconi than for Italy.

Italy’s President Napolitano has stated that he merely approved a decree which allows elections to take place in a way which is as democratic as possible.

• The Italian Democratic party agrees in part with Di Pietro, but does not believe Italy’s President has done something which threatens Italian democracy.
• Italians, on the other hand, have taken to the streets in many towns and cities in Italy to protest the decree.  Some 3,000 Italians filled Rome’s Piazza Navona to vent their anger, albeit in a non-violent fashion.  In addition, the web has been mobilised and a plethora of Facebook groups, filled with members who are unhappy with the decree, have sprung up.  The micro-blogging service Twitter has also been used by Italians critical of the move of the Berlusconi government.

All in all though, Berlusconi had to get himself out of this mess, and he has the power to achieve this.  The new decree is not that invasive in terms of messing with the principles of the Italian constitution, although Italians tend to feel that Berlusconi should have simply accepted the mistake and withdrawn from the elections, and not have gone ahead with what some view as being yet another attempt to manipulate Italian law.

The question is: When will Berlusconi stop?  As to the answer, it’s difficult to know what will happen, and just how far Berlusconi is willing to go to.  This is something which worries a few people in Italy.

The word ‘coup’ is being used by Berlusconi’s critics in connection with the new bungle avoidance manoeuvre.

End of 7 March update.

UPDATE 10 March

The “interpretative decree” legislation issued by the Berlusconi government to sort out the election bungle has had some effect.  Up here in Lombardy, the Berlusconi candidate has been re-admitted to the elections.  Berlusconi must have breathed a sigh of relief at this news, seeing as the candidate concerned is a party bigwig.  Maybe he’ll treat the judiciary here in Milan with a mite more respect now.  Maybe, maybe not.  OK, the north has been sorted out, so to speak. How about the south?

In the south down in the Eternal city, the picture is far from clear.  According to the Italian news, the Rome candidate’s electoral list has been rejected, then accepted, then rejected, then accepted again, and now it’s in a rejection phase once more, despite the “interpretative decree”.  The Tar court in Rome which is responsible for reviewing the situation, does not seem to feel that the “interpretative decree” does enough.

The silly saga rattles on, with Berlusconi camp politicians devoting far too much time to brushing up their battered image; the damage has been done; than discussing more important things such as reforms.

Meanwhile, Italians have been voicing their opinions on the mess via Italy’s most democratic forum: Facebook.  The Italian La Repubblica newspaper, a long time opponent of Berlusca, probably took great delight in the news that voices of dissent are to be found within the “We love Silvio” type Facebook groups.

To sum it all up, Berlusconi’s mob are arguing that without Berlusconi party candidates standing in the elections, the voters would not have the choice they deserve.  “Berlusconi is working for democracy” is the message.

On the other hand though, Italians seem to feel that democracy involves respecting laws, and not attempting to fiddle with them to your own ends.

The current situation may lead to a few Italians questioning in the future why Berlusconi should be introducing some odd little law or other.  A law which appears to benefit a sum total of three people, whose surnames just happen to start with a “B” and end with an “i”.

End of 7 March update.

Taliban Judges

On the subject of Berlusconi, in his latest attack on Italy’s judiciary he referred to Italian judges as ‘Taliban’, much to their general disgust.  However Italy’s judges might have the last laugh, as it is to them Berlusconi must turn to help sort out the election bungle.

One can see Berlusconi trying to butter up to the judges now: “Now when I said Taliban, I did not really mean Taliban in any malicious sense.  I was just joking.  Can’t a guy crack a little joke in Italy?”.

Boy, would I like to be a fly on the wall in Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party HQ at the moment.  Sparks, and other objects, must be flying!  The heating system simply will not be necessary.  There will be enough hot air to take a hot air balloon to the moon, and back!

Legitimate Impediment

The latest, and functional, ‘keep Berlusconi out of jail’ card goes by the name of ‘legitimate impediment’, which means whenever someone would like dear Silvio to make an appearance in court, seeing as he’s the prime minister of Italy, he can find a ‘legitimate’ excuse not to do so.

Recently, Berlusconi’s crack legal team has tried to use the legitimate impediment card on the grounds that normal everyday prime ministerial activities constitute legitimate impediment.  Italy’s, Taliban, judges did not agree with Berlusconi’s lawyers’ interpretation as to what is legitimate impediment, and told Silvio to be a good chap and turn up in court when summonsed.

I think we can expect the legitimate impediment law to be ‘reformed’ quite soon…!

Italian Economy

“Bleak”, is the word which springs to mind when describing prospects for Italy’s economy.  Production is down, and GDP is at its lowest for nearly 40 years.  Only one thing is up: Unemployment. Not good.

Italy’s politicians need to pull their fingers out and organise some real reform, but they won’t.

The Italian world is doing its usual trick of whizzing along and standing still at the same time.  Keeping up with it all is a little like trying to juggle 10 mini-Milan Duomo replicas all at once.  Not that easy.

Oh, by the way, it’s a glorious day in Milan today.

At first it looked as though this man, of whom Silvio Berlusconi is a big fan, was only on the sidelines.  Now though it is looking as though Guido Bertolaso, Italy’s head of civil defence, was actively involved in a sordid story of corruption involving sexual favours, a hint of nepotism and free BMWs, as well as copious backhanders right, left and centre.

To his credit, almost, and before it had been alleged that Guido Bertolaso was up to his neck in the smelly stuff, Italy’s head of civil defence had offered his resignation to Silvio Berlusconi.  Dear Silvo rejected this attempt by Bertolaso to do the decent thing, and instead Berlusconi rattled on about Italy’s judiciary interfering in the day to day activities of Italy’s administrators.

Normal Business Practice in Italy

Obviously to Silvio, the involvement of a few girls, a little partying, and the odd bribe or two, constitute normal business practice in Italy.

Not everyone is in complete agreement with Berlusconi on this, though, and the only vaguely honest political party in Italy, the Italian Values party run by Antonio Di Pietro (against whom mud slinging attempts have been recently made), has requested a no-confidence vote in Italy’s government.

Moving back to the corruption involving Italy’s head of civil defence, press reports today stated that Bertolaso and his chums pushed the boat out on the night after the earthquake in Abruzzo as they realised just how many lucrative backhanders, sorry, legitimate commissions, would be coming their way once the rebuilding efforts began.

Reading this sort of left a bad taste in my mouth, and I know that others were left feeling somewhat bitter too.

Nuke Italy Countdown

The really fun thing is though, that Italy, with its rather rife levels of corruption, is about to recommence its nuclear power program!

I can see it now, Sicily becomes reduced to uninhabitable wasteland after a shoddily built reactor, built by someone who paid a huge bribe, explodes in the world’s biggest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

Ah, maybe that’s the big picture.  Nuke Sicily and eliminate the mafia in one fell swoop, as well as all those pesky Sicilians!

Sicily in a few Years from Now?

If I were French, Swiss, Austrian, or even Spanish, I would start becoming a tiny bit concerned about Italy playing with radioactive materials. It’s a bit like giving a stick of dynamite to a five year old.  Not the greatest of ideas.

What a country.

Further Reading:

Ansa.it, 11 February 2010, Bertolaso, io non c’entro Premier a pm, vergogna – Bertolaso: nothing to do with me. Berlusconi: shame on you judges – in Italian

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chernobyl_Disaster.jpg

Attempts to scare the Italian press into not covering events and accusations have had some effect, in that one leading journalist, Dino Boffo, the editor of Vatican publication Avvenire, decided to resign after what many suspect was a Berlusconi instigated counter-attack.  Well, the offensive against a journalist who had spoken ill of Italy’s premier was launched via a Berlusconi family newspaper, Il Giornale, so it is not a huge surprise that people think Berlusconi pulled a few strings.

One victory does not mean that the war is won though.  Indeed, Berlusconi needs to win on several fronts.  While the resignation of the editor represents one victory, there are some indications that other aspects that the war of Italy’s number one politician is waging against his opponents  is floundering.

Here are some of the fronts which Berlusconi is trying to defend himself against.

The Patrizia D’Addario Front in Europe

Call girl Patrizia D’Addario who allegedly passed some time with Italy’s prime minister, in return, or so she would have us believe, for compensation, is in great demand in Switzerland, Spain and even has a few interviews lined up in France.  Yes, the press outside of Italy is lapping up her claims.

In Italy though, Patrizia D’Addario’s claims have received scant coverage.  Again, one imagines, a certain person who is reported to control around 80% of Italy’s media may well have used his power and influence to keep press coverage of the D’Addariogate affair to a minimum.

Furthermore, and despite the fact that the stable door is now wide open, what with the D’Addario chatterbox horse rampaging its way around Europe, Berlusconi has made an attempt to silence the Dior and Dolce and Gabbana clad ex-call girl (Yes, the papers in Italy now bill her as a former call-girl).  According to a public statement made by Berlusconi, D’Addario is likely to face at least 18 years in an Italian prison for telling all.

The threat of doing time does not seem to have put D’Addario off.  Far from it.  D’Addario has had a lawyer to protect her back for quite some time.

The battle on this front has yet to be brought to a conclusion, but Italy’s name continues to be blackened as a result, which is sad.

The Freedom of the Press Front

The reason for the silence of the Italian press on D’Addariogate could also explain why more than 300,000 signatures have been collected as a result of a protect the freedom of the press appeal which was launched after Berlusconi sued Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper over the paper’s coverage of his affairs.

This battle is still in the offing, yet Berlusconi has already responded by claiming that press freedom is not a problem in Italy, and that the press in Italy suffers from grossly inaccurate reporting.  300,000 soldiers do not appear to agree with this assessment though.

Those who wish to read a little more about the La Repubblica freedom of the press in Italy campaign can go here: Appeal by three Jurists – in English

Gianfranco Fini

The Bari Front

Damage limitation exercises are being undertaken by Berlusconi’s men in other areas of his domain.

One example of this is the recent and very public announcement by a newly appointed prosecutor in Bari – where investigations were being carried out into an entrepreneur who allegedly specialised in obtaining girls and cocaine for certain parties – that Italy’s prime minister was not under investigation for any wrongdoing.  It certainly looks as though the appointment of this new prosecutor was intended to take some of the heat of Silvio Berlusconi.  That was what this here blogger thought anyway.

Yet Berlusconi, despite looking somewhat nervous during public appearances, seems as though he is going to do his best to weather the storm, and claimed recently that he was the best prime minister Italy has had in the last 150 years.  His popularity ratings do not look as though they are diminishing either.

This battle on the Bari front may have been won, but the rest of the war is still far from over.

The Home Front

Behind doors which were once closed, but are now starting to open, others, including Berlusconi’s number two in the Italian government, Gianfranco Fini, have started to become more openly critical of their leader.  Perhaps they are sensing that Berlusconi’s days are numbered.  Various claims have appeared in the Italian newspapers along the lines that the Berlusconi era has come to an end, not, as you might expect the words ‘is coming to an end’.  The choice of tense is interesting and significant.

The home front battle is raging, and may produce interesting results.  I can’t help thinking of a certain Roman emperor who came to a sticky end many moons past.

Gianfranco Fini is regarded as being about the only Italian politician who could step into Berlusconi’s shoes.  Fini would not mind wearing such shoes either.

The Vatican Front

Some in Italy regarded the Avvenire affair as being the beginning of the end for Berlusconi, as by going up against the Vatican, albeit indirectly, Italy’s prime minister is playing a very dangerous game.  The Vatican is immensely powerful in Italy, and can wield such power to bring Italian governments tumbling down, which is something former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi knows something about.

Despite claims by Berlusconi that his government is still getting on fine with the Vatican, others are not convinced.  The Vatican may well be laying an ambush.

The Foreign Press Front

Beyond Italy’s borders, and in addition to the call girl, sorry, ex-call girl media star Patrizia D’Addario, the foreign press continues to write about Berlusconi’s activities and expresses surprise at how he has managed to cling onto power.  This is despite loosely veiled threats from Berlusconi that he will sue foreign news organisations for continuing to write nonsense about him.

This pressing battle continues, and Italy’s embattled newspaper, La Repubblica is still producing daily reports on how the situation in Italy is viewed from abroad.  Italy’s image continues to be tarnished.

There you have it, a summary of Berlusconi’s battles.  Apologies if I’ve missed something, there is such a lot going on that this is likely.  Corrections gratefully received.

As to how this war of words and legal eagles will turn out.  Very difficult to know – but it’s going to be interesting to follow its progress!

Source:

Reuters 10 September 2009: Berlusconi says he is best leader in Italy’s history