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.

Differing Points of View

While Berlusconi and his crew are claiming that the new wire-tapping laws will reinforce the rights of Italians to privacy, others believe that the laws will ensure that many, which includes plenty of Italy’s dodgy politicians, will be able to get away with even more skulduggery than they’ve been used to getting away with.

Berlusconi himself is reportedly unhappy that the new laws will not go far enough, whereas Italy’s press are convinced that they will go far too far, and effectively gag Italy’s news media.

The Economist in its article entitled Italy’s Gagging Law – Private Lives does not not think the proposed sections regarding reporting are overly restrictive.  Indeed, they would not be, if Italy did not suffer from levels of corruption which are way above normal.  Then, there is the constitutional aspect.

On the face of it, the amended wire-tapping law does appear to go against Article 21 (1) of the Italian Constitution, which grants “Everyone the right to freely express thoughts in speech, writing, and by other communication.”.  Furthermore, the Sword of Damocles in the form of fines and imprisonment for editors and journalists who infringe the proposed new legislation by reporting certain items, appears to go against the spirit of Article 21 (2) -  “The press may not be controlled by authorization or submitted to censorship.”.  See this post on BlogfromItaly.com: Wire Tapping Troubles in Italy, for more on the wire-tapping situation and the full text, in English, of Article 21 of the Italian constitution.

What we can be sure of is that Italy’s justice minister and his team have been jumping through hoops to find wording for the new legislation which cannot easily be challenged as being unconstitutional in Italy’s Constitutional Court, or elsewhere.

Bill is Nearly Law

Now the bill will go before Italy’s House of Deputies, and then, if it passes, will head for Italy’s President Napolitano, who can either send it back for amendment, or sign it into law.

Even if Napolitano signs, and he will probably be brow-beaten by Berlusconi into doing so, challenges on the grounds of the constitutionality of the law will still be possible.  In the meanwhile though, the law will be binding.  There are also proposals afoot to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, should all other appeal avenues lead to dead ends.

Corruption Brushed Under the Carpet

If the law does go through, Italy, which is already riddled with corruption, (See: Corruption Begins in the Cradle in Italy) will become even worse, only most incidences, one suspects, will be brushed under the carpet.  Italy’s press, which is already suffering from falling revenues, will have its hands tied, so Italy’s citizens will remain none the wiser, which appears to be what Berlusconi is angling for.  Berlusconi’s concept of corruption, and mafia, is perhaps a little different from that of most peoples, or so it would seem.  Pietro Lunardi, a minister in one of Berlusconi’s former governments once publicly stated that Italy needs to live with the existence of the mafia.

The new wire-tapping laws will, potentially, make life easier for Italy’s various mafias, as has been pointed out by Italy’s very own anti-mafia body, and by the US Justice Department.

Journalists to Strike

The 8th and 9th July in Italy are scheduled to be days of ‘noisy silence‘, as Italy’s print and broadcast media strikes in protest at the forthcoming wire-tapping legislation.  The situation is looking somewhat bleak for the future of the freedom of the press in Italy at the moment.  If the law does come into force, and stays there, it will be interesting to see how Freedom House rates levels of press freedom in Italy.

Is there any hope?  Well, Italian independent newspaper, Il Fatto Quotidiano, despite sporting a black armband, believes there is, and it comes in the form of the world wide web.

Offshore Press

Il Fatto Quoditiano sports a black armband as it mourns press freedom in Italy

What Il Fatto Quotidiano is proposing to do, is to set up a website beyond Italy’s jurisdiction which will publish news stories which could not be run in Italy, thus circumventing Italy’s press-gag.  There would, if fact, be a network of what could be called offshore Italian news websites carrying stories which have been banned in Italy.  This, to an extent, will help preserve the spirit of Italy’s constitution, although the press which is friendly to Berlusconi will no doubt do all in its power to discredit these offshore news sources.

The really sad thing though, is that this change to Italy’s wire-tapping laws has been effectively brought about by Italy’s press who have been simply reporting who is being investigated for what.  The sort of thing the press in any normal county does anyway.  The ‘who’ in many recent cases has been Berlusconi and his associates.

Other Italian newspapers are wearing black armbands today as well, ANSA: Press protests wiretap bill

Is Italy a normal country? Or is it destined to become the European version of Burma?  Answers via a comment.

Photo credit:

Gag photo by Lorelei7

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.

As I write this, politicians are feverishly working away on the new wire tapping rules in the hope that the wording will prove acceptable to both of Italy’s parliamentary chambers. If the wording is not one hundred percent OK, the draft law will drift back down to Italy’s house of deputies – where it was proposed by Italy’s current justice minister, Angelino Alfano. Then, if the right words cannot be found, the law risks yo-yoing back and forth between Italy’s two houses.

Why does Berlusconi want this legislation?

The Berlusconi government is claiming that wire-tapping in Italy has got out of hand, to the extent that it is threatening the privacy of all Italians.  Others, though, believe that the new legislation is more about keeping scandals out of Italy’s press.  What Italy’s media has been doing is publishing transcripts of wire-taps before anyone has been dragged into Italy’s overcrowded courts.  To an extent this can lead to convictions without a trial, so one can understand, in part, why Berlusconi wants to clamp down.  However, one is under the impression that certain people release these transcripts in an attempt to dissuade some from undertaking corrupt business practices.

The surveillance of telephone conversations is one of the few ways it is possible to catch criminals and those up to no good with their trousers down in Italy.  Several high level Italian politicians, up to and including one Silvio Berlusconi himself, have had conversations recorded.  One of Berlusconi’s conversations, in which he did his level best to have a political chat-show, Annozero, taken off-air, ended up in the papers, much to Berlusconi’s chagrin.  This could explain Berlusconi’s renewed enthusiasm for legislation to make it difficult for wire-taps to be arranged, and much more difficult for them to end up in the papers.  Under the proposed amendments to wire-tapping rules, should part or all of the transcripts of these recorded conversations make it into the papers before investigations have reached court, the editors of the newspapers concerned risk heavy fines.

Challenge to Press Freedom in Italy

Italy’s journalists see the new law as a serious challenge to press freedom in Italy.  Indeed, so worried are they that this evening’s RAI 2 8:30 news broadcast carried a little additional piece in which the channel’s journalists drew attention to the negative effect this new law, if it is passed, would have on the rights of Italian’s to ‘freedom of communication’, which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Italian Constitution:

Article 21  [Freedom of Communication]
(1) Everyone has the right to freely express thoughts in speech, writing, and by other communication.
(2) The press may not be controlled by authorization or submitted to censorship.
(3) Seizure is permitted only by judicial order stating the reason and only for offences expressly determined by the press law or for violation of the obligation to identify the persons responsible for such offences.
(4) In cases of absolute urgency where immediate judicial intervention is impossible, periodicals may be seized by the judicial police, who must immediately and in no case later than 24 hours report the matter to the judiciary.  If the measure is not validated by the judiciary within another 24 hours, it is considered revoked and has no effect.
(5) The law may, by general provision, order the disclosure of financial sources of periodical publications.
(6) Publications, performances, and other exhibits offensive to public morality are prohibited.  Measures of prevention and repression against violations are provided by law.

Mini-Update: 25th May, 2010 – After burning the midnight oil, Italy’s government has thrashed out new wording to the wire-tapping legislation changes.

It looks as though the potential gag on Italy’s press may be slackened a little, although whether Berlusconi will be happy with the concessions remains to be seen.  Italy’s opposition parties remain unconvinced that the changes will be enough to ensure that Italy’s press remains free, so the story is not over yet.  And, as mentioned a little later on in this post, a challenge on the grounds that the new law does not respect the spirit of the Italian constitution is possible, if it passes and is signed by Italy’s president.

More here, in Italian, over on the La Repubblica website: Intercettazioni, prima approvazione del ddl 
Alfano: “Misure più morbide sulla stampa” -”Interception, approval of the Alfano ddl: “Softer measures for the press”.

End of mini-update

Berlusconi Has a Tight Grip on Prime Time News

In addition to press fears that the wire-tapping laws will amount to censorship, Italy’s journalists will be well aware of the recent resignation of Maria Luisa Busi, an anchor from prime time RAI 1 news programme TG1.  In her resignation letter, Busi insinuated that editorial manipulation had become so invasive that the TG1 news programme risked losing its credibility.

Many suspect that the RAI 1 news programmes only present news which has been ‘sanitised’ by pro-Berlusconi staff.  There has already been one case of dubious reporting concerning the Berlusconi-Mills bribery trial.  The TG1 news stated Mills had been acquitted, which was wrong.  The case against Mills had been brought to an end by time barring, which is not the same as an aquittal.  Busi also commented on the amount of trashy news TG1 has been showing.  She has a point, some of the odd TG1 stories runs have left both my Italian other half and myself distinctly puzzled as to their place on a prime time flagship news programme.

Busi’s leaving does not bode well for press freedom in Italy, nor, indeed, do the proposed wire-tapping rules.  There is, though, a chance that the effects of the new law will be halted shortly after coming into effect.

A Challenge is Possible

Even if the draft law does end up becoming actual law, there is the possibility that its constitutionality may be challenged – all it takes is for one of Italy’s judiciary to protest that the law is not in the interests of Italy for it to be called in for review by Italy’s constitutional court.  You can be sure that Berlusconi’s minions will be working overtime to ensure that the wording of the new wire-tapping legislation will be such that it cannot be declared unconstitutional.  Whether this is possible, remains to be seen.

See How Laws Become Laws in Italy for more on how laws come about, and how they can be challenged.

A Perceptive Cartoon

The Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera ran a clever cartoon on its front page last week.  In it there was Berlusconi on his mobile phone; in the speech bubbles were the words: “The wire-tapping legislation has passed?”, “Great, then we can talk.”  This well-observed cartoon leaves one under few allusions as to the real reason why the scandal-racked Berlusconi government is pushing so hard for the new anti-wire tapping laws.

Like the weather in Italy at the moment, things are hotting up on the wire-tapping front.  Heck knows what people from other lands make of what Italy is getting up to at the moment, or if they even care.

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?

The Abruzzo Earthquake – The Official Picture

Abruzzo After the 2009 Earthquake

For the Berlusconi government, and for Silvio Berlusconi himself, the relief operations in the wake of the Abruzzo earthquake were a crowning achievement, and demonstrated that Berlusconi is a man who gets things done.  He has a point, in that, for Italy, where some places are still waiting to be re-constructed after earthquakes which happened decades ago, the l’Aquila affair was handled with extraordinary rapidity.

Of those made homeless by the earthquake, 40,000 were soon housed in tent cities, with another 10,000 being quickly moved into hotels, many of which were along the coastline of the Italian region of Abruzzo in which the city of l’Aquila is to be found.

Replacement housing sprang up in record time, and was handed over to those made displaced by the quake.  The Italian government arranged for all Abruzzo residents to be exempted from the payment of taxes and arranged for mortgage payments to be put on hold too.

Italy’s edition of the G8 show was moved to the city of l’Aquila to showcase the work done by the Berlusconi team.  Berlusconi himself made frequent trips to the quake hit area, and his visits always made prime time television.  Prior to the quake, Berlusconi’s popularity had been flagging, but his handling of the crisis had his ratings soaring once more.

All in all, Berlusconi came over as being someone who could get things done, and, in the process, made Italy look surprisingly efficient.  For Berlusconi the cloud of dust left by the earthquake really had a silver lining.  It all seemed perfect.  Too perfect, perhaps.

Enter stage left, Sabina Guzzanti, who went down to Abruzzo after having heard a story of a disgruntled resident, and did some of her own digging through the rubble.  What she uncovered became the film Draquila.  Incidentally, the title of the film was chosen after Guzzanti asked for suggestions from the readers of her own blog – SabinaGuzzanti. (Which seems to have been hacked in some way – the Google.it search result showed this title when I searched for it: Adderall online. BUY ADDERALL TOP 100 USA pharmacy suggestions

Berlusconi and his men and women do not agree with Guzzanti’s account of the Abruzzo situation, not one bit, and regard the film as being an affront to Italy and its people.

Sabina Guzzanti’s Darker Side of the Earthquake

First of all, I have not seen the film, which is something I have in common with Italy’s culture minister Bondi, apparently.  However, I have visited the Draquila website of the film and viewed a number of the clips there.  These clips are in Italian, and, do not have subtitles.  Two were interesting.

Public Meetings Restricted

In one clip Guzzanti interviewed a local official who stated that those made homeless after the quake had been effectively forbidden from holding public meetings.  ‘Effectively’ is the key word here, in that to have held public meetings people would have required the approval of the head of a tent city, and the impression one obtains from the interview is that such permission may have been withheld.  The Italian constitution guarantees Italy’s citizens the right of association.   It seems odd that such tight, seemingly anti-constitutional restrictions should have been placed on the holding of public meetings. Perhaps the reason for this is explained, or intimated, within the rest of the Draquila film.

Coffee and Coca Cola Virtually Banned

In another clip from Draquila, an MP from the centre-left Democratic Party explains that alcohol was forbidden from being served to the residents of the camps.  While this might not sound excessive, what is strange is that coffee and coca cola were forbidden drinks too.  This ban on ‘stimulants’ was apparently written into official guidelines which were supplied to the heads of all the tent camps.  You may read what you will into this mysterious rule.

In another scene from the same clip, a man explains that many rights of those displaced by the disaster were effectively removed.  The same person goes on to say word has it that the Abruzzo quake served as a dress rehearsal for the introduction of a totalitarian regime in Italy.  Wow, that is quite a claim.  The stuff of conspiracy theories, pure and simple.

On the subject of conspiracy theories, Guzzanti found it very odd that a tent set up by the opposition Democratic Party remained closed the whole time the relief works were being carried out.  Why?

Mysterious Sackings

Other inexplicable happenings were the firings of relief workers and journalists who attempted to criticise the way in which the aftermath of the earthquake was being managed.  Guzzanti’s impression was that people were fired to keep them quiet.

In Guzzanti’s eyes, what Berlusconi and his boys have been up to amounts to a serious threat to democracy in Italy.

Laughter in the Face of the Misfortune of Others

Then there was the telephone conversation which took place between two entrepreneurs, Francesco De Vito Piscicelli and Pierfrancesco Gagliardi shortly after the Abruzzo earthquake.  These two ‘gentlemen’ seemed to be strangely content that the disaster had occurred.  Perhaps because their companies were likely to be awarded lucrative construction contracts?  Not nice.

Civil Defence and Italy Event Organiser – all in one

Next up is the questionable way in which Italy’s Civil Defence organisation has been given the power to manage funding for both relief operations, such as the one in Abruzzo, and large events, such as the G8 meeting in Italy last year. Italy’s head of civil defence, Guido Bertolaso, a great chum of Silvio Berlusconi, has become caught up in a sex for favours scandal, and even offered to resign. Berlusconi rejected Bertolaso’s resignation. This situation is noted by Guzzanti in her film ans she observes that the amount of public money spent on the relief operation seemed excessive.

Yet another aspect of the handling of the tragedy which Guzzanti finds distasteful, is the way in which Berlusconi used the disaster to up his popularity ratings. Really though, knowing Berlusconi, this is was to be expected, after all, picking up the pieces after a disaster is a great way for high level politicians to cover themselves in lots of golden light. And Silvio Berlusconi is no stranger to the power of the media.

I remember how the popularity ratings of Great Britain’s former prime minister Margaret Thatcher soared as a result of her handling of the Falklands crisis way back in 1982. Other disasters have done wonders for the reputations of presidents and politicians too. Berlusconi simply, if not ethically, capitalised on the ‘disaster-effect’.

I saw Sabina Guzzanti in a recent television interview, in which she appeared with a Berlusconi man.  Guzzanti, as someone else I know noticed, seemed rather nervous.  I hope she does not have an accident.

Investigations into how contracts for the Abruzzo reconstruction works and other public works contracts were awarded are still very much under-way.  One ‘casualty’ is Italy’s infrastructure minister, Claudio Scajola, who was forced to resign to defend himself from allegations that he used slush funds to acquire a house in central Rome.

I think I’ll go and see Draquila this weekend, then I’ll be able to say whether I think it offends Italy.

Image credit for Abruzzo After the 2009 Earthquake: RaBoe/Wikipedia
Original image is here: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abruzzo_2009_014_(RaBoe).jpg

License terms here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/legalcode

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.

Supreme Silvio

Berlusconi is the only Italian politician who has managed to keep an Italian government in power for considerably longer than a year.  Maybe by giving Berlusconi their vote, Italians are hoping that the stability he is able to bring will transform Italy for the better.  On the other hand, it does look as though in the hands of Berlusconi, Italy is falling back to the period in the mid-90s when the country was rocked by the huge corruption scandal and the nationwide “mani pulite” investigations.  Only this time round, Italy’s power mongers know which traps to avoid, and “reforms” to Italy’s judiciary should help keep irritating investigators off the backs of those who employ somewhat illicit methods.

Vendola’s Miracle

Nichi Vendola Wins Puglia

Still, despite an outlook which some Italians may regard as being dull as a wet weekend in Weston-Super-Mare, a ray of light has penetrated the seemingly overcast sky.  Down in the Italian region of Puglia, the victory of left winger, and a communist to boot, Nichi Vendola, has rocked the boat of Italy’s traditionally dilatory, grey, and watery, left.  To some, Vendola’s victory is nothing short of a miracle, coming, as it has in the face of the very anti-communist Berlusconi.  And Vendola is gay, a fact which adds to the miraculous nature of Vendola’s triumph in Italy’s south with its notoriously traditional values.

But the real reason why Vendola is a winner, is that he is honest, and has detached himself from the rest of Italy’s left.  He represents something new, and is someone who provides people with hope, as all political leaders should do.  The rest of Italy’s left should take note, for unless they buck up their ideas, become more decisive, and present new, credible candidates, they will never make any headway against Mr Media.  Berlusconi has managed to give the impression that his government is different from the traditional crowd, and this has done him no harm in terms of votes.  Of course, his grip on Italy’s media has helped enormously, but instead of regarding this as an obstacle, as with all problems, it should be looked at as an opportunity.

A Comics Progress

Beppe Grillo, the Italian comic turned political activist, used the Berlusconi tactic as an opportunity.  The comic, who works with the web, as well as standing up in Italian piazzas, fielded candidates in the current elections, and they have made headway. Why? Because they are new and different.  Even the Italian Values party led by the man with less than perfect oratory skills, Antonio Di Pietro, has done OK.  By the time Italy faces its next general elections, Grillo and Di Pietro may well end up stealing the thunder from the dreary Mr Bersani and his lack lustre left.  By the way, 1 in 3 Italians did not bother voting in these elections.  The same old, same old, is so uninspiring.

In the meantime, some predictions: Berlusconi will continue to angle for absolute power, Italy will become more corrupt, and the country’s Constitutional Court will have plenty of work on its hands, provided that it is not abolished!

Still, in difficult times, as the English saying goes, “when the going gets tough,…”  I’m sure you know the rest.

RAI News 24: Il voto nelle analisi dei quotidiani – The Vote Analysed by [Italy's] Dailies – in Italian

Vendola photo by Giovanni Dall’Orto.

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?

Why, Silvio Berlusconi, of course, that champion of democracy.

Indeed, talking of gagging the opposition and any televised criticism, it was the Berlusconi government who introduced a convenient little law which shut down all political talk-shows on Italian state television, and even, initially, all talk-shows on any television channel broadcasting in Italy.  Murdoch’s Sky, and another private Italian national broadcaster, La7, had a word or two to say on this, and the gag was removed from the mouths of private broadcasters.  Despite the decision in favour of Sky and La7 , Italy’s RAI channels, unsurprisingly decided that they would continue to respect the ban.  Had somebody been making a few telephone calls?

Of course, Berlusconi’s own Mediaset channels decided to respect the ban, even though the Sky decision meant that technically they did not have to.

It is well known in Italy that governments can ensure Italy’s state funded RAI television network only broadcasts the right information.  To an extent, Berlusconi has not been doing anything new, only his interference has been a little more direct.  And, he was allegedly caught on tape trying to ensure that programmes were taken off-air.

AnnoZero, the programme Berlusconi wanted to ban, moved for a night to the web.  All the usual AnnoZero faces were there, as well as a few others.  The web programme, which attracted a fair amount of attention, over 350,000 viewers, mentioned the Watergate affair, and how President Nixon had been forced to resign over compromising tape recordings.  Effectively, Santoro, the presenter of RaiPerUnaNotte – RAI for a Night – as the web broadcast was called, was intimating that Silvio Berlusconi should go.  The broadcast also suggested, indirectly, that Berlusconi was Mussolini mark two.  Some might agree with this observation when they hear that Berlusconi, during a political rally, declared that he wished to introduce legislation which will give him something close to absolute power.

Absolute Power

Another thing Berlusconi is openly angling for is tighter controls on wire-tapping in Italy.  The war cry is that tapping people’s phones means that many will end up being spied upon in their own homes.  Well, this is not exactly true.  Some 20,000 Italians have their phones tapped annually.  Italy has a population of around 60 million, so only a tiny percentage of the population is being ‘spied’ upon.  As journalist Marco Travaglio observed during the RaiPerUnaNotte AnnoZero clone: How come Berlusconi tends to end up chatting to the wrong people?  After all, there are another 59.98 million Italians to chat to.

The trouble is when you have the power, the opportunity to use it, and you live in a country where status is as important as style, wielding that power must be a temptation which is difficult to resist.  And this temptation has also been used on the Vatican.

Vatican Support

The Vatican, which is not supposed to interfere in Italian politics, voiced its support for Berlusconi in the week before the regional elections.  Indeed, just for good measure, Italian television was graced with images of Silvio Berlusconi in the company of a few cardinals.  One cardinal in particular, Bagnasco, called on Italians to vote against abortion. Guess what?  Berlusconi’s party’s official line is that it is against abortion.  How convenient that the kind cardinal should express an opinion on this very subject right on the eve elections in Italy.  More phone calls?

Honestly, watching goings on in Italy at the moment, one might confuse what are regional elections with a full blown national election.  To an extent though, these regional votes are as important as a national election, as the election results will demonstrate is just how tight a hold Silvio Berlusconi and his band have on Italy.  Italy’s younger generations will also be watching what happens with interest.

Italy’s Image Problem

A number of young Italians I’ve spoken to at the business school where I often find myself; people who’ve spent time in Spain and other countries; have insinuated that Silvio Berlusconi has been giving Italy, and Italians, a bad name.  Admitting they are Italian has been embarrassing, I have been told.  But Berlusconi and his cohorts do not give a hoot about what others think of Italy.  Is this a problem?

At the moment Italy’s economy is starting to drag itself out of the international economic crisis, but jobs are still being lost, and levels of public debt are horrendously high.  The head of Italy’s employers’ federation, Emma Marcegaglia, who knows full well that Italy is still in a mess, has been making repeated calls for reform.  I’m sure Marcegaglia would admit to the importance of exports for Italy’s economy.  However, Marcegaglia’s voice of reason has, alas, fallen on deaf ears and has been virtually ignored by Italy’s government, who seem to prefer passing laws to benefit the business interests of someone and his friends, as well as passing time partying with prostitutes, as opposed to passing legislation which will help Italy’s flagging economy pick itself up.  Some would go further and claim that Berlusconi’s government has introduced legislation which will perpetuate Italy’s age-old organised crime problem.  Just ask the leader of Libera, an Italian anti-mafia association.  A source of mine tells me that Italy’s official anti-mafia people are not overly happy with the way things are going in Italy either.  This does not bode well.

Want to Invest in Italy?

Let’s look at this scandalous situation from the viewpoint of a foreign investor.  Italy’s laws are horribly complex, its legal system is devilishly complex and snails-pace slow, corruption levels are rising, and in league with the Italian government is a political partly which is fairly openly xenophobic.  Legal system reforms are being proposed, but it is likely that such ‘reforms’ will merely serve to cripple the system, not render it more efficient.  This worrying situation might explain in part why foreign direct investment in Italy fell by an estimated 94% in 2008.  It is possible that foreign money is continuing to discount Italy as an investment opportunity and looking elsewhere.  As a consequence, jobs will not be created and Italy will continue to drift in the doldrums, ultimately ending up as a thinly veiled dictatorship.

Italy’s disenchanted younger generations are already seriously considering looking outside of the country for work, which means these bright minds will not drive the change which the Living Museum so desperately needs.

It appears, sadly, that Berlusconi does not give one jot for Italy’s youth.

For a supposedly democratic leader, Berlusconi does not really care about some sectors of Italy’s population.  Maybe he wants the women to be escorts and the men to work for shady organisations?  And how come such a democratic leader feels that he needs to have a very own defence lawyer in his government?  Isn’t this somewhat undemocratic? Does it not demonstrate that far from being a proponent of democracy, Berlusconi displays disdain for it?

The regional election results will mark a crucial turning point for Italy – for better, or for worse.

Further Reading and Viewing:

Ansa, 26 March 2010: Regional elections seen as test

Ansa, 25 March 2010: Berlusconi probe moves to Rome

RaiPerUnaNotte - Part 1 of 7 – well worth watching, as long as you can understand Italian.