The Small Opinion Show: Italy

To all my readers, I apologise for my long absence. Final year at university is not exactly easy, and generally when I have some free time I'm too exhausted to write. It's tiring enough to keep track of everything that happens in Italy... Anyway, I promise that will write a real post shorty.

In the meantime: yesterday I took part in The Small Opinion show, in an episode about Italy. I loved it, the panel was great, and we discussed some of latest Italian events. If you want to have some fun and catch up with Italian politics, you can watch the show on YouTube at the following link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llcuWxrwKr8&feature=youtu.be

Enjoy!

Matteo Renzi is elected new leader of the Democratic Party

So many things worth writing about have happened in Italy over the last weeks, that my poor neglected blog could never possibly cover them (I blame my final year at uni, it leaves me no free time at all!). Just to mention a few: Berlusconi launched his new/old party Forza Italia, and the party has left the government; the Italian Constitutional Court ruled that the Italian electoral system (see http://italianfactsrd.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/italian-electoral-system-how-porcellum.html) is “unconstitutional” (this comes only 8 years late, considering that we have had the “Porcellum” since 2005); Beppe Grillo organised his third “V-Day” (the V standing for a swear word that I will not repeat here that means “f**k off”- classy, I know) to protest against the whole Italian establishment; and I’m guessing much more that my brain is too tired to recall.

I have decided to take a break to discuss something that, for once, is a) not Berlusconi-related and b) quite encouraging news.

Yesterday, 8th December 2013, the Democratic Party held an open primary to elect its new party leader. There were three contesters: Gianni Cuperlo, Giuseppe Civati and Matteo Renzi. Renzi won with an overwhelmingly big majority (about 67%). 

Matteo Renzi

Among the three, Cuperlo was the only one representing a link with the old left that stood by and watched Berlusconi do his business for the last 20 years, and therefore not necessarily popular at the moment. Civati, on the other hand, while being ideologically more left-wing than winner Renzi, shares some features with him. They both belong to the “thirty-year-old generation”, and they both promise a generational change and a new managing class. Renzi’s triumph is something that had been long anticipated (see http://italianfactsrd.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/partito-democratico-born-to-lose-and.html), and it’s a clear signal to the whole political class. The 5 Star Movement is still strong, but there are people who still believe in mainstream politics to change things.

Matteo Renzi, mayor of Florence, is only 38 and has been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance, as he himself acknowledged today on his Facebook page, thanking for this opportunity.

Renzi became famous in Italy for being “il rottamatore” (“the scrapper”) for his long standing calls to renew and clean up the Italian political system. Among the people he openly admires, there are Barack Obama and Tony Blair.

Indeed, today the BBC published an article titled “Italy’s Tony Blair?”, as it is clear that Renzi’s leadership will involve a shift to the centre. The obvious consideration is that if you think Tony Blair destroyed the Labour party, you are unlikely to like Renzi either. On the other hand, if you believe that Tony Blair’s Third Way is the right way to go, you might find Renzi a promising leader.

This is a passage from the profile the BBC made of Renzi:

“Mr Renzi presents himself as a break with the past in every way. He exudes a restless energy. He likes to pace the stage in black jeans and a white shirt. He is relaxed and easy - fast and fluent as he speaks without notes, ranging across Italy's many problems, and offering broad-brush solutions. He always seeks to instil a belief that politics can be done differently, that change is possible.

He finished a recent televised debate by saying he would offer something very rare in Italy: "Hope."

"People are weary and disillusioned," he said. "They don't believe anymore. I believe, and that's why I do politics - because I still believe."

I, for once, want to be hopeful. I need to be hopeful, because it’s just getting too heart-breaking not see any light at all for Italy. I’m not, and I have never been, affiliated with the Democratic Party, but even only the fact that now it has a young, clean face makes me want to be, at least a little, optimistic.

Renzi, show us what you can do.

BBC Profile: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25265945

Berlusconi says his family feels “like Jews under Hitler”

So, now it’s definitely proved: Berlusconi physically can’t stay too long without saying something unbelievably stupid and absurd, something that can make the headlines all around the world and make me feel like never leaving the house again.

I am little late in publishing this, but it still is worth mentioning.

Four days ago, Silvio Berlusconi shocked the whole world by claiming that he is so persecuted that his kids “feel like Jews under Hitler”, because of the Italian judiciary that “persecutes” him even if he is innocent, and that makes his family feel like “the whole world is against them”.

Berlusconi with his family

Apart from the completely inappropriate remark, the sad thing is that it was not his first one. He had already claimed that Mussolini “never killed anyone” because he just “sent people on holiday”, and that the racial laws were “Mussolini’s only fault” (see http://italianfactsrd.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/berlusconi-racial-laws-biggest-fault-of.html).

Now, I am trying to imagine what would happen here in the UK if a politician, any politician, said something of that sort. I can already picture the criticizing headlines of all newspapers and the condemning speeches of all party leaders, not to mention the critics from the public.  Yet, in Italy, even the Jewish community did not react as strongly as we would expect it to do elsewhere.

It’s so depressing to see that in Italy we became so unresponsive that we will be able to forget even this new outrage. Lately, I got really mad when I saw plenty of people on Facebook angrily protesting against a tax increase on beer but closing both eyes on any other thing. Should I deduce that it is more insulting to levy a tax on beer than to compare one’s trials with the Holocaust?

Honestly, what kind of a country does that make us? Maybe we just deserve our political class, after all. 

The New York Times: "Italy breaks your heart"- it certainly breaks mine

Over the last days, an article published by The New York Times titled “Italy breaks your heart” has gone viral on social networks in Italy.

I read the whole article and found it sadly realistic. However, the part that struck me the most is the following:

“Italy is what happens when a country knows full well what its problems are but can’t summon the discipline and will to fix them. It’s what happens when political dysfunction grinds on and on and good governance becomes a mirage, a myth, a joke. [...] There’s so much beauty and promise here, and so much waste. Italy breaks your heart.”

And it’s so true: Italy does break my heart.

It breaks my heart a little every time that, during a Politics lecture, Italy comes up as the bad example for any single issue (media, electoral system, government stability- you name it, Italy is a bad example).

It breaks my heart when I open the webpage of the BBC and I find headlines regarding Berlusconi’s trials, or a government crisis, or yet another corruption scandal. Not to mention the heartbreak when I turn to Italian newspapers.

It breaks my heart when I suddenly feel homesick and I wish I could be there to enjoy the good food and the sun, but then I realise that, even when I do go back, I feel like leaving after two days because I can’t even stand to watch a whole news bulletin without getting a stomach ache.

It breaks my heart when I see pictures of beautiful cities like Florence, Venice or Rome, and I feel a surge of pride, but then I think that all those wonderful places would deserve a better country.

And, above all, it really, deeply, truly breaks my heart when people question me on the defensive “So you really don’t want to move back here?”, as if I were just being difficult and as if it were easy for me to be away from my friends and family.

I realise that this is just another nostalgic rant from an expat. But The New York Times managed to capture in one sentence exactly what watching Italy sink does to you: it breaks your heart. And as popular wisdom has it, it takes time to mend a broken heart. 

Whole NYTimes article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/opinion/sunday/bruni-italy-breaks-your-heart.html

Berlusconi (eventually) supports Letta’s government in a confidence vote

I haven’t been writing much lately, but definitely not for lack of things to talk about. In fact, now there are too many things to talk about. I honestly don’t even know where to pick up from, so this post will be more a general consideration than a detailed account of events.

Over the last weeks, we have seen the uncontested protagonist of Italian politics, Silvio Berlusconi, threatening (again) to withdraw his support to Enrico Letta’s executive.

Enrico Letta & Silvio Berlusconi

The reason why Berlusconi claimed he would leave the coalition was, supposedly, a fight over IVA (the Italian VAT, “value added tax”). After celebrating his victory following the abolition of IMU (see http://italianfactsrd.blogspot.it/2013/08/berlusconis-party-celebrates-abrogation.html), Berlusconi piled on it by stating that he would not tolerate an IVA increase. Too bad that Letta’s government, after giving in on IMU, noticed that they were still in need of tax revenue. So rumours about an IVA increase became more and more sound (and it is actually in place now).

At some point, Letta openly said that he would ask Parliament for a confidence vote, because he was not going to waste his time if he did not enough support.

Berlusconi took the IVA excuse to blackmail Parliament one more time. This whole argument in fact originated because Berlusconi, following a definitive jail sentence for tax fraud, is facing expulsion from the Senate. The dedicated Senate commission had already voted once in favour of his decay. What Berlusconi was clearly saying was “Either you save me, or I will end your government”. That’s just how much blackmail potential he still has (and this is without a doubt the worst aspect of a grand coalition in Italy).

So, Berlusconi said until the very end that he would deny the confidence. But when the actual vote took place, last Wednesday, it was pure chaos. He insisted in voting no. But then, and this is a real unprecedented episode, his party divided on the subject: a faction led by secretary Angelino Alfano claimed that they would vote in favour of Letta despite what Berlusconi said. The party held a meeting and, after a morning spent going back and forward, Berlusconi eventually announced that they would vote “yes” in the confidence vote.

So, in the end, the government is still there, still potentially blackmailed by the same person. To quote a famous line from the Italian movie “Il Gattopardo”: “Everything must change, so that everything can stay the same”.

However, something that I found shocking actually happened this time: The People of Freedom did not stand blindly by Berlusconi’s side, for once. Both Berlusconi’s old party Forza Italia and the current People of Freedom are the perfect example of a 100% personalized party: they simply could not exist  without him. And yet, this time something went differently. Either they reconcile, or the party will probably split into those remaining loyal to the leader and those going on to form a new group.

And finally: as expected, yesterday morning the Senate commission voted again in favour of Berlusconi’s decadence from his senatorial title. Now, for what I understood, he will face a vote from the whole Senate. We are all waiting to see if at least something will change, this time. 

Berlusconi's appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

As you might have already heard, Berlusconi is appealling to the European Court of Human Rights following his prison sentence for tax fraud. His lawyers sent the Court a file called "Silvio Berlusconi against Italy", in which they are contesting both the conviction and the possibility that Parliament will kick him out. Ironically, Berlusconi should lose his senatorial title according to the "Severino Law", an anti-corruption law which was approved during Monti's government and which was voted for also by Berlusconi's party. Among other things, it also forbids convicted people from sitting in Parliament. All parties, included The People of Freedom, used this law to prevent some convicted politicians from running in the last election, as they all pushed for the so-called "clean lists" (probably just trying to get some more votes). But now that it actually applies to Berlusconi, his party decided that the law should not be retrospective. 
Starting from today, a Senate commission will examine the issue of Berlusconi's "decadence", to use the literal translation. Everything will depend on the Democratic Party, as voting for Berlusconi's expulsion would imply that the grand coalition will fall apart.

But if the Italian Parliament is weak enough to save him, I highly doubt that we should expect the same from the European Court of Human Rights. In fact, here is the reaction we might get from the Strarsbourg Court:

 

(Image from the blog of satiric pictures Colorz, "graphic appendix"of the collective satiric blog Spinoza. Highly recommended to anyone who speaks Italian)

President Napolitano appoints four new life senators- and Berlusconi isn’t one of them

A couple of days ago, the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano unexpectedly nominated four new life senators. The Italian Senate is indeed made of about 95% popularly elected senators on a five-year mandate, and a remaining minority of life appointed peers (Mario Monti, former technocratic PM, was the last one to be appointed in 2011).

The four new life senators are:

•          former Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra director Claudio Abbado (top left)
•          stem cell researcher  Elena Cattaneo (top right)
•          architect Renzo Piano (bottom right)
•         Nobel Prize-winning physicist Carlo Rubbia (bottom left)

These four personalities will, according to Napolitano, act in “absolute independence” and bring their contributions to highly significant areas in institutional life.

Berlusconi’s party The People of Freedom harshly criticised the appointment of these four senators for two main reasons.

First of all, because Silvio Berlusconi is not one of them. Life senators enjoy a series of privileges, including some legal immunity, which might have once again saved Berlusconi (who is facing a prison sentence for tax fraud and awaiting another verdict for the charge of child prostitution). But President Napolitano, by leaving him off the list, seems to clearly send the message that Berlusconi will receive no special treatment.

Secondly, The People of Freedom protested because all four new senators have somehow been critical towards Berlusconi in the past, even though they never openly aligned themselves with the centre-left.

If the four of them turn out to vote in favour of the Democratic Party in the Senate, this could change the numbers in the upper chamber in quite a significant way: now the leftist Democratic Party would need merely 7 votes in order to have a majority that does not include Berlusconi’s party. 7 votes are really not that many, and it is likely that at least 7 “dissidents” from Beppe Grillo’s 5 Star Movement would be willing to vote with the Democratic Party.

It is worth noticing one more time the anomaly of Italian politics: only in Italy someone could actually complain because a convicted person was not made life senator. A normal country would be relieved.  

Daniela Santanchè, People of Freedom MP and adviser, stated: “Congratulations to the four nominees.  But I am deeply sorry for the only one who should have been awarded the life senator honour and was not, that is Silvio Berlusconi. He would have been the best and the most qualified and deserving person. Without taking anything away from the four new life senators, I think that they are not comparable to Berlusconi”.

That’s right: they are indeed so not comparable. Don’t even try to compare them.