We are all Calderoli

There is a good book by Golding: The Lord of the Flies.

The story seems to be rather simple. It’s about a group of shipwrecked kids who find themselves on a desert island. With no adults in sight, what drives these kids is their instinct.

Golding’s tale is an eye-opener that displays a truth that is not so obvious these days: kids aren’t born good, in spite of what we seem to give for granted. It’s quite the opposite, actually. Men are born with the worst primordial instincts. The selfishness of the spirit of survival, but also violence and fear of those who are different from us (it looks like the Lega’s manifesto!)

Only with a solid education we learn those ideals that allow us to hide, deep in our soul, the primitive animals we once were.

In short, man’s evolutionary path starts low in order to reach the most noble ideals: fraternity, solidarity, and the love for our neighbors.

To simplify even further: we all start as Calderoli, but one day we’ll be Jesus Christ.

Congratulations to Berlusconi

I’d like to express my congratulations to Berlusconi.

Yesterday “our” PM managed to surpass himself. Once again he managed to turn the tables against his accusers while talking about the last issues he has been involved in.

The facts are, sadly enough, well-known: Berlusconi called the police headquarters in Milan to release a friend of his, the underage girl “of the week”. Her stage-name is Ruby – and her stage is, well, you know…Berlusconi lied to the policemen (he claimed that the girl was Mubarak’s niece) and asked them to turn a blind eye on the case.

The fuss that ensued was fairly predictable once these things came out. What to do though?

It’s here that Berlusconi – or his ghostwriters – came up with his biggest surprise, declaring that it’s “better to be fond of good-looking girls than being gay”

It’s hard to believe that Berlusconi wasn’t aware that his new “joke” wouldn’t go down well with everyone. Listening to the tape, however, it is possible to gauge that his wasn’t a gaffe, but rather a well-thought line.

By stating that it’s better to chase skirts than being homosexuals, Berlusconi is simply “speaking the truth”. Sadly a truth that is widely believed by many of his electors. Creating this corollary “mediatic mess”, however, Berlusconi managed to divert public  attention from two problematic issues:

Firstly, the Prime Minister has personally called the police headquarters in Milan (lying) in order to release a Moroccan escort that had been arrested for theft (must be hard to explain it to his friends from Lega Nord!)

Secondly, even the last hooker in Milan has Berlusconi on her speed-dial!

Absolutely brilliant!

A pretty weird country

Italy is a pretty weird country.

A normal citizen has to work for 40 years in order to – hopefully – get a pension at some point in his life.

A MP gets this after 5 years of service. There are even those who have been MPs for a day and get a pension of more than 3.000 Euros a month.

This is just one of the many things that differentiate us from what is now widely considered as a “caste” of politicians.

Politicians have evolved from representatives of the people into some kind of modern nobility.  

They live ignoring laws, protected by an immunity that applies to virtually every crime, from corruption to mafia crimes. And this is often not enough, as they change laws in order not to be persecuted.

 Their “reign” is based upon the indifference of the Italians – ready to worry about a football match, but too ignorant and superficial to analyze the decisions of our government. Those who try to protest – as in the case of the MP Antonio Borghesi – are ignored or denigrated by many of those TV channels and newspapers owned by our Prime Minister.

We haven’t been a democratic country for years, so much so that we can’t decide our own candidates – parties do this for us. And we don’t even understand what this means.

We are going through a new fascism. Less violent, for the time being. But with the same roots and the same ends: deny the rights of the majority in order to defend the interests of the lucky few.   

Italians, rats stealing Swiss cheese !

The Swiss campaign against Italian immigrants makes us reflect – or at least it should make us reflect.

By labeling as rats the tilers from Verbania, the lawyers from Lombardy, and the Romanians who reside in Italy, this campaign denounces the assault of 45 thousand Italians who “steal Swiss jobs”.

Many in Switzerland have been criticizing the opening of the borders for years, much in the same way as our very own Lega. The only difference is that this time we are on the wrong side, on the same boat as the usual Romanians.

Experiencing this kind of discrimination first-hand, understanding what it means to be considered rats stealing Swiss cheese and jobs, hopefully will teach our fellow Italians how counterproductive the current racist path actually is.

The Lega chisels you

“Federalism is near. We’ve pushed until we found the right way for it, the democratic way. As Albertoni [president of the regional council in Lombardy] said, everything has been arranged and we’ll be voting in Lombardy. Therefore we bring you today the beginning of Federalism inside our institutions. A great novelty: once we were your means to ask the Government about Federalism. Today, however, we bring you this Federalism. Yes, today we begin our Federalism inside the institutions. This is the great novelty: the federalist fight that the various regions will fight by asking to the Government, to the State, the right to their autonomy.”

With these words Umberto Bossi announced in Venice the beginning of federalism. Finally, after years of empty promises, Lega Nord keeps its word. Everyone, even those who thought that, once in power, the upper echelons of the Lega would have abused of their power to help friends and relatives, has to face the truth. Federalism has begun!

It’s just a shame that this speech is dated September 2006!

Bossi has been talking about Federalism for decades. In the meantime the municipalities no longer receive the council tax. Highway fares increase in the North whilst they remain unchanged in Rome. Government goods are on sale to privates (i.e. multinational companies). In Piedmont Cota and his friends are helping their friends and relatives.

On the streets there are signs that read: La Lega ti Frega (the Lega chisels you). Once upon a time Rome was the one (supposedly) stealing.

A thousand euros less

 More often than not, we are still speechless when confronted with the parallel world of professional politicians.

One month ago we were still reading headings on newspapers asking whether with “1000 euros less we could still speak of a Caste?”

In the first row, as usual, we had the members of the Lega. Even before Tremonti’s maneuver was approved they were already praising this “ethical” – maybe even epic?!? – decision.

Appearing on the first page of the Italian newspapers for the Lega was absolutely essential. Given the sad story of Minister Brancher – who was a candidate solely to avoid a condemn – they needed a moral victory, even just a shallow one. In particular because the condemn (2 years) for the former minister was issued just yesterday, and he was forced to resign, not without raising a fierce debate.

However, “our” politicians, terrified at the thought of surviving with only 14 grand a month, couldn’t wait and managed to recover the money they lost. An official communiqué from the House of Parliament kindly informed us that they will receive an attendance fee for their works in Commission.

They are pulling our legs.

Luckily people seem to be waking up, and this kind of politics, made of bloating innovations and hidden tricks, is less tolerated than it once was.

The recent administrative elections have provided us with more than an example. Take Roberto Castelli, key figure of Lega Nord, candidate mayor in his Lecco. Sure to win easily, he was instead defeated in one of the power-bases of the Lega. Just like the infamous Brunetta, whose boundless ego has been severely beaten up in Venice.

Finally the promises – often delirious – of the Lega, and of “our” politicians in general, are coming to clash with reality. Finally people are realizing this.

Small steps towards a more self-conscious Italy?

A sadly sharp analysis, unfortunately totally come true.

“We have to be ready to present our apologies to Emilio Fede. We’ve always portrayed him as a brownnose, as the archetype of this fauna of jesters, with the aggravation of his cheerfulness. Often brownnoses, after performing, and when they are sure not to be seen by their bosses, appear disgusted and unhappy. That’s not the case of Fede. Having done his duty he smiles ecstatically. I’m afraid we’ll shortly have to change our opinions about him, regret his interventions and consider them as models of objectivity and moderation… Nowadays, in order to install a regime, there is no need for a march on Rome or a fire in the Reichstag, not even of a Winter Palace. Mass media are everything we need: and, chief amongst them, the irresistible television. (…) The result is obvious: a shroud of conformism and lies that, without using special laws, will cover this country reducing it to a soap-opera for boors and will lead to an awakening in which my generation won’t have time to be involved”.

Indro Montanelli

Fiat vs everyone else

The significance of Fiat’s last decisions shouldn’t be underestimated.

If, on the one hand, Marchionne expresses his desire to get out of Federmeccanica by the 1st of January 2013 (the day after the current contract of the metal workers will have expired), on the other hand he claims to be trying to overcome the conflict between owners and workers.

He asks to his workers to adopt a more modern point of view. But, despite his declarations, the facts seem to point in another direction.

Behind the menace of moving the entire production circle abroad – as has already happened with the last Fiat vehicle, to be produced in Serbia and not in Mirafiori – there is a precise aim.

Workers’ rights are being endangered. Marchionne’s intention would be that of erasing 60 years of fights by our trade unions. When he says that we have to forget the ‘60s he means that we have to turn back the clock to the ‘50s, if not earlier. Times in which workers only needed to produce. Every other advance in terms or workers’ rights is superfluous.

It was already clear with the contract imposed upon the workers of Pomigliano. Not everybody, however, had a clear picture of this new Industrial Revolution.

In order to face a company that has been enjoying a considerable power in Italy for the last few decades we would need a strong Government, capable of defending the Italian workers.

The pimps and Mafiosi who rule us won’t be able to force anyone to respect the rules of the game.

Sadly we no longer see that social cohesion that allowed the working class to destroy the cynicism of the owners more than half a century ago.

We would just need a law based on common sense. Things that aren’t entirely produced in Italy shouldn’t be considered as “Made in Italy”. In this way Marchionne would be forced to back down.

Freedom to inform

In Italy we’ve been discussing for a long time about the Gag-Law, the “law on wiretaps”, that law which should stop journalists from publishing tapped conversations (if this law was to pass we would barely have wiretaps at all!), the names of the accused people or those of the judges following the various trials, etc.

Basically, every piece of news regarding a crime.

Privacy, even that of criminals, is used as a pretext to limit freedom of the press and the efficiency of the investigations. A clumsy attempt to confuse the citizenship.

Serious Democracies, unlike ours, consider freedom of the press as a fundamental right. Newspapers and journalists have to be watchdogs who don’t limit themselves to repeating the owner’s words. 

Take, for example, the USA and Germany.

Americans have manifested their worries about the limitations imposed on the investigations. (North)Americans are worried by the potential impact of this step backwards on the investigations on the Mafia made in Italy (our investigators will be left to making assumptions like Sherlock Holmes).

Even more interesting is the German point of view: there, the Government (centre-right) is worried about the delicate balance between freedom of the press and confidentiality.

The federal government has approved 2 week ago the draft of a law aimed at protecting journalists, in particular when they publish confidential information or pieces of secret investigations.

Whilst in Italy we want to punish journalists and editors, even when they publish news of public domain (such as the names of an accused, or the accusations them), our neighbors want journalists to be free to publish pieces of news that are still secret.

In order to find countries that share “our” Government’s position we need to go far away. The Gag-law finds supporters in China, in a few countries of the Middle East and of Latin America. Even there, however, somebody wouldn’t be too happy about this.

History repeats itself

Between 1923 and 1924 Matteotti’s charges against Mussolini’s systematic use of laws by decree, against his attempts to limit freedom of the press, and against the fake economic stats produced by the government’s propaganda, were constantly echoing in Montecitorio.

Reading these words in an excellent article by Sergio Luzzato (Il Sole 24 Ore) opens the ground for some reflections.

A fil rouge links the two Italian Ventenni. Only few still can’t see the parallelisms, how the dark shadow of Fascism covers the glittering yet glossy colours of Berlusconismo.

Back then the driving force behind the strength of our Benito was an alliance between the bourgeoisie and the landowners against the peasants. Today the deal is even wickeder, but we have to wait for the upcoming decrees before writing such a thing on the history books (if the “short trial” and the “law on wiretaps” will allow us to do this).

As many criminals turned informants have confirmed, this time entrepreneurs and industrialists have even reached an agreement with the Mafia. This has been done in order to sabotage our democratic and anti-fascist constitution, and to turn the citizens into subjects.

On the 10th of June 1924 Matteotti was assassinated by Mussolini’s hatchet men. But we’ve also had our state crimes in the recent years. I’m referring, for example, to the judges Falcone and Borsellino. They fought for us, yet we haven’t been able to put our frail Republic on track towards Democracy.

Mafia and Politics

Weird personal ties between Mafiosi and members of the Italian parliament keep coming up.

Only a few days ago a group of people contested the president o the Senate Schifani, guest speaker at the Democratic Party’s festival. This group was stopped by the anti-riot police. 

This is absolutely absurd! The police was defending a questionable character, prosecuted three times for mafia crimes, a person who had set up partnerships with notorious Mafiosi (not once, but twice!). This world seems rather upside down. The police should be protecting us from people like him!

Now another history about the (not so) Honorable Gasparri has also come up. From the wiretaps of the operation Minosse 2, carried forward between 2000 and 2003 by the Carabinieri of Vibo Valentia, it appears that Gasparri had been invited by Pantaleone Mancuso, one of the most powerful men of ‘Ndrangheta, for lunch. The reason for this meeting has also been revealed by the wiretaps: “Everything has been arranged, votes and everything else are being “prepared””.

The meeting never took place. The Carabinieri were investigating on a drug shipment. Suspicious of the continuous shadowing by the police, Gasparri and Mancuso decided to change their original plans. At the following elections Alleanza Nazionale, nonetheless, received two more points in the province of Vibo Valentia than in the other provinces in Calabria. Now we can guess why.  

Everything as planned

Carlo Taormina’s words have been prophetic. 7 months ago he predicted the evolution of the current political situation. In the interview by Alessandro Gilioli (not to be missed) he clearly tells what the aims of the Prime Minister are.

Reading now those same words, all of Taormina’s statements surely gain more credibility.

Back then somebody could have argued that those were the resentful words of a character that had been excluded from Berlusconi’s circle, but now it’s clear he was, to a very large extent, speaking the truth.

Extract from Carlo Taormina’s interview, released in January 2010

…But there are still three and a half years before the end of the Berlusconi’s term…

“I really don’t think so. I believe that, as soon as his personal issues will be settled, say in 2011, Berlusconi will hold an anticipated election”

And why?

“Because it’s in his interest as long as the opposition is this weak, almost non-existent. In this way he’ll win again and he can wait for Napolitano’s mandate to end in order to take his place”

Hold on: you mean that we’ll have Berlusconi until 2020?

“That’s his aim. In absence of a strong opposition he can easily do that. The only variable that might hamper his plan, more than the Democratic Party, it’s the centre, with the activity between Casini and Rutelli. But we’ll only see after the regional elections if this activity will work or not. “

Normal people

I was shocked by the “common” look of the people opposed to Marcello Dell’Utri’s presence. It happened yesterday at a meeting organized by the association “ParoLario”

“It wasn’t an organized group belonging to any association, just boys and girls in their t-shirts, normal citizens, happily smiling on this sunny afternoon on the banks of lake Como” (Il Fatto quotidiano”

These words give a clear picture of what happened. Common citizen wanted to say their “no” to the presence of a Senator who had been condemned to seven years of imprisonment because of his partnership with Cosa Nostra.

A pacific, yet steady, protest. On their banners there were the names of the people who died at the hand of the Mafia, that of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa above all.

To oppose characters who openly praise Mafiosi such as Mangano, the infamous “groom” of Arcore, or to rebel against those who have had links to the Mafia is a sign of a clear social conscience.

Until a few decades ago it would have been unconceivable, for example, for a person like the President of the Lower House Schifani (prosecuted three times for Mafia crimes) to obtain his seat. Nowadays this doesn’t surprise anyone.

The reaction of the people in Como is a signal that something is changing. It’s just a matter of time. Even though pieces of news like this don’t receive much attention by the media. Even though we rather focus on the new kitchen bought by Gianfranco Fini, guilty of having abandoned the PdL.

This second Ventennio, just like the one between 1922 and 1943, is reaching its twilight, and many have already understood this.