Mr Berlusconi has raised the price from an apple and half a crown to an Audi and 7000 euros but the activities are still unbecoming, particularly to a prime minister and party leader. Complain as he will Franco Frattini, the Italian Foreign Secretary must come to terms, as must all the other Berlusconi satraps, with the fact that they have a 74 year old man who consorts with minors (to quote his wife as she left him) purporting to represent Italy to the rest of Europe.
Until Berlusconi has been made to step down (and this can only be done by the members of his own Party for he has outfaced charges of corruption, tax evasion, brushed aside public buffoonery, ridiculous addresses to international conventions, and brazenly sought to subvert the Italian Constitution) other states will want no dealings with Italy.
The problem is the deadlock between the ruling Coalition's factions. Bluntly the Northern Leagues want to retain their riches for themselves and subvert the unity of the Italian peninsula; the Fini faction want to reinforce unity by recognising that there must be some redistribution of the wealth generated in the north to the less-developed south, and impose some sort of normal political structure and behaviours upon an essentially criminal governance in the south. Berlusconi wants immunity from prosecution for himself, his family and his enterprises; and he's having a whale of a time using his powers of office for personal purposes. Only Parliament could grant that immunity, and it won't, and even if it did the President of Italy would block any such constitutional perversions.
Meanwhile the Left and former communists and socialists bleat for new elections (which are wholly unjustified as there is a majority to be obtained in the House) and which they would lose anyway even as they thus reinforce Berlusconi's position. The Italians do not want a big state, high taxes government of the progressive left any more than does any other country in Europe. They will vote for anyone who guarantees their taxes are low or, if nominally high, do not have to be actually paid. The Left would do well to sit down and be quiet while the Right does what only the Right can do.
Once the Frattinis of this Italian world come to their senses and tell Berlusconi they will bring him down in the House or he can step aside himself and be involved in brokering the deal to choose the new centre-right leader (which might be preferable to having no say at all even if he can't have his immunity price) only then can they complain about Italy having no say at all in deals between European Union member states.
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8 comments:
Amazing he hasn't been toppled from within. Entertaining politics in Italy.
An Italian ruler consorting with minors... but not like Tiberius?
Actually I think Berlusconi rather adds to the gaiety of nations.
It's nice to see the po-faced puritanism of the ruling classes punctured in such splendid style.
Forza il Cavaliere!
Wot did Tiberius do, Raven?
Toppling from within is all that can be managed, Mr Q., as the Partito Democratico hasn't enough members in the House, nor electoral support outside (all that progressivo, redistributionismo, biggo stato, greeneryo stuff is truly a minority interest). Too many old political nasties embodied in the PD as well. Communism, like baptism, leaves a mark or seal upon the soul that cannot be effaced.
Fixed term parliaments means the constant forming and re-forming of coalitions, not elections, as well.
We're all watching Mr B's performance with, almost, awe; but his own faction will get him fairly soon - too much troughing and political opportunism and profitable political self-realisation is at stake; they're not all self-made billionaires, many of them have hardly got started, whereas Mr B is on the final straight.
And Forza Italia, Yacht.
Young children, allegedly.
Then not like Tiberius, Raven.
It's another Italian institutional sector disgraced by that kind of behaviour. No wonder the pope always looks as if he fears being struck down by a thunderbolt while walking along whenever we see him on the telly.
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