The exposure of Silvio Berlusconi's public-personal behaviour continues. The website of L'Espresso magazine has made available audio-tapes containing sordid details of the Italian prime minister's alleged overnight tryst with a prostitute on the very evening of Barack Obama's election as United States president, 4-5 November 2008. In a sense, however, it is the way such revelations have been handled in Italy as much as the evidence itself that is most telling.
Among openDemocracy's articles on Italy's politics:
Giovanni Bachelet et al, "A manifesto from Italy" (30 May 2002)
Sarah Pozzoli & Mario Rossi, "The fall and rise of Silvio Berlusconi" (22 April 2005)
Sarah Pozzoli, "Who rules Italy?" (24 June 2005)
Marco Niada, "Italy's tragic democracy" (24 August 2005)
Pierleone Ottolenghi, "Dear Mr Bush!"(27 February 2006)
Marco Niada, "Is Silvio Berlusconi losing the plot?" (23 March 2006)
Marco Brazzoduro, "Italy's choice: risk from Roma vs Roma at risk" (24 June 2008)
What the reception confirms is something that is now also becoming apparent to the wider world: that Silvio Berlusconi presides over a regime. The Italian public broadcaster Rai is directly under his control and refuses to discuss the scandal; Berlusconi himself owns most of the other TV stations. The consequences for Italian democracy, and for Italy's credibility within the European Union, are now matters of grave concern (see "Berlusconi's scandal, Italy's tragedy", 29 June 2009).
The sole channels of serious information for Italian citizens are La Repubblica and L'Espresso (both owned by the same publishing house), along with one or two other broadsheets. The foreign press - most notably the British - has by contrast provided sustained discussion of the issue. Silvio Berlusconi's response has been that the attacks on him are part of a "subversive plot" organised in collaboration with the Italian left.
This is nonsense, on two grounds: there is no plot, and the foreign press's effective and appropriate critical examination of Berlusconi's conduct is of a kind that the Italian left is quite unable of producing. Indeed, part of the reason why Silvio Berlusconi's regime has consolidated its power in recent times has been the absence of any real opposition. Dario Franceschini, the present leader of the main centre-left force Partito Democratico (Democratic Party), claims that Berlusconi will be replaced by autumn 2009; but it is clear that his own party is in no shape to take over.
A deeper vacuum
Two recent events highlight the non-existence of a proper opposition in Italy. The first is a full-page appeal-advertisement placed on 9 July 2009 in the respected International Herald Tribune newspaper by Antonio Di Pietro, who in the early 1990s led the mane pulite (clean hands) investigation into political corruption and now heads the Italia dei Valori (Italy of Values) party. "Italian democracy is in danger" the appeal declared. The commitment of Di Pietro's party to a firm and progressive agenda - constitutional government and the rule of law, transparency and anti-mafia reform - should make it a shaping force, and in a more normal country it surely would be. But at under 10% of the vote it remains marginalised.
The second is an announcement on 12 July by the comic blogger Beppe Grillo - an acerbic and relentless critic of the corruption at the heart of Italy's political class - of his candidature for the primary stage of elections to choose a new leader of the Democratic Party. This "provocation" was ridiculed by some of the party's apparatchiks, who nonetheless made immediate efforts to prevent Grillo acquiring a party card.
Beppe Grillo's criticisms, both of the power of Berlusconi and of the impotence of the opposition, strike a chord with many Italians. Many others may not see him as a serious figure, but his very influence is a sign of a deeper vacuum in the body-politic.
Together, these developments illuminate the long decline of the Italian left - since the end of the cold war, and notably after the tangentopoli crisis - to lead Italy towards the democratic settlement which the "second republic" had promised.
Indeed, by a cruel twist the main beneficiary of tangentopoli was the close friend and part-protégé of Bettino Craxi, the (socialist) Italian premier whom the corruption scandal toppled and then drove to seek exile: Silvio Berlusconi himself (see Perry Anderson's magisterial analysis of this period and its consequences in the London Review of Books: "An Entire Order Converted into What It Was Intended to End" [12 February 2009] and "An Invertebrate Left" [12 March 2009]).
The Italian left seems - the first of the L'Ulivo (Olive Tree) governments of 1996-2001 apart - to have learned nothing from a series of defeats. The "transformation" of the majority of the old Partito Comunista Italiano (Italian Communist Party) - a mass-membership party widely respected for its wise leadership, long-standing opposition to fascism and ability to implant itself into the popular culture - into (successively) the Partito Democratico della Sinistra (Democratic Party of the Left) and the Democratic Party has been an incoherent process beset by identity-crises and endless infighting. The past is a shackle and the future a fog; all that remains is the "morbid symptoms".
A phantom opposition
The most persistent failure of the centre-left has been the unwillingness to carry through the legal and democratic reforms Antonio Di Pietro and others argued for. Above all, the centre-left missed numerous opportunities to pass legislation which would have prevented Silvio Berlusconi's "conflicts of interest"; it even accepted the parliamentary-immunity law which has effectively kept the three-time Italian prime minister out of jail.
The leaders who presided over this enduring infirmity are still there. Some even retain respect amounting to reverence among the centre-left's followers. They include Massimo D'Alema, who abandoned the "conflicts-of-interest" legal effort in an attempt to reach agreement over bicameral reform (which didn't even succeed) contributed greatly to Berlusconi's initial rise to power. Even today elements of the centre-left regard D'Alema as the "greatest politician of the last twenty years"; yet he has done nothing significant and in most serious democratic countries would have been removed a long time ago.
There are worse than D'Alema. Walter Veltroni, the first leader of the Democratic Party, embarked upon a disastrous strategy of appeasing Berlusconi's excesses by opposing what he called "anti-Berlusconism" as a prerequisite to negotiating constitutional and electoral reform. It was a crucial misjudgment of the kind of adversary he and the centre-left were dealing with.
Veltroni had begun his new political project by raising expectations of a genuine breakthrough, but his preference for portentous statements over measurable political advance soon undermined his credibility; the contrast between his embrace of Barack Obama's presidential-election slogan (Si Puo Fare [yes we can]) and his lack of any of the American leader's vision or courage was stark.
The arc of Veltroni's rise and fall was swift: in the election of April 2008, he became the seventh centre-left leader to fall before the Silvio Berlusconi steamroller (and one of the most ineffective, which is saying a lot). The impact of Walter Veltroni's approach was, as the Economist rightly said, to make his side of the political divide a "phantom opposition".
A clear danger
The emergence in Italy of vigorous civil-society opposition to Berlusconi (including the girotondi) makes the non-appearance of any strong reformist political movement since the days of tangentopoli even more disturbing. What Perry Anderson calls the "invertebrate left" bears much of the blame, for its absence of principle and courage. The Democratic Party's current preoccupation with electing a new leader shows no sign of breaking the pattern at a time when offering a clear alternative agenda to Silvio Berlusconi's is vital.
Silvio Berlusconi is increasingly reliant for his continuation in power on the crony-filled networks he has established in key institutions and positions. His patronage extends to his rightwing political allies; a process consolidated by the merger of his Forza Italia with the Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance) in 2008, and a further incorporation in March 2009. The most recent scandals have begun to erode some of his popular support and encourage his critics. But it is important to recognise that - after La Repubblica's questions and openDemocracy's challenge, after criticism from Catholic leaders and foreign media, after revelations of shocking public-personal behaviour - the underlying political reality is unchanged: there is no alternative to Silvio Berlusconi.
The plight of Italian democracy offers much to worry about. The lack of serious and effective political opposition is one of the most worrying factors of all. It's time to lay aside the fear, and rise to a clear and present danger.
Comments
SIR
Coincidentally I sent the following to a local radio show as a result of a discussion on Italy which took place this morning. I also sent it to the Italian Embassy but do not expect any acknowledgement from that quarter. As we can see Italy has a major image problem to put it at its mildest in relation to its prime minister. Sending it to the Embassy was not meant to be offensive but so that they can see how Italy is viewed in this part of the world.
SIR
The contents of your programme prompt me to send you the following few thoughts on Italy, its society and its principal politician.
Over a long life Italy is the only place that I was mugged and robbed in the street. This happened on a no. of occasions. Since my work brought me to many countries, most of them much poorer than Italy, that says it all. On a visit to Italy recently our excellent tour guide was all but arrested by the police. It seems when she answered questions from one of our group about the dates of a building she had broken the law. As a consequence some spy who, it is alleged, had been following us around reported her to the police.
The police would seem to me to have enough on their hands combating the prevalence of petty crime against tourists, and I presume local people, without spending time and resources interfering with perfectly harmless interchanges between tourists and their tour guides.
I sent a message to the Italian Embassy on that particular episode and did not even get the courtesy of an acknowledgement.
According to the Italian press, which is mostly owned by him, Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi seems to enjoy a high level of popularity among Italians. To me all of this demonstrates the fact that Italy is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Because he is in control of almost all of the Italian media Italy's prime minister seems to be able to get away with such things as changing the law to prevent his being charged with corruption.
By allowing Berlusconi to represent himself as an international statesman at various international gatherings, while at the same time allowing him to indulge in very public sleaze in his own country, Italians are tolerating their country being treated with contempt by their most powerful politician. To say the least this reflects very badly on all Italians. The fact that they put up with it makes them complicit in the corruption of Italian society and your programme does nothing to change that impression. The whole of Italian society stinks.
Tony
The sole channels of serious information for Italian citizens are La Repubblica and L'Espresso (both owned by the same publishing......funny sincerely funny...but why don't you explane why mr debenedetti hates mr berlusconi. rai3 is a regime channel? l'unita' is a newspaper used for pdl marketing? please, please! you live in Italy, and do you really think that there are only rep and espresso?
you are a teacher, and I am expecting from you a serious analysis, not a populism comment. espresso is so serious that before G8 publishedban article describing no global attacks in l'aquila, confusion, strikes....but nothing happened..... please, start describing the real problems of italy, the historical background, that is the beginning of his structural crisis, describe how italy Must be considered as a sum of different people traditions and so on. people want berlusconi as he is, pregi e difetti. we prefer a latin lover prime minister - no money given for his night of lova - that works, that is trying to change a died italy...at last...go to bari and discover where is the real italian problem - and i am not talking about political colors but i am talking ofvthe way of manging money. regards, andrea
You write “that there is (no) alternative leader”. I would disagree. It’s the same argument made in, for example, the United States by Republicans and Democrats. The choice in the last presidential election, it seemed to most Americans, was between McCain and Obama. But what of Ralph Nader, a person that has spent much of his life fighting for ordinary citizens. Most of the intellectual class and the so-called fourth estate largely ignored him, thereby shutting out one of the country’s staunchest progressive. They offer a false choice between a Democrat and a Republican.
You write about Antonio Di Pietro, a man not without his faults, and yet continue to say that Italy has no choice. Of course it does. Di Pietro. Is he likely to win? No. But is it not better to vote with your conscience for someone who at least has principals, whether one agrees with them or not, rather than for opportunists like Dario Franceschini, and in the process preserving the corrupt status quo. And why not Beppe Grillo? So what if he’s a comedian. So is Al Franken. Ronald Reagan was a second rate actor. Clearly, the choices are there.
Regarding good journalism, calling La Repubblica and L’Espresso sources of “serious information” is like calling the New York Times a progressive newspaper. You’ll recall how NYT (along with many of Britain’s “great” media outlets, i.e. The Economist, The Times, Guardian, etc.) became a mouthpiece propagandizing the Bush Administration line re: WMD, terrorism, etc. leading up to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
I agree with the central points you make about Berlusconi, the state of Italian politics and the astounding behaviour of good Italian citizens to continue to support this fascist dictator, a person with a complete and open disregard for the rule of law. I, however, would have liked to see a few proposals on how Italians can “lay aside the fear, and rise to a clear and present danger.”
Even Americans began to turn against a menace-to-society like Bush Jr. at the end of his reign. Thank goodness for term limits. Yet here in Italy, support for this megalomaniac holds steady in the 40% range, perhaps higher. What does it say about the intelligence of people when a Chinese immigrant (a friend) supports Il Cavaliere, a highly anti-immigrant politician, and a conservative Catholic mother (another friend) cannot see the irony in supporting (blindly) San Silvio, even as he flaunts his pornographic private lifestyle.
Italians, unfortunately, see value in what global citizens would view as petty, short-sighted and downright childish. Berlusconi is a FURBONE and the Italians unfortunately love him for it. And people around the world can "va a kagare".
there is a tale of an english woman who bought a old castle in italy. she redeveloped it and made it modern. someone came to her from the town and made her a low offer for the property. she refused. then itailan authorites notyfied her that there was a legal problem and she had to appear in court. she then had to pay the lawyers and also for the court appearence. she believed that she had complied to all regulations. after each court hearing she was called time and time again to reappear. each time to pay the lawyer and for the hearing. after spending tens of thousands of pounds, she realised that it was the mafia in league with the lawyers and the courts milking money from her. she sold up knowing that she had no chance. this is how italy works.
money before politics, status before truth, fashion before justice; you wont solve italy. this is a deep cultural way of thinking that has complex roots, and the italians are not bothered to solve it. they have been let down by politics and the criminalty time and again. go to italy, live there, work there and see how ' one hand washes the other' as they say.
Hello, i write from Italy, and I agree completely with mr Andrews. The Italian situation is becoming terrible, from every point of view. We have a premier who cares only about himself, easy young woman (under 18 too) and the classic "bella vita". He reached to avoid every legal trial for any kind of crime thanks to many ad personam laws. Every time he goes out from Italy, his behaviour it's an extreme embarassment for all Italian people.
But he controls all the televisions, with his Mediaset and with Rai, public tv, controlled by his Government. And so he controls all tv information. Statistics say that 70% of Italians make their own political opinion with tv news, and here it is the trick.
If you try to explain to someone not informed what really our premier does in his life, this someone won't believe you, he will say you are insane.
And about the newspapers, it's not better: Silvio controls most of them too, because he's the owner or because he blackmails the other publishers with advertisement hijacking.
We can get some informations and critical discussions only from web or foreign newspapers, who obviously are demonized in our country like conspirators.
And this is just the greatest case, because most of Italian political class is rotten ever more. Every day there is a new trial to a new politician.
The opposition makes we cry every day more. There's no oppositon, it's weak, comic, unconfortable. There's just a little party, Antonio Di Pietro's IDV, who have the courage to opposite our Buffone, but naturally he's demonized and laughed in almost tv news/shows.
Every shy attempt to say how the things go, is muted and punished. For Freedom House our country is "partially free".
So, who can help us? Neither death, because everything is fated to go on this way, after Silvio Buffone too.
Do we need a revolution? I think no. I think we need TABULA RASA of all (or almost) our politicians. Dream on.
Ciao
Here is the chilling truth of Italy's fascist 'government': printed in Unita' newspaper 31 August 2009
De Magistris: "Si prepara il colpo di Stato d'autunno"
di Luigi De Magistris
Credo che il popolo italiano debba essere consapevole che la maggioranza politica - di ispirazione piduista - tenterà di utilizzare le Istituzioni per portare a compimento - nei prossimi mesi- il più devastante disegno autoritario mai concepito dal dopoguerra in poi. Un vero golpe d’autunno. Da un punto di vista istituzionale si cercherà di rafforzare il progetto presidenzialista - di tipo peronista - disegnato su misura dell’attuale Premier. Poteri assoluti al Capo dello Stato eletto dal popolo. Elezioni supportate dalla propaganda di regime costruita attraverso il controllo quasi totale dei mezzi di comunicazione. Il Parlamento - coerentemente ad un assetto autoritario e verticistico del potere - ridotto ad organo di ratifica dei desiderata dell’esecutivo con le opposizioni democratiche messe in condizione di esercitare mera testimonianza. La distruzione dell’autonomia e dell’indipendenza della magistratura attraverso la sottoposizione del pubblico ministero al potere esecutivo con modifiche costituzionali realizzate illegittimamente con legge ordinaria (quale quella che subordina il Pm all’iniziativa della polizia giudiziaria e, quindi, del governo), nonché attraverso la mortificazione del suo ruolo attraverso leggi quale quella che elimina di fatto le intercettazioni (rafforzando quindi la cd. microcriminalità in modo, poi, da invocare poteri straordinari per combatterla).
La revisione della Corte Costituzionale e del Consiglio Superiore della Magistratura – non però nella direzione di liberare tali fondamentali organi dalle influenze partitiche e di poteri che pure sono presenti – ma attraverso il rafforzamento della componente politica e partitocratica. La soppressione della libertà di stampa e del pluralismo dell’informazione formalizzando normativamente la scomparsa dei fatti. La disintegrazione della scuola pubblica, dell’università e della ricerca, in modo da favorire il consolidamento della sub-cultura di regime, quella per intenderci che ha realizzato il mito del «papi», ossia del padrone che dispensa posti e prebende. Il prossimo Presidente della Repubblica – il desiderio dei nuovi peronisti è ovviamente quello che Berlusconi diventi il Capo, il Capo di tutto e di tutti - dovrà avere ampi poteri e con questi anche il comando delle forze armate (dopo aver già ottenuto la gestione della sicurezza attraverso la sua privatizzazione con l’utilizzo delle ronde da lanciare magari a caccia di immigrati e omosessuali) in modo da poter governare anche eventuali conflitti sociali con la forza.
Sul piano economico e del lavoro la maggioranza prepara la repressione al dissenso ed al conflitto sociale causato da un disegno che punta a rafforzare le disuguaglianze attraverso una politica economica che consolida sempre più i poteri forti e squilibra fortemente il Paese come nei regimi (chi ha già tanto deve avere di più, mentre sempre di più saranno quelli che non riescono ad arrivare alla fine del mese), con l’assenza del contrasto all’evasione fiscale e l’approvazione di norme che rafforzano il riciclaggio del denaro sporco. Il furto delle risorse pubbliche che vanno a finire nelle tasche dei soliti comitati d’affari. Il mancato adeguamento dei salari al costo della vita. L’incapacità di favorire l’iniziativa economica privata fondata sulla libera concorrenza supportando, invece, la rapacità dei soliti prenditori. L’assenza di strategia che possa rilanciare il lavoro - pubblico e privato - fondandolo sulla meritocrazia e non sul privilegio e sull’occupazione della cosa pubblica (come, per fare un esempio, nella sanità). Assenza di politiche economiche fondate su sviluppo e lavoro, tutela delle risorse e rispetto della natura e della vita. Il saccheggio, in definitiva, della nostra «Storia».
Un progetto contro il nostro futuro. Il colpo di Stato - apparentemente indolore ed a tratti invisibile - reso possibile dall’istituzionalizzazione delle mafie, dalla loro penetrazione nelle articolazioni economiche e pubbliche del Paese, dal loro controllo del territorio, dalla capacità di neutralizzare la resistenza costituzionale. Un golpe senza armi - ma intriso di violenza morale - con l’utilizzo del diritto illegittimo,della creazione di norme in violazione della Costituzione. L’eversione attraverso l’uso di uno schermo legale. L’uccisione della democrazia dal suo interno. È necessario, quindi, che si realizzino subito le condizioni per una grande mobilitazione civile, sociale e politica che si opponga a questo disegno autoritario che stravolge gli equilibri costituzionali e l’assetto democratico del nostro Paese.
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