A Downer For Prudes

Some weeks ago Minister Mara Carfagna gave Italy a lesson of great morals.

The woman who used to perform as showgirl in TV shows and who posed partially nude for a calendar and for magazines firmly stated “I do not understand who sells her own body”.

She announced a new bill against prostitution in street, according to what she stated who will be caught with a prostitute will be immediately catapulted to the jail. The future law punishes clients and prostitutes caught bargaining in street: they risk from 5 to 15 days of arrest and a fine from 200 to 3.000 euro.

The law won’t deal with slave trades, exploitation of underage prostitution and it won’t regulate prostitution as in Holland for instance.

Practically the bill is just a huge electoral spot that Italian newspapers and TV news have helped to issue without explaining what the truth is: it will be very difficult to end up in jail.

As journalist Marco Travaglio explained in his blog, even if the judge applies the maximum punishment, 15 days, nobody will end up in prison. In Italy probation is applied up to 2 years of punishment and if the punishment goes over 2 years and arrives at 3 years this is not served in prison but mostly in social services. So even if the client always gets the maximum punishment he will have to be arrested and sentenced at least 73 times to go beyond 3 years and end up in prison.

Chensorship is in the Italian blood

It is unbelievable, and yet it is true.

Censorship is part of Italian politics, media and people’s DNA, they rise scandalized and terrify at the first sign of freedom of expression and thought.

On Tuesday in Roma, Piazza Navona, there has been a crowded demonstration against Silvio Berlusconi’s Government and his legislative masterpieces.

Intellectuals, artists, journalists and comedians attended it. The leader of Italia dei Valori Antonio Di Pietro, who strongly supported the demonstration, was the only politician to get on the stage and talk. The Partito Democratico, the other opposition party, was absent and criticized those gathered in that square decided to shout their own indignation against the present actions of the Government, despite there were several PD flags waving in Piazza Navona proof that not all electors share their opinions and political choices.

Walter Veltroni, leader of PD, and his “Shadows-Ministers” decided to demonstrate in Fall. Mr Berlusconi is working really hard to pass every sort of unconstitutional and ad personam law (5 in a month) right now, but the biggest Italian opposition party will demonstrate against it after a couple of months. A tortuous logic.

After the demonstration in Roma, censors from every political front, starting from Walter Veltroni, rose for what had been said on that stage and, above all, for what two comedians had said. Besides Italian media simply forgot or just hinted at the reasons why all those people had gathered in square.

During the last days Italian newspapers whispered and hinted at presumed “strong erotic content” wiretaps between Berlusconi, who was leader of the opposition at the time, and the showgirl Mara Carfagna. According to the newspapers during the phone calls they talked explicitly about oral sex.

El Clarín: Sexgate a la italiana

The Newspaper el Clarín about the so called “sexy” wiretaps between Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Minister for the Equal Rights Mara Carfagna (on the left).

GRABACIONES CON FUERTE CONTENIDO EROTICO

Sexgate a la italiana: el escándalo salpica a Berlusconi y una ministra

En una causa penal que se le sigue, surgieron datos comprometedores.

El primer ministro Silvio Berlusconi y una ministra de su gabinete han quedado en el centro del escenario de un vasto escándalo ya bautizado “sexygate”, como el que hace diez años casi le cuesta la presidencia de los Estados Unidos a Bill Clinton, a raíz de sus comprobados juegos de sexo oral en la sala oval de la Casa Blanca con la becaria Mónica Lewinsky. Desde hace varios días, tanto en la prensa como en los ganglios del poder político italiano, especialmente las Cámaras de Diputados y Senadores, crece el se dice . Se dice que en la Caja de Pandora de las 8.400 intercepciones telefónicas realizadas por la justicia de Nápoles en una causa de corrupción que podría terminar en un proceso penal contra Silvio Berlusconi, hay algunas llamadas que no tienen relevancia penal pero son un cóctel explosivo por su fuerte contenido erótico y las referencias al sexo oral, que los italianos llaman il pompino. Hasta ahora esas intercepciones no han terminado en las páginas de algún diario o revista, como es usual en este país, ni en la línea de los sitios de Internet, donde brotan como manantial los chismes de todo tipo.

Pero el diario La Repubblica cita a la ex viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores y dirigente socialista Margarita Boniver, devota partidaria de Berlusconi, que reconoce la existencia de los mensajes a luces rojas .

Fairy Tales

If most of Italian press and journalism had not such a strong tie with politics this kind of article would be in the front page of every newspaper, everyday.

But most of Italian journalists prefer to write about the place where the new trainer of the national soccer team is spending his holidays than to talk about Prime Minister’s justice problems. Ops!

It is a fairy tale, where the few voices of who tells the truth arrive indistinct and confused to the mass.

Sad truth. Sad reality.

Italy’s prime minister and the law

The fruits of office

The government drafts new laws to constrain the magistracy

SILVIO BERLUSCONI is a man of perseverance. Two months after winning the Italian election, he is starting to deal with the judicial system, and those working in it, as robustly as when he was last in power, in 2001-06. During the campaign he said prosecutors should undergo checks on their mental health. Now more attacks on the magistracy and bespoke laws to protect himself and his business interests seem to be priorities once again.

On June 17th Renato Schifani, speaker of the Senate, read a letter from Mr Berlusconi backing an amendment proposed by two senators that would stop for a year all trials for crimes committed before June 2002, except for those the government deems most serious. Some critics say this is unconstitutional, as it interferes with the requirement that trials should be of reasonable duration and that due legal process must be observed. Mr Berlusconi is on trial in Milan accused of judicial corruption, along with a British lawyer who helped to establish a secret offshore network of companies for Mr Berlusconi’s business empire. Now nearing its end, this trial would be among those to be halted. The amendment was passed by the Senate on June 18th.

In his letter, Mr Berlusconi claimed that many cases have been brought against him by extreme left-wing magistrates for political ends. He has also told Mr Schifani that he wants legislation to suspend trials involving the holders of Italy’s highest offices of state. Mr Schifani was behind a similar law in 2003 that was later ruled unconstitutional.

Law is the same for everyone… more or less

On Friday the so called “Lodo Alfano” has been approved by the Italian Council of Ministers. The Government bill takes its name from the Minister of Justice Angelino Alfano.

Basically, the future law is a shield that protects the four high offices of the State from Law.

If the Prime Minister, the President of Republic, the President of Senate or the President of the Chamber of Deputies breaks a law he won’t be arrested (even if in the act of the crime) or judged by any court, for the length of his entire mandate.

Obviously, looking at all his pending trials, the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will be the one who’ll take more advantage of the future law.

What a shocking surprise.

He said “Either I work as prime minister or I dedicate my time preparing for court appearances. One cannot do both”.