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It is disconcerting that having strong evidence in hand in Italy nobody, a part from a couple of journalists who mostly writes books and have blogs, talks or writes about who really is Silvio Berlusconi, the head of the Italian Government.
It is disconcerting that people voted and still vote for him, blind or preferring being blind to who he is and how he is using political power for himself.
It is even more disconcerting that the opposition don’t talk about it everyday. Are they afraid that they might win elections if they do? Mr Veltroni and fellows “shadow-statesmen” what were you thinking about during the electoral campaign? And what are you thinking about now?
Here is a very good report (dated 2003) by Wide Angle (WNET New York network) about Berlusconi. What has it changed now, after five years? Nothing.
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 into a 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.
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.
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”.
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