Milking the Dry Cow: The Present Politics of Italy

For both journalists and regular citizens this is a major shift. Berlusconi looked smart, winning, and often involuntarily funny because of his frequent gaffes; moreover he was sort of American-minded. Prodi instead looks like a a boring non-communicative prime minister and a supporter of “Old Europe”, with a deep sense of anti-Americanism.

Berlusconi holds the record for being the longest serving cabinet member in Italy’s history. In the past there was an average of one cabinet every one and a half years, which made the political framework very unstable. In the past government crises were very frequent as a consequence of political turbulence. For example, in 1996-2001 the center-left majority changed three prime ministers – first Prodi, then Massimo D’Alema, eventually Giuliano Amato – because of the changes in the relative positions of the coalition parties. Almost everybody regards the stability that Berlusconi could ensure as a step forward: why, then, did he and the centre-right lose the elections? Was the stable government too new? Why then have Italians turned to the past?

First of all, within the center-right coalition there was a wide variety of opinions regarding how to pursue the common goals: Berlusconi found it harder than expected to manage it. That is a major cause why the Casa delle Libertà failed in adopting free market reforms. Second, Italians expect to be protected by the government in terms of economic subsidies, housing, permanent labor contracts, social security and health programs.

After Mussolini and World War II, Italy became a pacifist country. In fact, article 11 of the Italian Constitution (written in 1948 and badly in need of an update) states: “Italy rejects war as an instrument of aggression against the freedom of other peoples and as a means for the settlement of international disputes. Italy agrees, on conditions of equality with other States, to the limitations of sovereignty that may be necessary to a world order ensuring peace and justice among the Nations. Italy promotes and encourages international organisations having such ends”.

Regarding Iraq, the majority of Italians were against the war from the very beginning and now are demanding their troops to withdraw. However, not only in Italy but in most European countries there isn’t a clear view about the war on terror: public opinion tend to see it as an attempt to build an American Empire rather than to fight back terrorism. This is the real problem bot for the legitimacy and the efficacy of US foreign politics.

Prodi won the elections promising Italians what they wanted, or better yet what they wanted to hear. There is no plan (and no money) for economic subsidies, but there is a plan to increase taxes. It’s like a passage from Dante’s Inferno.

Two months after the the elections, Prodi and the new government have achieved an incredible record: nothing has changed. The reason is clear: the centre-left coalition doesn’t have a strong majority in Parliament. In fact the majority at the Senate is by just 2 senators, a very tight margin if you consider that the coalition resembles parties that range from the left-to-the-center, Roman Catholic-minded La Margherita to 2 (yes, 2!) Communist parties. It is unlikely that talks with ever translate into action, as there is fundamental disagreement on what kind of action is needed. A sense of frustration is spreading throughout the country as people realize this all, yes Italians seemingly keep believing that L’Unione can achieve something. Why is that? The answer lies in the following: expectations. It’s bad enough when you are disappointed but worse when you expect things from others.

Actually, the administration has promoted a decree law (the so called “Bersani decree”, named after the Industry minister) that would, if passed, liberalize such sectors as taxi drivers and (partly) pharmacies, as well as reducing the powers of professional orders (particularly lawyers and others) to set minimum tariffs at a national level. The Bersani decree includes several good moves, and a few bad ones (for example concerning the liberty of insurance companies to make exclusivity contracts with their agents). Two criticisms can be waged against the decree: first, several leftist members of the Parliament have already taken distances from what they regard as a looming free market reform. Secondly, it hits mostly categories that are supposedly voting for the right, and it promotes the interests of the left-leaning big business (notably the Coop, the largest Italian distribution chain). That may or may not be bad, but it is unlikely the left will be as much courageous when it will come to other categories where structural reforms are needed – including school teachers and public employees. As a matter of fact, new teachers have been hired in just a few week after the government took office.

The recent referendum about the Italian Constitutional reform that was held on June 25-26 was one of the best examples of what Italians are expecting from their government. A good reform that was proposed by the centre-right wing, that would have given more powers to the Regions while making the government’s action more focused and effective, was rejected by a vast majority No vote.

Too bad, because the reform would have had a strong impact on the number of parliamentary seats (a reduction by 170). All else being equal, this would have meant a reduction in public expenses, that is, a reduced need to take money out of the Italians’ pockets through taxation. After people want to keep their own money, don’t they? Apparently Italians don’t. Moreover, the reform would have given the prime minister more governing power (but still not like the President of the United States) without the pressure of political parties.

Likewise, it would have introduced a form of federalism with a clear distinction between regional and government jurisdictions (although, again, not to the extent of the US). A centre-left reform in 2001 had no clear division of jurisdiction between the regions and the State and therefore created hundreds of legal battles in the Italian Supreme Court.

Do Italians prefer disorganization to organization?

No, of course not. FDR said it best: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. There is always a chance that history repeats itself. Wounds heal but fears remain. If you read Italian contemporary history (Mussolini and World War II in particular) ghosts are everywhere. The specter of another Mussolini is the real reason why Italians are against having a powerful prime minister.

If you think realistically about the Italian (and European) economy, you can see a country (and region) without real free markets, with competition between companies practically non existent.

Think of a farmer milking a cow. What does the farmer do when the cow has no more milk? In Italy’s case, the State is the cow and the farmer are the Italians. And the cow is dry.

The left coalition is almost all chiefs and no Indians. L’Unione (a left-wing alliance between la Margherita, Democratici di Sinistra and a heterogeneous group of moderate and radical parties) is contradicting itself. For example, some parties would like to keep Berlusconi’s reform of the labor market, while the far left (that accounts for half of the coalition’s votes) would want to repeal it; the left-to-the-center parties are opposed to reintroducing death taxes, while the far left is in favor of it. There are also fundamental disagreements regarding ethical issues (such as scientific research, abortion, etc.) as well as economic policies, ranging from privatizations to liberalizations, from how to handle pensions and healthcare to the proposed reductions of the payroll taxes. Finally, it is unlikely a consistent foreign policy will emerge, particularly as far as Italy – US relations are concerned.

The latter is a particularly sensitive matter and there is a great risk of disrupting changes. After all, traditionally Italy managed foreign affairs in an ambiguous way, trying to have good relations with all of the actors, a strategy that is no longer possible (it it ever was) and that anyway has been completely reshaped by Berlusconi.

As this article is being written the cabinet is holding a meeting in Rome to decide how to refinance Nato’s mission to Afghanistan and to reduce the troops there at the same time. Prodi’s cabinet is voting to finance the mission, but one communist party and seven senators of the radical left said they oppose Italy’s presence in Afghanistan and want the troops pulled out. Prodi has only a two-seat majority in the Senate.

This is a clear contradiction in the coalition and Italy risks falling out with Nato. It seems Mr. Kerry had little chat with Mr. Prodi about “having a plan”. The only plan here is to run. But run where?

All Italian politics are rooted in Machiavelli, so when you hear such phrases like “Italy and the United States are good friends” or “Italy’s role in Nato is a sure thing”, you can only be sure that words do not exactly mean what they say.

There are some prominent leaders in the left coalition who are thinking of reducing Italy’s military aide for commitment in the Enduring Freedom mission in Afghanistan. Italy has one battleship (Fregata Euro) with 240 sailors in the Persian Gulf and 8 top officials in the American Central Command located in Tampa.

According to the radical left – and let’s not forget they are the majority shareholder, so to speak, of the new government – all these people should be sent home or better yet sent to the Middle East, primarily Gaza, to protect the Palestinians from Israeli attacks! That is precisely what the Communist Refoundation Party’s senator Salvatore Cannavò suggested interviewed by il Giornale. Also Elettra Deiana, vice-chairman of the Chamber’s Defense Committee, suggested in the same article that Italy withdraws its military from Afghanistan.

They obviously have forgotten what happened on that fateful morning of September 11 and haven’t read article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty:

“The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all”.

Basically, the Italian cabinet has a plan to withdraw not only troops from Iraq, reduce aide in Afghanistan and its role in Enduring Freedom , but also to loosen its relations with United States.

A few years ago I was fortunate enough to visit the Pentagon for a meeting with top government and military officials. While touring the premises, a plaque on a wall caught my eye. It was a quote by John F. Kennedy:

“The mere absence of war is not peace”.

Thinking about the Italian left and the new cabinet, this is a quote they should all study, understand and never forget. Lest they someday receive a violent reminder.

Mario Sechi is the Deputy Managing Editor of Il Giornale and owner of the blog mariosechi.net.

Il Giornale, founded in 1974 by Indro Montanelli, is the 4th largest newspaper in Italy.