Italian Anomalies
Christian Bulzomi
July 31st, 2008
On July 21, 2008 the Italian Parliament adopted the so called “Lodo Alfano”, which takes its name from the Italian Minister of Justice Mr. Angelino Alfano, and put an end to 14 years of discussions. The law, which shields the four most important offices of state from prosecution, will favour Mr. Berlusconi by freezing a corruption trial in which he is a defendant together with David Mills and a trial related to Berlusconi’s company “Mediaset” in which he is accused of financial misstatement, money laundering, embezzlement and bribery.
Berlusconi has persistently claimed the need of such a law. From his point of view, “a part of the judiciary has set as its objective to overturn the vote of the Italian people”. Therefore, he thinks that the adoption of the mentioned law “is the least one can do to protect his own freedom”. Mr. Berlusconi describes his problems with the Italian judiciary as a “persecution which is inacceptable in democracy”.
Since 1993 almost every year new charges have been filed against Italy’s richest man. In 1993 he was charged with illegally financing a political party, in 1994 with corruption, in 1994, 1995 and 1999 (twice) with financial misstatement, in 1995, 1997 and 2003 with fiscal fraud, in 1998 with commissioning the murders of two anti-Mafia judges, in 1998 and 1999 with bribery, in 2004 with financial misstatement, money laundering, embezzlement, bribery and finally in 2004 with corruption of a witness.
In many cases the judges were faced with the prescription of the offence – in 1993 and 1994 (financial misstatement), in 1998 (bribery), in 1999 (financial misstatement and bribery), and in 2003 (fiscal fraud). In almost as many cases the country’s longest-serving post-war leader was found not guilty – in 1994 (corruption), in 1995 (financial misstatement and fiscal fraud), in 1997 (fiscal fraud), in 1999 (financial misstatement). The charges filed in 1998 of commissioning the murders of two anti-Mafia judges, based on the testimony of a Mafia informant did not lead to Berlusconi’s official indictment and the case was closed. The two trails opened in 2004 will now be suspended due to the newly adopted law. In addition to that, the Spanish High Court has recently found Mr. Berlusconi’s co-defendants in the trial related to Telecinco not guilty of fiscal fraud and financial misstatement. This is an indirect victory for Mr. B, who had been shielded from prosecution by parliamentary immunity.
After the approval of the “Lodo Alfano” the battle between Berlusconi and the Italian judiciary should be definitively over. However, it is difficult to understand how the Italians have once again elected the most controversial politician Italy has ever known despite his constant problems with the Italian judiciary and his blatant conflict of interest. In any of the other 26 EU countries a politician with Berlusconi’s judicial curriculum would at the very least be forced to resign. Do we have to conclude that the ethical standards of the average Italian is much lower then the ethical standards of the average European?
The reasons for Mr. Berlusconi’s success have to be found somewhere else. On the one hand, part of the Italian population does probably believe that the Italian magistrates are obsessed with Berlusconi. On the other hand, most of the 46% of the Italian voters who decided to give their preference to Mr. B’s coalition could not care less about the Prime Minister’s troubles with the courts: The stagnating Italian economy is preoccupying (Italy has the lowest EU-15 GDP per capita in purchasing power standards after Greece and Portugal) and Berlusconi has proved to be the only political leader able to (almost) complete a five years mandate and therefore to enact long awaited reforms. In addition to that, Mr. Romano Prodi’s government had reached unexpected levels of unpopularity before the former President of the European Commission was forced to resign as Italian Prime Minister due to the departure of one of his 9 coalition partners (who by the way was involved in held a “stunning” 1.4% of the votes expressed in the 2006 Parliamentary elections).
After having solved his own problems with the Italian judiciary Mr. B still has four years and nine months left and might try to solve the struggles of the Italian economy and the concerns of an ageing Italian population, whose younger generations regrettably have lots of dreams but little hopes.
Should we not give Mr. B some credit now that the- in his words – “politicized judges who are the metastasis of the democracy” do not have any means to obstruct him in fulfilling his tasks as Italian Prime Minister? Maybe, if the previous centre-left governments had been able (or willing?) to solve Berlusconi’s intolerable conflict of interest, there could have been some hope. In any case, it is remarkable that the only law passed to solve the current Prime Minister’s conflict of interest has been adopted by Berlusconi himself.
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