News
- 03.11.2011
Italy has failed to really open your eyes?
Instead, ask the opposition, like a tired litany, but without explaining what they would do. Meanwhile, in order downgraded to amendment, there is nothing that would serve. In the sleep of our local bourgeoisie - Linkiesta writes for Professor Michele Boldrin of Washington University in Saint Louis - we are once again waiting for a commissioner and an external constraint: that Europe requires us to become a credible country.The painful comedy in which he transformed Italian politics this week is offering even more ridiculous moments of those to whom we had become accustomed in recent months. I write while in Italy it is night, trying to figure out what other tricks have been tucked into the hat illusionist who has chaired the Council of Ministers yesterday, Wednesday, November 2. Now we have the maxi-amendments secrets, with respect to which the Presidency of the Council of Ministers informs us that "any text in circulation does not correspond to what was discussed and approved at the Council of Ministers has just ended." This government, in short, is afraid of make citizens aware of their own decisions, and does not know what to do. The Minister of the Treasury has stopped releasing pundits interviews: perhaps it is busy replacing their DGs, they say, has a sore thought is that the convenient time to go to Goldman Sachs & [Note for those who want to rule: when you approve a shred of law governing conflicts of interest will always be late]. These are the facts available the day after the yield on Italian debt has reached one year, and exceeded 5.34%.
The confusing news websites reported on the content of the amendment but coincident on three points: improvised measures and tinkering, no reform of pensions, healthcare and public sector, no true opening or sale of state assets and enterprises. Structural reforms - like school taxes - even as he continues to talk about the whole squabble on the instrumental "easy lay-offs" and a few days ago, the same gang had come to explain that the development is achieved with the report in pdf format and the state guarantee on loans for the home. What the South, however, will be released at no cost by European structural funds - those that must be co-financed and that Italy can not be used because there are no credible plans. A farce, but the scandal is that the gang continues to mislead the country. From the gang we would never have expected more.
The scandal is that, in the face of this latest mockery, the Italian media did not ask for the resignation of Berlusconi, a government of national salvation and elections at the earliest with a different electoral law. The scandal is that the social forces - the Confederation of trade unions - will continue to send empty ultimatum that defies the gang regularly committed suicide in a minuet, which lasts three and a half years. The scandal is, finally, that the opposition knows only wearily demand the resignation of Mr Berlusconi without having the courage to say or what to do or be, after acknowledging he does not know what to do, than to replace them but can not be a government of national salvation made by technicians. I realize that this consists of a risky replication of what happened two decades ago, but the situation is even more dramatic, and we (civil society) we did not change neither the state nor politics, nor economics Italian. Indeed, we have probably made worse along all three of those dimensions and the electoral system, as it has been cleverly designed by the new cast in the last twenty years, does not allow changing political and civil society makes it impossible to give an elite alternative. Closed on the outside and inside monopolized, the electoral system can only be altered or a revolt, which I would not wish me, or with a caretaker government for the purpose designated. The convulsions in which the country continues to stir prove it: in Spain, for considerably less, Zapatero has disappeared from the political scene with his ministers and a few days we will elect a parliament that is fundamentally different from today. In Italy we are wondering how to replace Berlusconi with Letta, Casini incorporating the new majority government. Italy can rise if and only if, outside of this caste politics, the country is able to express the intellectual and political willingness to call things by their name and put on paper what should be done. And then do it.
Here again, the role of mass media is crucial is that surprising. At the beginning of October had been published two important documents: the text of the letter sent on August 5 last year from Dragons and Trichet Italian Prime Minister and the "Project Company for Italy" signed by the president of Confindustria. Both documents but both documents the concrete, not trying to solve all the problems of the country, only those who are most at heart to their respective authors. Italy needs, for example, to eliminate the explicit or implicit subsidies to enterprises and to liberalize those services where some fans monopoly profits paid by the rest of the country. These things, among others, were missing and should be part of any credible program to riforms. Italy also need to re-reform, reform that is for real, its education system and also this urgency was absent in both documents.
But is not the point: the point is that their publication was not followed by an explosion of articles and contributions that were discussing what to do so just as concrete and precise. The publication of these documents was followed by the total silence of the chatter filled by speculative finance programs of study on the selective default and the wonders of Argentina. A silence that continues as the government prepares to secretly maxi-amendment no one asks that contains at least some of the measures suggested in the two documents. And no one proposes alternative measures and more effective. Herein lies the tragedy of the country facing a government cabal that is unable to unwilling to act, in the face of opposition lobotomized that oscillates between the populist rhetoric and the agreement of the corridor is a civil society that does not want to understand the severity of the situation and take as their responsibility to act. Responsibility, always falls on everyone, but especially on the economic and social elites. For the umpteenth time while in the short history of united Italy, the Italian bourgeoisie confirmation to be incapable of leading the country to which all that remains is to get back outside forces or fail.
* Department of Economics - Washington University in Saint Louis - * Michele Boldrin