A baby sitter state

The Independent, in an article dated 18 August, states that a “tempest” of new laws and rules are making Italy “the greatest baby-sitter state” with citizens considered as babies to control and protect.

The author, Peter Popham, shows a better understanding of Italy than his colleague, Italian…of Newsweek.

Indeed, Berlusconi won the elections due to the total lack of communication strategy of the Prodi’s government and also sailing on security: against immigrants, illegal and legal who are however essential to the economy -most are employed by good Italians…who complain, against rapes committed by immigrants while there is more local violence, who want “cleaner” cities and forget the real criminality, the Mafia.

Even the Catholic magazine for excellence, Famiglia Cristiana, the weekly with the largest distribution in Italy (one million copies per week), wrote about the risks of fascism in view of the laws promulgated by the Lega North interior Minister with the blessing of Berlusconi. And they were defined “crypto communists” by Government officials.

Increasing police power is given to majors who are incompetent in this area and take all kind of stupid measures, especially in the areas controlled by the Lega Nord and in Rome, with a hard neo-fascist major. And the Minister of Interior tries to undermine in this way the role and authority of “prefetti”, the government representatives in the field, who report to him. Competent, trained, devoted to the State. Contrary to the lord majors devoted to their local little interests for their re-election.

The Independent points out that Berlusconi claims that he will simplify the governance of Italy, and created a Ministry for that, while he allows his interior Minister to pass decrees that on the contrary increase rules, local laws, decrees that make a mess of the situation. Soon one, before entering a city will have to stop for ten minutes to read panels listing all what is forbidden…. Making me regret the simple posters in Louisiana and Mississippi, for example, reminding citizen that it is forbidden to carry fire arms on the beach or on university campuses.

It is interesting to read what Peter Pohpman* wrote about his article that made the Italian Press and politicians cry wolf: “(…) many years ago I got in love with Italy (…) discovering a country that merged elegance and freedom, beautiful natural sceneries and beautiful art created by man, tolerance a tradition of informal ways of living, the clear result of an ancient civilization, (apparently) mature. If now, on the Independent I talk about the many new laws promulgated in Italy to ban informality and limit freedom, it is because I am very sad in noticing that in this way civilization id regressing, substituted by the big shoes and rifles of a police state.(…). Berlusconi took power thanks to “the security emergency” But the real security emergency is and existential emergency, which lives in the mind of people when it reacts in a panic mode to a world that is suddenly changing. Italy has many serious social problems, but instead of looking for long term solutions (…), those who have the power promulgate hundreds of laws and rules little thought of aiming at giving the impression that they take concrete steps and puts the army in the streets. (…) In Italy, like in the UK, the true victims of a police state are the citizens”.

He said it all.

*A letter to the Director published in Repubblica on 19 August 2008

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