Viva Gelmini

Ms. Gelmini is the Italian Minister of Education. Nothing in her background qualifies her for this: graduate in law, lawyer, some limited experience in local administrations, never in the field of education.

She claims that she aims at excellence: but this is not really demonstrated by the way she passed the bar exam. Since it was difficult to pass it in Milan, she took a fake residence for one year in the South (Bari), just the time to pass the bar exam there where it is known to be much easier. A good example for millions of students.

Her only qualification is the uncompromised admiration for her God, Mr. Berlusconi.

So, not understanding anything about education, and being a zealous implementer of his boss' policies, she is probably the only minister who applied "à la lettre" the cuts in the budget requested by the Minister of Finance.

And she made it: her law was approved by Berlusconi's majority of yes-men. And the majority of Italians are against it. Double success.

It was amazing to see today in the streets parents, children, students and teachers of all grades demonstrating against the law. Even in the small village I live in, 700 souls, the parents’ teachers association posted huge banners against the law on the village square: unheard of since centuries....Brava Gelmini.

And what about Berlusca? He still claims to have 72% of Italians for him. True that the polls gave him a huge majority, not as huge but huge enough. So he has not realized that what is going on is a real mass movement and that the majority of those demonstrating are those who voted for him. He continues to claim that he has that huge majority: let us see at the next polls. May-be the Gelmini made it there too: to make the popularity of Berlusconi drop. If this is the case, she should be immediately declared Saint. Viva Gelmini.

Photo: Maria Rosaria Furio, in La Repubblica.it