The Radical Party has always been a wild card in the Italian political panorama. It made major contributions to society through its battles on divorce, abortion, conscientious objection. The party has however jumped left to right to left so often that it has long since stopped making sense. Which is fine with me.

At present the Radical Party is having it out with their ally, "the Rose in the Fist Socialist Party," which in turn represents the left splinter faction of the old socialist party. During the previous legislature the Socialist Party was one of the many allies of the rightwing coalition, eloquently demonstrating that Craxi's orphans are rightwing.

Both the Radical Party and the Rose-in-the-fist-etc Party are for amnesties, the latter for self-interest in remembrance of Craxi.

I agree that the penitentiary system in Italy needs a major overhaul. Amnesty International has described the situation in Italian prisons as tantamount to torture. I do not consider this PR flim-flam law as in any helping to resolve the situation. Had there been an actual indulto it would have been for one year without all the special trimmings that allow the powerful to once again beat the rap and royally fuck over the citizenry.

As for Mastella, he has declared that his law is a defeat for the "giustizialisti," a vulgar self-serving urban legend invented as an insult to those of us who are sick and damned tired of watching VIP criminals rape the state with impunity. His remarks are contemptuous and his religious sentiment smacks of snake oil.