His self-serving "reform" of the judiciary branch went into effect during the Prodi government. Prodi and his Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella, did nothing to block the "reform." Now that Berlusconi is back, the reform will be fully implemented. This includes periodical examination of all judges and prosecutors, including their mental equilibrium, as if they had to re-graduate every three years. The Judiciary Branch in Italy as of last night can be considered totally deprived of any power of checks and balances. It will no longer be a separate power. It will only serve for throwing petty criminals and drug addicts in overflowing jails.
The reform of telecommunications, the so-called Gasparri Law, has been struck down by the EU as violating European law. Despite a daily fine for not changing it, that reform will continue to allow and reinforce Berlusconi's monopoly of the media.
Berlusconi's past reform of education was in line with that of the Kansas State Board of Education. Darwin was banned from elementary school, blithely branded as dangerous for young minds. Berlusconi then backed down over public outcry over Darwin. But tomorrow? His so-called reform also included qualifying teachers in Catholic schools as equivalent to public school teachers, an outrage to secular society. They simply don't have the qualifications. The fact that unqualified Catholic teachers can pass over to the public school system to "teach" is an assault on the state and education. The mafia boss and senator, Marcello Dell'Utri, asserted the other day a typical Berlusconi meme: to rewrite history books for the schools. Nolte and Irving will do the job. The Nazi sympathizer, now Berlusconi Senator, Giuseppe Ciarrapico (and perpetually on the lamb for fraudulent bankruptcy), is known for translating and publishing Nazi memoirs and ideological writings.
Today the FT has put up an article asserting that Berlusconi has veered right by cutting out the moderate Catholics. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In Italian politics, moderate Catholics are a contingency, a group put there as mock representation. The Vatican is extreme right wing. It could care less about the Italian State or the unity of Italy, so long as it can rip off untold billions with their malarkey. Berlusconi is their best ally, just as Mussolini was. Moderate Catholics are inconsequental.
I'm afraid the Deutsche Well TV and the FT are superficial.
The probable Minister of Economy, Giulio Tremonti, is no more than Berlusconi's private accountant, an ante-diluvium protectionist. He will, as always, do everything to make Berlusconi richer. Tremonti gave us the de-criminalization of many financial crimes such as falsifying the balance. With precedents like this, can investors be expected to work in Italy?
