{"id":1516,"date":"2013-11-03T07:00:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-03T12:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/?p=1516"},"modified":"2013-11-04T11:25:45","modified_gmt":"2013-11-04T16:25:45","slug":"hard-say-fair-land-si","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/hard-say-fair-land-si\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s Hard To Say No In That Fair Land of the Si\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"It's<\/a>

It\u2019s been a rough year for Italy\u2019s Sil\u00advio Berlus\u00adconi, whose par\u00adty nar\u00adrow\u00adly lost an elec\u00adtion and who was him\u00adself con\u00advict\u00aded of a crime that may result in his expul\u00adsion from the Sen\u00adate. [Cred\u00adit: Get\u00adty Images]<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201c<\/span>Ah, Pisa , you the scan\u00addal of the peo\u00adples of that fair land where si\u2019 is heard.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Dante<\/p>\n

Washington\u2019s flir\u00adta\u00adtion with default engen\u00addered end\u00adless hand-wring\u00ading about the par\u00adlous state of our polit\u00adi\u00adcal sys\u00adtem. But by Ital\u00adian stan\u00addards, Con\u00adgress and the Pres\u00adi\u00addent are doing just fine.<\/p>\n

Last month, while GOP<\/span> \u201cdefund Oba\u00admacare\u201d vig\u00adi\u00adlantes near\u00adly caused the mas\u00adsive spend\u00ading and bor\u00adrow\u00ading machine that is our fed\u00ader\u00adal gov\u00adern\u00adment to seize up, Italy\u2019s gov\u00adern\u00adment served up a sump\u00adtu\u00adous feast of dys\u00adfunc\u00adtion, replete with sex scan\u00addals, res\u00adig\u00adna\u00adtions of cab\u00adi\u00adnet min\u00adis\u00adters, and an abortive attempt to top\u00adple a gov\u00adern\u00adment inca\u00adpable of governing.<\/p>\n

At the cen\u00adter of it all was the redoubtable Sil\u00advio Berlus\u00adconi \u2013 show\u00adman, entre\u00adpre\u00adneur, and polit\u00adi\u00adcal impre\u00adsario who has dom\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded Ital\u00adian pol\u00adi\u00adtics for two decades despite (and per\u00adhaps in part because of) the whiff of scan\u00addal that he con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly emits.<\/p>\n

Berlus\u00adconi seems to be per\u00adpet\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly on tri\u00adal, var\u00adi\u00adous\u00adly accused of bribery, per\u00adjury, defama\u00adtion, tax fraud, and sex with under\u00adage pros\u00adti\u00adtutes. Wikipedia reck\u00adons that he has been tried 30 times<\/a> over the past quar\u00adter cen\u00adtu\u00adry. For his oppo\u00adnents, this is evi\u00addence of cor\u00adrup\u00adtion of almost unfath\u00adomable breadth and depth; for his sup\u00adport\u00aders, it proves that judges, pros\u00ade\u00adcu\u00adtors and oth\u00ader polit\u00adi\u00adcal ene\u00admies are out to deprive him of man\u00addates that Ital\u00adian vot\u00aders have repeat\u00aded\u00adly giv\u00aden him. He has served as Italy\u2019s prime min\u00adis\u00adter three times since 1994, though he does not occu\u00adpy the office today. Only Ben\u00adi\u00adto Mus\u00adsoli\u00adni and the less\u00ader-known Gio\u00advan\u00adni Giolit\u00adti have held that post for a longer peri\u00adod of time since Italy became a nation-state in 1860. A poll tak\u00aden over the sum\u00admer found that 43 per\u00adcent <\/a>of Ital\u00adians believe him to be a vic\u00adtim of polit\u00adi\u00adcal persecution.<\/p>\n

Berlus\u00adconi has some\u00adtimes been con\u00advict\u00aded but usu\u00adal\u00adly slips the noose either on appeal or because his gov\u00adern\u00ading par\u00adty adopts laws that negate his con\u00advic\u00adtions or oth\u00ader\u00adwise spare him legal con\u00adse\u00adquences. All of that changed on August 1, when Italy\u2019s court of last resort<\/a> affirmed a low\u00ader court\u2019s guilty ver\u00addict and sen\u00adtence of four years impris\u00adon\u00adment.  Because of his age, he will not go to prison. Instead, he was giv\u00aden the choice between house arrest and com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty ser\u00advice. He chose com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty ser\u00advice<\/a>. Giv\u00aden his pen\u00adchant for the eccen\u00adtric, one can only imag\u00adine what form that ser\u00advice might take.<\/p>\n

Now the Sen\u00adate must decide whether to expel him. The pre\u00adcar\u00adi\u00adous gov\u00adern\u00adment, led by the Demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic Party\u2019s (PD<\/span>) Enri\u00adco Let\u00adta, is press\u00ading for his imme\u00addi\u00adate removal. A Sen\u00adate com\u00admit\u00adtee last week vot\u00aded to report an expul\u00adsion mea\u00adsure to the full Sen\u00adate. The com\u00admit\u00adtee vote was 7\u20136<\/a>. The full Sen\u00adate vote may occur lat\u00ader this month.<\/p>\n

If the Sen\u00adate does vote him out, it could spark a revolt of his Peo\u00adple of Lib\u00ader\u00adty (PDL<\/span>) par\u00adty that would bring down the gov\u00adern\u00adment and force new elec\u00adtions. Berlus\u00adconi tried and failed<\/a> to engi\u00adneer such a coup dur\u00ading Sep\u00adtem\u00adber.  If he suc\u00adceeds this time, Berlus\u00adconi would hope to lead his par\u00adty in those elec\u00adtions, although he could not him\u00adself stand for office. If he were to pre\u00advail, the new Par\u00adlia\u00adment could be expect\u00aded to undo his expul\u00adsion and repeal the law that bars him from hold\u00ading office. He could then, incon\u00adceiv\u00adable as it might sound, com\u00admence his fourth term as prime minister.<\/p>\n

The Berlus\u00adconi dra\u00adma, how\u00adev\u00ader it plays out, is at best a dis\u00adtrac\u00adtion from the eco\u00adnom\u00adic hard\u00adship fac\u00ading mil\u00adlions of Ital\u00adians. The Ital\u00adian econ\u00ado\u00admy<\/a> is sick.  It con\u00adtin\u00adues to shrink<\/a>.  A recent study<\/a> found that invest\u00adments have lost more (27.6 per\u00adcent) in recent years than dur\u00ading the inter\u00adwar depres\u00adsion of 1929\u20131934 (12.8 per\u00adcent).  Its over\u00adall unem\u00adploy\u00adment rate stands at 12.5 per\u00adcent<\/a>,<\/span> while unem\u00adploy\u00adment among 18\u201324 year olds exceeds 40 per\u00adcent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the cen\u00adter of this hard\u00adship is gov\u00adern\u00adment debt and frag\u00adile banks. The two are inter\u00adtwined. Banks have loaded up on Ital\u00adian debt, which stands at 127 per\u00adcent <\/a>of the nation\u2019s eco\u00adnom\u00adic out\u00adput. The per\u00adils of this debt reached cri\u00adsis pro\u00adpor\u00adtions in Novem\u00adber 2011, when inter\u00adest rates on Ital\u00adian bonds soared to unsus\u00adtain\u00adable lev\u00adels. The gov\u00adern\u00adment could not afford to roll over exist\u00ading debt at this high\u00ader rate. They need\u00aded Euro\u00adpean author\u00adi\u00adties to bail them out. Ger\u00adman Chan\u00adcel\u00adlor Angela Merkel and then-French Pres\u00adi\u00addent Nico\u00adlas Sarkozy made clear that the price of Italy\u2019s res\u00adcue was Berlusconi\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

He stepped down, replaced by an unelect\u00aded \u201ctech\u00adni\u00adcal\u201d gov\u00adern\u00adment of bankers and aca\u00add\u00ade\u00admi\u00adcians, head\u00aded by Mario Mon\u00adti. The Euro\u00adpean Cen\u00adtral Bank reward\u00aded Italy\u2019s new gov\u00adern\u00adment by pour\u00ading 102.8 bil\u00adlion euro<\/a> ($138 bil\u00adlion) into the country\u2019s banks between 2011 and 2012 alone.  Pri\u00advate banks in Italy and else\u00adwhere eager\u00adly swapped their dodgy Ital\u00adian bonds for euros and the bor\u00adrow\u00ading cri\u00adsis sub\u00adsided, with rates drop\u00adping to more man\u00adage\u00adable levels.<\/p>\n

The ECB<\/span>\u2019s action spared the banks and the gov\u00adern\u00adment, at least tem\u00adporar\u00adi\u00adly. It did lit\u00adtle for the real econ\u00ado\u00admy, which con\u00adtin\u00adues to founder. Banks con\u00adtin\u00adue to lend to the gov\u00adern\u00adment, but not to small busi\u00adness\u00ades, which remain starved for the cap\u00adi\u00adtal<\/a> they need to expand and cre\u00adate jobs.  Many fail<\/a>.  Instead, the euros that the ECB<\/span> pro\u00advides are chan\u00adneled into obscure cir\u00adcu\u00adlar trans\u00adac\u00adtions between banks and government.<\/p>\n

What Italy requires is a gov\u00adern\u00adment that can say no: no to banks, to labor unions, to gov\u00adern\u00adment work\u00aders, to pen\u00adsion\u00aders, whose ben\u00ade\u00adfits con\u00adsti\u00adtute 14 per\u00adcent of GDP<\/span> and 57 per\u00adcent of social spend\u00ading<\/a>. Italy needs banks that will lend to ail\u00ading busi\u00adness\u00ades, labor reform that will give employ\u00aders more free\u00addom to hire and fire, a small\u00ader gov\u00adern\u00adment and more fis\u00adcal\u00adly sound health care and pen\u00adsion systems.<\/p>\n

The Mon\u00adti gov\u00adern\u00adment, unelect\u00aded and tech\u00adno\u00adcrat\u00adic, was thought to be the gov\u00adern\u00adment that could say no. Instead, the polit\u00adi\u00adcal cri\u00adsis wors\u00adened as the government\u2019s aus\u00adter\u00adi\u00adty mea\u00adsures proved a polit\u00adi\u00adcal and eco\u00adnom\u00adic dis\u00adas\u00adter. Ital\u00adians chafed under high\u00ader tax\u00ades, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly the rein\u00adstat\u00aded prop\u00ader\u00adty tax on pri\u00adma\u00adry res\u00adi\u00addences, which Berlusconi\u2019s gov\u00adern\u00adment had repealed. After lit\u00adtle more than a year, elec\u00adtions were called.<\/p>\n

Most observers were con\u00adfi\u00addent of the results: the Demo\u00adc\u00adra\u00adt\u00adic Party\u2019s (PD<\/span>) can\u00addi\u00addate, Pierre Lui\u00adgi Bersani, and Mon\u00adti would togeth\u00ader win a suf\u00adfi\u00adcient num\u00adber of seats to form an elect\u00aded Cen\u00adter-Left gov\u00adern\u00adment. They were wrong. They bad\u00adly over\u00ades\u00adti\u00admat\u00aded pub\u00adlic sup\u00adport for Mario Mon\u00adti. His Civic Choice par\u00adty won just 10 per\u00adcent of the vote and not near\u00adly enough seats to help form a gov\u00adern\u00adment. They bad\u00adly under\u00ades\u00adti\u00admat\u00aded the resilien\u00adcy of Sil\u00advio Berlus\u00adconi, whose PDL<\/span> par\u00adty came with\u00adin a whisker of best\u00ading Bersani, and of come\u00addi\u00adan Beppe Gril\u00adlo, whose protest can\u00addi\u00adda\u00adcy drew the sup\u00adport of 25% of vot\u00aders. Under Italy\u2019s arcane elec\u00adtion laws, the PD<\/span> was award\u00aded a House major\u00adi\u00adty, but no one could form a gov\u00adern\u00ading coali\u00adtion in the Sen\u00adate. Beppe Grillo\u2019s deputies (Gril\u00adlo him\u00adself could not stand for elec\u00adtion because of a pri\u00ador crim\u00adi\u00adnal con\u00advic\u00adtion) refused to join forces with either major par\u00adty, deny\u00ading both a Sen\u00adate majority.<\/p>\n

Fran\u00adtic nego\u00adti\u00ada\u00adtions cul\u00admi\u00adnat\u00aded in the for\u00adma\u00adtion of a bizarre gov\u00adern\u00adment in late April (two months after the elec\u00adtions were held): a wob\u00adbly coali\u00adtion of Berlusconi\u2019s PDL<\/span> par\u00adty with that of the Cen\u00adter-Left PD<\/span>. Enri\u00adco Let\u00adta was named prime min\u00adis\u00adter, and the Cab\u00adi\u00adnet min\u00adistries divid\u00aded between Letta\u2019s PD<\/span> par\u00adty and that of Sil\u00advio Berlus\u00adconi. It would be as if half the Cab\u00adi\u00adnet were appoint\u00aded by Barack Oba\u00adma and the oth\u00ader half by Mitt Rom\u00adney, who would, through their respec\u00adtive par\u00adties, joint\u00adly gov\u00adern. That hasn\u2019t worked out in Italy any bet\u00adter than it would here.<\/p>\n

The new gov\u00adern\u00adment had two major oblig\u00ada\u00adtions: pass a law repeal\u00ading the tax on pri\u00adma\u00adry res\u00adi\u00addences and con\u00adtain\u00ading nec\u00ades\u00adsary off\u00adsets and adopt a new elec\u00adtion law under which new \u2013 and hope\u00adful\u00adly, con\u00adclu\u00adsive \u2013 elec\u00adtions could be held. It has done neither.<\/p>\n

Instead it has stag\u00adgered and fal\u00adtered, con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adous\u00adly threat\u00adened that Berlusconi\u2019s deputies would bolt, bring down the gov\u00adern\u00adment, and force new elec\u00adtions under exist\u00ading rules. Berlus\u00adconi active\u00adly seeks his moment.<\/p>\n

It is hard to see how Italy can resolve its prob\u00adlems, whether or not Berlus\u00adconi man\u00adages anoth\u00ader improb\u00ada\u00adble come\u00adback. They are stub\u00adborn and sys\u00adtemic. Pen\u00adsion\u00aders, pub\u00adlic employ\u00adees, labor unions, banks and oth\u00aders all depend on the largesse of a gov\u00adern\u00adment that must con\u00adtin\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly bor\u00adrow to make good on its promis\u00ades. The gov\u00adern\u00adment has to say no to some\u00adone: either its peo\u00adple or its cred\u00adi\u00adtors. But with\u00adout cred\u00adi\u00adtors, it can\u2019t make good on promis\u00ades it has made to its peo\u00adple.  Its cred\u00adi\u00adtors demand fis\u00adcal rec\u00adti\u00adtude and aus\u00adter\u00adi\u00adty, its peo\u00adple want more spend\u00ading, more gov\u00adern\u00adment stim\u00adu\u00adlus.  The polit\u00adi\u00adcal sys\u00adtem seems inca\u00adpable of pro\u00adduc\u00ading a gov\u00adern\u00adment that can escape this conun\u00addrum, leav\u00ading the econ\u00ado\u00admy adrift.<\/p>\n

None of this, we are told by some experts and elect\u00aded offi\u00adcials, can ever hap\u00adpen here. Our gov\u00adern\u00adment will nev\u00ader be forced to say no, nev\u00ader be caught between the rock of cred\u00adi\u00adtors and the hard place of vot\u00aders <\/a>demand\u00ading promised ben\u00ade\u00adfits.  The dol\u00adlar is the world\u2019s reserve cur\u00adren\u00adcy <\/a>and the Fed\u00ader\u00adal Reserve can pro\u00adduce them in inex\u00adhaustible quan\u00adti\u00adties.  Our cred\u00adit\u00adwor\u00adthi\u00adness is bet\u00adter served by abol\u00adish\u00ading statu\u00adto\u00adry lim\u00adits on gov\u00adern\u00adment bor\u00adrow\u00ading<\/a> than by reduc\u00ading our depen\u00addence on debt.  And while manda\u00adto\u00adry spend\u00ading con\u00adtin\u00adues to grow and we will begin to lay out an esti\u00admat\u00aded $2 tril\u00adlion in new and expand\u00aded health care enti\u00adtle\u00adments over the next decade, we are assured that no fis\u00adcal cri\u00adsis looms, no ben\u00ade\u00adfits need be reduced, no hard choic\u00ades need be made<\/a>.  Our gov\u00adern\u00adment, we are assured by some, will nev\u00ader have to say no.<\/p>\n

Mean\u00adwhile, the 77-year-old Berlus\u00adconi last month report\u00aded\u00adly secret\u00adly wed<\/a> his 28-year-old fiancee, Francesca Pas\u00adcale, at a chapel inside his mas\u00adsive Milan vil\u00adla. Reports of the wed\u00adding sur\u00adfaced last week after a Bul\u00adgar\u00adi\u00adan actress decried the rela\u00adtion\u00adship as a sham and alleged that Ms. Pas\u00adcale is a lesbian.<\/p>\n

The source of the wed\u00adding sto\u00adry, Domini\u00adcan mod\u00adel and singer Mary\u00adthell Polan\u00adco, tells us that Berlusconi\u2019s third mar\u00adriage hasn\u2019t put a stop to his bun\u00adga bun\u00adga par\u00adties, the sorts of affairs that led to his recent con\u00advic\u00adtion for hav\u00ading sex with an under\u00adage pros\u00adti\u00adtute. \u201cIt\u2019s the one thing they can\u2019t take away from him,\u201d she said. \u201cBun\u00adga bun\u00adga will nev\u00ader end. As long as there is Berlus\u00adconi, there will always be bun\u00adga bunga.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ital\u00adians can, I sup\u00adpose, take com\u00adfort in that. But they deserve bet\u00adter.  Italy needs lead\u00aders with the seri\u00adous\u00adness and courage to con\u00adfront their nation\u2019s press\u00ading fis\u00adcal and eco\u00adnom\u00adic prob\u00adlems.  So do we.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/span>Ah, Pisa , you the scan\u00addal of the peo\u00adples of that fair land where si\u2019 is heard.\u201d \u2013 Dante Washington\u2019s flir\u00adta\u00adtion with default engen\u00addered end\u00adless hand-wring\u00ading about the par\u00adlous state of our polit\u00adi\u00adcal sys\u00adtem. But by Ital\u00adian stan\u00addards, Con\u00adgress and the \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[560,18,25,371,370],"tags":[658,654,655,40,653,84,365,1193,661,659,657,656,660,192],"class_list":["post-1516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","category-economy","category-european-central-bank","category-federal-reserve-economy","category-monetary-policy","tag-beppe-grillo","tag-bersani","tag-bunga-bunga","tag-ecb","tag-enrico-letta","tag-federal-reserve","tag-italian-debt","tag-italy","tag-mario-monti","tag-merkel","tag-pd","tag-pdl","tag-sarkozy","tag-silvio-berlusconi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t