Italy had its new government today. Prodi is always so fast to make up his teams, I must give him that. Now in control of schools will be a physician, infrastructures will be ruled by a former magistrate and policeman, a very-important-nobody without ideas will take care of culture heritage while his right-hand man takes care of televisions, the creepy lay nun will have her ministry for the family, an ignorant fat-ass chair-lover will be directing sporting activities, and, most wildly, in charge of justice will be a weak yelling meddler, Mastella, formerly on Berlusconi's side and now powerful only because his senators can undermine Prodi's majority. Mastella, as new Minister of Justice, will enjoy the help of some of the members of his small party, already condemned for corruption, disturbance of property, embezzlement, forgery and etc. Thus, everyone will be competent for something. I am very reassured.

-- in picture: faces of the new government. Courtesy of Repubblica.it

First: Fausto Bertinotti, leader of the extreme-left communist party "Rifondazione Comunista", after the good results at the elections asked and obtained (yesterday) to become President of the Chamber of Deputies, which means a great deal of power and influence, but in an institutional (non-partial) role.
Why, would you ask, he went for that, considered this supposedly is a leader of the local anti-global and anti-capitalist movement, followed and voted by many who have not very much faith or interest in the institutions or the State? Why hasn't he asked for the Ministry of Labour or something like that? Did they really voted him to seat there wagging a bell to keep order among the oligarchs? I'd doubt it, although, you never know of what people can be happy for.
After being nominated by the parliament, during his inaugural speech he dedicated his "victory" (although it's not a victory but an assignment the assembly gave him, with a small majority) to the "operai". "Operai" in Italian means "workers", but not any kind of worker: "operai" are only those involved in the production of things. Funny, because most of his voters now are not "operai" at all, but people with precarious service jobs in the tertiary. "Operai" was just this Marxist reference dropped there to reassure them the new role was not going to corrupt him or something.

Anyway, why not being more useful to the "workers" taking active part in the new government, trying to do something good there? (In fact, as many observers noted, having asked for the Chamber of deputies mr. Bertinotti renounced to any further front-line important seat in the government for his party) Why did he do that?

I have an answer: the reason is that, somehow, he already knows this new government won't last. And he knows that after the fall of the government and of Romano Prodi there's a chance for a big coalition among the center-left and the center-right that will leave out all the radical parties including his own.
So, mr. Bertinotti just looked ahead in this deal, because being President of the Chamber of Deputies will last longer than the government, giving him prestige, possibly for the whole expected five years until new elections. He knows Romano Prodi's government will end way before than that, putting his party out of the spotlight.
I think he's giving a hint to everyone, actually.

Second: Italy has officially the oldest political oligarchy in the world. Since it's an oligarchy we're talking about here, whose only purpose is to prolong its permanence in the institutions regardless any change in governments and balance of powers, the rate of elderliness among its members it's actually a sign of success.
President of the Republic: 86 years old; President of the Senate: 73 years old; Next Prime Minister, 68 years old; Former Prime Minister, 71 years old, President of the Chamber of Deputies, 66 years old, and so on. Pension is NOT an option for them, it's a bad word.
I have nothing against old men, even thought they are the ones who screwed up this world the most. But when Giulio Andreotti, 87 years old, was about to be voted as the new President of Senate, I wondered if they actually weren't all mesmerized by the past Woytila image we all have in mind. After all the oligarchy is always at Vatican's service.
Remember Woytila? Climbing stairs as if it were the Everest? Shaking all the time, crying for the old polish song, mumbling in the microphone incomprehensible preaches? Imposing to the world, for a decade, the show of his illness as if it was a merit itself?
Now, who among the oligarchs wouldn't be happy with a nice old italian leader going around trembling from photo op to photo op dribbling saliva and losing memory? We might even start to gain respect in Europe finally. We could move our partners to pity.

My analysis, if you really want to hear it, is that things couldn't have worked out better for Berlusconi right now, and not only for him. This almost perfect tie, while a major disaster for Italy, is the best way for Berlusconi to walk out of office as the strong leader he never was and never will be. Only few weeks ago everybody looked at him as the sorriest loser in the world.
Sure, the crappy electoral law he did just few months before the elections ended up giving a lot of unjustified bonus to the wrong winner, so much that the left-wing seats at the Chamber of Deputies largely outnumber right-wing's: but the difference in votes is so very small it can be fairly called a draw.
At the Senate, because the bonus to the winner is calculated for any single region and not for the whole nation (thanks to the mentioned crappy electoral law), it is a lot more difficult to give a majority of seats to a winner: in fact, at the Senate Berlsuconi and Prodi, his opponent, will have the same number of seats. As a consequence, it will be a hassle to pass any law, since everyone of them has to be approved by both Chamber and Senate. And what will happen when a given Senator will decide not to vote for a law he doesn't like? His power will become suddenly enormous. That's a too powerful temptation, when one single vote can change everything. Governability is screwed.
Now, because of this, and because of the conditions in which the country is in, and the hard work Italy would need to come out of the mud and make it in the Euro zone, it'd be no piece of cake to be Prime Minister. It is actually a lot better for Berlusconi to be in the background and let someone else do the hard work. Because of this, even though the numbers says Berlusconi could have won the elections, I say he's glad he didn't. More: he didn't want to.
Everything is really working great just like it is: with his party "Forza Italia" stronger enough in the Parliament, nobody will dare to touch his televisions and his assets. I can picture him, loudly calling for new elections, trashing the next opening of the new Parliament bragging to be the real winner and insisting that the Chambers are not justly composed. I can picture him blocking any law concerning him or his interests.
He will have a hell of a time in the part. He may even end up as the President.

So much for Berlusconi. And who else will be happy for this result? Well, what about all those forces abroad who need Italy to remain unstable, so that the European Union remains unstable? Those same kind of forces that always wanted Italy to remain unstable in the last fifty years or so? What about Berlusconi's best friends, mr. George W. and mister Putin, who strangely enough are not Europeans and are not concerned with the destiny of the European Union? They will be happy to know that, while their friend Berlusconi is not in charge when the worst decisions have to be taken (the reforms that the dreadful italian economic situation needs), not because of this Italy will actually have any real chance to prosper in the next future, nor to grow any real influence abroad.

Finally, who else will be smiling from this dark picture? Easy to say, radical left-wing parties will be smiling: because the weaker a moderate left-wing government will be, the stronger their place into it will be. Plus, it's not easy for them to be friends with an actual left-wing government, 'cause they don't look good under that light. So the weaker the government, the better.
It is a fact that under Berlusconi's spell they prosper, and eventually get a lot of votes. Not so under a moderate left-wing coalition. After all, it's obvious to anyone that they had, as always, a great deal of help from Berlusconi's televisions, having their faces showed everywhere before the elections. On the other hand, if the moderate left comes out too strong, they get totally neglected by TVs.

So, to sum up, we better wait before deciding who is the actual winner here. The supposed winners, they are all but happy. And some of the supposed losers, don't listen to what they say now. Give 'em the time to smile and they will be smiling. That's Italy, you know. In fact, have I mentioned the citizens in this picture? No, I haven't. Because even though citizens seems to be divided into two different italian countries, one against and one for Berlusconi, they are not a real issue.

The sky out is whiter than white, the city is noisy but the blackbird chirps, and I am very very tired. I am going to hit the pad. Italy just turned over in its steady fall, but no bad dreams. The rate of falling isn't changed so far.
The so called analysis is finished now, I hope you liked it 'cause that was it. I know I will want too change it later, but, it will be too late. Kisses.

It was heavy raining upon Milan, bucketing down from the orange jellyfish dark sky to the gloomy streets, dressing up trees and dog turds, pharmacies and potholes, the whole city shebang. The rain made this hypnotizing rushing sound coming in from everywhere, and all the remaining music of the city's early night was removed by it, swamped into it.
Computer display kept showing to us its bad internet news as we stood there, in silence, in front of the window. The weather was closing in against the panes, all dotted with drops dribbling down, and I was thinking about how to finish what I had started, when first I decided to change my life, more than a year ago. The one job I had to do and that i left unfinished.

Libi said, "I can't believe it. Whoever win this, they will gonna fight about it forever".
Well, the country was obviously bounded for chaos or eternal falling into rotten boredom, I knew that. But sure thing was weird now to read statements of these political ballots experts saying how "we are facing the worst elections in the world". Even worse than the Florida rigged game apparently, although in a smaller and more insignificant league.
And when one part proclaimed to have won, and the other contested, it all seemed a bad deja vu.
Sure thing Italy was going to remain Berlusconi's, just like he bought it from us. After all, it doesn't really matter whether you actually manage a run-down store or not, as long as you can be there blackmailing who will be managing it. The best way to get out of the lead is when the things in front line get really crappy.
I said, "We will never get rid of Berlusconi". Then I said, "we deserve it probably".
All you have are these bitter little jokes to say in the end.

But it was not about that. What was Italy after all? It was just this old boot in the sea, admired and envied by many in the world without any real clue about it, or about the mental insanity of its hypnotized citizens.
Maybe it was all about the fact that the country was not going to do any good to me, because I never did any good to it. It never even crossed my mind you could do something good for this country.

Outside it was still raining. We worried for the wisteria young blooms, if hard rain was going to be too hard for them.
Part of the houses we could spot from across the courtyard looked all blacked out, windows invisible and lifeless behind the rain. In my paranoia I thought, see, lights off, the starting signal of a putsch.
In fact a little later in the house lights went off and on for a while, dimming the bulbs in slowed down hiccups. But then it all remained on.
Libi went to bed, and I stayed awake, as always.
I wasn't frustrated, because I had never been very concerned in changing Italy's destiny or any country's. It was just what the rain was saying. How that's the country of cheating and strafottenza and all, careless, indifferent, slow, and how rain was washing it all out to leave it like it was before, just like anything else.
All right, may be it was a little frustrating after all.

p.s. The title of this post at first was "Well, I too always cheat at videogames, so I can understand". But then I decided it was pointless to suggest someone cheated on the elections. Hey, even if that was, that's modern democracy. Videogames ship out with cheats bundled into them, as opposite of what I assumed few years ago, when first I played one.
So, be it.

O.K., if you, english readers have some further curiosity about Italy, these couple of days before elections, I know my help won't be very practical. It is too tiring for someone in the middle of it to find the words to describe why such a weak political coalition, unrealiable, a bit mafiosa and not really different from anything we already know as the coalition of Prodi, Berlusconi's opponent, can be regarded as the finest hope against the unthinkable possibility of Berlusconi winning his second term.
By the way, this possibility is still there, not only because you never know what can cross italian minds, but also in regards of the many hints of possible electoral frauds that are coming in, particularly about the votes of italians abroad.

So, to know the shape this country is in, how much damage Berlusconi has actually done already, how little but important difference his opponents are bound to make, I'll suggest you to give a read to "Between Guatemala and Mongolia" by the german journalist Friedrich Christian Delius. The article, translated in english by the outstanding website signandsight.com, is very readable and quite accurate. Particularly when it comes to the great misunderstanding between Italy and the world, where the world tends to be blindly in love with a country which instead badly needs strong enemies abroad: enemies firmly intolerant with its continuous taking of deranged paths, so that it in the end those enemies would be the real friends we never had.

Many of the left-wing bloggers are calling 'coglione' themselves right now. 'Coglione', which means testicle, balls, stupid idiot, is the adjective our beloved Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi used today to define left-wing voters. Since we are a few days before the elections, and there's been a lot of talking about him going to finally lose his chair and all, apparently he's reacting pretty bad to the trend.
Anyway, although this is actually what he meant, Berlusconi didn't say left-wing voters are 'coglioni'. This is not what he said. He said "I think too much of italians to believe someone would be so much coglione to vote against his own interests".
Now, well, you know. I can't believe it either. Still, that's what has been happening in this country since this country was born, almost 150 years ago. No doubt it is going to happen again this time. Whoever wins. But what can you do? I know we're all coglioni.

Saturday I was at home, sleeping. I slept all morning through part the afternoon. I tried to make it as peacefully as I could.
Just as I was working on it, dreaming I guess, grinding my teeth probably as I often do, on the other side of the city, near where I lived with Leni few years ago, actions of guerrilla were going on.
Remarkably for me, It's not the first time I am sleeping while somewhere outside in the city a battle goes on. I might say it happens every time: Me snoring, them fighting. Maybe I dream those battles, who knows.

When finally I woke up, I learned the news, thought of my brother. This also always happens when there's a battle. Because he would have been out there battling, wearing an helmet and throwing stones and looking for fascists or policemen to beat, it's impossible for me not to picture him, earning his grades this way. He would have been there, but he doesn't live in Italy anymore, which is better for me so that my thoughts toward this kind of fighting in the streets can be more detached. Otherwise there would be sheer intolerance without any further rational thought. I don't get along with my brother very much.

What happened is that there was an electoral masquerade going on, the neo-fascist nearly-governative party "Fiamma tricolore" (Three-colored flame) marching the streets with the usual show of celtic crosses, roman salutes, skinheads, moronic chants.
Not having better things to do, organizations of the extreme left, social centers, neo-communists and anarchists organized a march against them. (In the pictures below, from Repubblica.it and corriere.it: the mentioned fascists, with hair uncertainties and roman salutes, all coming from families of immigrants or half-immigrants, marching behind a banner saying: "no more immigrants")

Not with the same intensity (everything is less intense in Milan), things went as in Genova during the G8 few years ago. Groups of demonstrators from the left-wing march, forced by the police to continuous stops, started their acts of "political" vandalism.
At the end of the morning (me always sleeping), Corriere.it recounted: Four car burned down, more damaged, a local shop used for electoral propaganda by AN (right-wing government party originated by the same party as "Three-colored Flame") burned down, a paper-bomb detonated near a Mac Do already rampaged by some of the protesters, scaring away customers with kids and all, a motorbike, garbage cans, a news stand, all burned down, windows and flower pots destroyed in the numbers, etc. (In the following pictures, from Corriere.it and Repubblica.it, scenes from the battle)

You must understand that, although not clearly visible by this selection of pictures, the battle went on between some groups of demonstrators and the police. Fascist marchers and communist marchers never actually met.
Too bad. Maybe that way we would have gotten rid of both, once and for all. Eliminating each other.

Instead, every now and then we are forced to watch this shameful idiocy going on. On one side, unharmed fascists with their roman salutes and racist chants going around the streets like it is a normal day; on the other, the childish nonsensical vandalism of this so-called rebels who give their best hand to right-wing governments, proving once again that the alternative to the moderate right-wing non-idea is disorder, anarchy, and disrespect of the peaceful indifference of middle-class lifestyle.
Well, the middle-class is the third character in this story not coming out very well. According to many news sources, the police had to save some of the protesters from the hands of passersby who wanted to lynch them. Or, more cowardly, who wanted the police to lynch them before their eyes. "Destroy them!" the enraged mob of peaceful citizens allegedly screamed. Of course only when the battle was finished.
The peaceful middle-class fathers wanting to lynch their sons, both parts high on confusion and hatred and boredom, and ignorance. What a nice, beautiful picture. Who wanted to take it, just a month before the elections, I wonder.

There's the stupid Book Fair this morning, and I have to be loading boxes at seven thirty. But I'd so get back to sleep just to give this dream another plot, if possible.