so Prodi's government just fell on the intention to prolong the mission to Afghanistan which the government defended. Incredible although was probable although possibly staged although will end in a mess anyway. One way or another, it's probably the end for Prodi. It's the second time in his political life that he fails this way, stabbed in the back by less than five votes of the same stock of communist and christian senators, and you can't survive that twice.
Anyway, it is so obvious that it's not fault of the mission to Afghanistan, nor of the small pack of lousy senators who betrayed: I happen to know in fact that the fault is all of the new logo that the government presented yesterday: the logo that was supposedly meant to relaunch the italian "system" of tourism, localisms, heritage and governance.
It is known how ugly design can be fatal for pretty much anything, but this particular logo is so ugly and meaningless (almost bad as the design of the mascot for the world championship 1990, "Italia '90", whoever remembers that) that it had to be bad luck: a old-fashioned "i" next to a green blob out of proportion? c'mon! They can say it's a "t" to make a "it", but it's either a smeared blot or as airos says a zucchini. I'd say it's an eggplant. But anyway: It's such a classic case of wrong design... only a stupid slogan could make it worse.
Well, of course there's also a stupid slogan. "L'Italia lascia il segno", "Italy leaves the mark", which seems more a mafia threat than a anything else (maybe marks left on faces cut with Sicilian knives?)
But it's true, it's true. Italy does leave the mark on you. When you fall it does.

This illustrates very well the totalitarian tendency which is implicit in the anarchist or pacifist vision of society. In a Society where there is no law, and in theory no compulsion, the only arbiter of behaviour is public opinion. But public opinion, because of the tremendous urge to conformity of gregarious animals, is less tolerant than any system of law.

-- George Orwell, Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels, 1946

"Create new post" says the blogging interface. Yeah, it's been a long time since I have last discussed the Italian politics and I would love to reopen that scary box. It's not like there aren't things to talk about, since the departure of Berlusconi and the advent of Prodi. The funny verminy stories about the Vicenza U.S. military base being the more juicy of them. I just want to clarify that my avoidance of said subjects does not depends on a major sympathy felt for the new rulers. In fact, if possible, my sympathy is even less for Prodi's government than for Berlusconi's, because I know this sort of guys better, and I recognize better the indulgence of which they enjoy, and the lies that they spread. Even if they're more honest, if a concept like honesty would ever be possible in politics and particularly in the Italian politics. Besides it would be much more interesting and useful to criticize the "friend" than the "enemy", if one would still believe in criticizing politicians.
The thing is, after having hoped for so long for the fall of Berlusconi, everything still seems so hopeless in the Italian panorama that one doesn't really finds a reason to sweat for how rotten things are. They are just rotten, that's all. What's worse, they are rotten while having more energy or initiative. And I always felt that the little that was left of good in Italy was so because of a lack of initiative and energy.

Another issue that I would love to bash on everyday, sort of like aioros does, is the one of the childish and ludicrous and hypocrite and mafia-like ways of the Italian journalism, which, every single hour of the day and almost without exceptions proves itself to be composed of individuals well-intentioned to dumb their fellow citizens down --a inch more every year until they'll touch the rock bottom and below, into total unconsciousness.
It's hard to find the necessity of all the everyday collections of naked women aside of the news titles, of all the collections of commonplaces and condensed knowledge without anything left of intelligent --or of all the news item like this one, that are totally irrelevant even under a sociological aspect, and only are there for morbid insensitivity.
But everything falls into place when one simply realizes that the global project is seriously the one of total unconsciousness, so there's really nothing new or special about the Italian journalism. It just is journalism. Tiredly dragging us all towards a future when the only arbiters will be the empty words of taste and not the written laws.

So where the occasional political observer goes these days, when he feels all the tiredness of the worn out scenario he knows already? It probably goes to the blogs, the last throes to be felt by the dying collective body -- thanks God and the CIA and the NSA for inventing them.

While in Paris the riots are still going on after eleven days (in picture: scene from the riots, from repubblica.it), in Italy the few voices that usually speak out on immigration turned even more burlesque.

Northern League coordinator and institutional reforms minister, Roberto Calderoli, speaking about the metropolitan guerrilla in Paris said that it was only the top of the iceberg of what would happen very soon in France, Netherlands and in the other countries that, after a colonial policy, had to accept a strong immigration. He said that it was necessary to stop the invasion of Italy made by irregular non-EU immigrants. Otherwise Italy would have to pay the same price. He said that irregular immigration was the bomb while the left wing political movements were the detonator and the lack of repression of these two forms of illegality was the hand that triggers the bomb. (from AGI)

Calderoli is a blatant racist and an obsessive opposer to any form of immigration to Italy (from poorer countries, doh). But there's something obviously true in what he says and that cannot be denied: things can only get worse in Europe in such matters. Netherlands and France are a lesson that Italy will never learn. Since this is a global unstoppable process anyway, Calderoli's idea of a forced stop to immigration is just ridiculous.

In face of the riots in France, anyway, a statement (widely attacked from the right) by Mr Romano Prodi, (sort of) leader of the left-wing opposition, proved that more politicians are beginning to worry. It sounded quite unheard, considering how our politicians usually (besides Calderoli) underestimate the problem.

"We should not believe to be in a so different situation from the one in Paris", he said: "it's just a matter of time. We have the worse suburbs in Europe. Our suburbs are a human tragedy and if we don't take some serious action, on the social and residential sides, we are going to have many [situations like] Paris. There are very bad conditions and unhappiness even where only Italians are" (from La Repubblica).

New and better residences are certainly a good project. Also working on the social side (which means roughly trying to give the immigrants welfare protection, a legal job, not a "black" one as for the majority is today) is important.
After all, one person over ten in Italy migrated here from another country in the last years. In 2004, italian population grew of just 574,100 units. Of these, 558,200 were immigrants. Believe it or not.

But not Calderoli nor Prodi won't ever have the courage to fight illegal immigration with the only possible mean: by legalizing it.
Consider that Ndrangheta and Mafia this way won't make a penny out of illegal immigration. Plus a legalized immigrant hardly falls into criminal organizations. Legalization is right and good. And why immigration should be illegal anyway?

I say, give them a decent boat to cross the sea from Africa (not a sinking one). Identify them. Give 'em the damn papers. Give them a permit of stay and to travel across Europe. Later, when they find a job, let them bring their families too.
A part of the fact that this way the problems should be easier to face (there'd be a past deal between the institution and the immigrant) and less people would go underground: this would also be the only right thing to do.

Because they're free people, like us, aren't they. Well, until we put them all in detention, of course.

You may already know that these are rough days for Italy.

This country is in such a bad shape, that in any aspect of life one can pick reasons of disappointment and annoyance (I mean, above average reasons).
Recently I stumbled in all sort of posts, from italians in Italy, italians abroad, from foreigners in Italy, all complaining the italians crabbiness, bad manners, pollution, negligence, mafia, ignorance... (from bellavite.de, Buzzurro, BeppeGrillo.it, Italian Meat, Romanus Yankeeus just to name a few). All the posts were pretty well-founded. Including mine.

On the other hand, it's pretty hard to say good things about Italy these days. Just as you bump into anything good, there will be someone pointing out how what seemed good on the surface, in fact was just as bad.
I did this exercise dozens of times.

Well anyway. Now things seem to turn into something darker.
I have bad feelings. Bad memories

Last week, as the first italian Primary elections ever were held by the left wing coalition, a southern politician, Francesco Fortugno, member of the "Daisy Party" (a left-wing moderate political party whose leading member is the former PM and former EU president Romano Prodi, elected in the Primary as the opponent to Silvio Berlusconi in the next general elections, due in April 2006) was ambushed and killed while headed to vote.
Obviously, the local Mafia of Calabria, called "Ndrangheta" instructed the murder.
It is already obvious that this criminal act was intended as a message to the left-wing coalition which is likely to kick Berlusconi out of office. The message, pretty clear, is: "If you win, you are going to deal with us, willingly or not".
Ndrangheta is the strongest criminal organization in Italy; probably the strongest criminal organization in the whole Europe: surely stronger than any terroristic organization. Its root in the territory are strong. Its friends innumerable.
They make most of the money by smuggling drugs all over the world, but Ndrangheta also controls most of the public contracts in Calabria and all around Italy. They control building, administrative, public health contracts. They always have their share.

From the FBI website:

The word "'Ndrangheta" is of Greek origin meaning courage or loyalty. The 'Ndrangheta formed in the 1860s when a group of Sicilians were banished from Sicily by the Italian government. They settled in Calabria and formed small criminal groups. The 'Ndrangheta consists of 160 cells and approximately 6,000 members and specializes in kidnapping and political corruption. The 'Ndrangheta cells are loosely connected family groups based on blood relationships and marriages. 'Ndrangheta presence in the United States is estimated between 100 and 200 members and associates. The majority of that presence is in New York and Florida. The 'Ndrangheta is also known to engage in cocaine and heroin trafficking, murder, bombings, counterfeiting, gambling, frauds, thefts, labor racketeering, loansharking, alien smuggling, and kidnapping.

In such conditions the left-wing coalition took charge in the last local elections in Calabria. And now paid the price.

What's going to happen now? Alas, nothing. Berlusconi doesn't care for Mafia. He never signed a single act against it. There's a lot of evidence pointing out that he instead invested, washed, recycled money that the Sicilian Mafia gave him. This way he kickstarted his fabulous economic empire.

But aside of Berlusconi's attitude, will any Italian government ever make a decisive move against mafia?
I know, unlucky me, that the answer is "no".
Mafia it's the snakes' pit of Italy, the dirty black hole that generates corruption, arrogance, criminal acts, murders, abuses. The branches are too long, mazy and numerous.
The roots may be in the south, but the bitter fruits are everywhere.