18 September 2007

V-Day

Text:
” How this is eating away at everyone! Parliament is divided into those who don’t want to talk about it to exorcise the problem and those who feel the need to talk about it to discredit it, thinking that in that way, they can reduce the phenomenon.
The word that is must often heard is “anti politics”. Italian citizens, spontaneously, of every social extraction and from every part of Italy, without hurting anyone, make their way to a table to leave their signature to carry out a constitutional right: a proposed popular law to say that felons must not stay in Parliament. This is politics. Everyone understands that, but some have to be completely ruthless because they think that they will then isolate the phenomenon. It reminds me of the sick person who throws the doctor out of the house so as not to hear anyone talk about the illness.
I am proud to have been one of those citizens who participated in this moment of direct democracy.
Now we need to watch out and see that the procedure doesn’t destroy the substance, as happened to me years ago.
I collected 150,000 signatures for a popular initiative law about the reduction of the number of parties and the direct voting by the citizens. I presented the signatures but they put them in a filing cabinet. Seven years later, that proposed law has still not been discussed.
You need to collect all the signatures, together with the electoral certificates, and above all take them to Parliament so that the whole country, all the public opinion is mobilized. We need to put the Parliament in a position to face up to its responsibilities so as to avoid it pretending that nothing has happened.
On that day, there must be a massive demonstration in the streets, with people who are all together and invoking the discussion of this proposed law.
As a parliamentarian, I too, have already presented the same proposed law. They never listened. Now the proposal I made has now been placed in the Parliamentary timetable, but only so that when this proposal for a popular law arrives, they can say: “It has already been discussed.”
Don’t worry: I have already said that the main instrument must be the law signed by the citizens.
Another thing to watch out for is this: according to the law, when a draft law is presented, Parliament must discuss it. But there’s no indication of a time limit nor the limits of the possibilities for amending it. Thus it’s necessary to check the amendments that are put forward day by day. Each point can be nullified with a tiny amendment.
The first says: “Felons cannot be candidates”; someone will add an amendment saying: “apart from those who…” with a series of exceptions so that in the end, the ones who land up in prison are those who collected the signatures.
Or: “No one can stay in Parliament for more than 2 terms of office”. It’s enough to simply add the word “consecutive” so that it would be enough that between one election and the next, a person could be a regional councillor or a member of the European Parliament to bypass the regulation. If then there’s the addition of “in each branch of Parliament”, it would be possible to stay for two terms in the Lower House, two In the Senate and so on.
I have already heard those who are already taking action to construct such details to say that formally you are right, but in the essence you are going to be taken for a ride. Let’s all watch out.”

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics