December 31, 2007

Northern Italy’s troubles

Here is the text of an interview I granted to today’s "Il Giornale".
Il Giornale: Minister Antonio Di Pietro, you are originally from Molise, but have you perhaps also left a little piece of your heart in Milan?
Antonio Di Pietro: Much more than just a little piece. I am a Molise-Lombard ».
Il Giornale: So you also then get the feeling of the problems felt throughout the North, which have been exacerbated by the Malpensa-Alitalia situation?
Antonio Di Pietro: Firstly, I would like to separate the two phenomena. As regards the problems of the North, of course I notice them. However, it is one thing to notice a problem, while it is totally another thing to exacerbate the problem in an exploitative manner. What I actually believe is this. On top of the sense of trouble that is actually being felt, there is also a certain amount of exploitation going on, something that is certainly not helpful in terms of solving problems and which relies on demonstrations in order to further the cause. Instead, when facing serious problems, what is required is a greater sense of responsibility. Not a street demonstration.
Il Giornale: And as regards Alitalia? Don’t you think that the choices that have been made, which also involve Malpensa, will land up exacerbating the problem?
Antonio Di Pietro: Just the other day, I attended a Cabinet meeting. There we were provided with all the information relating to this matter. Furthermore, as Minister for Infrastructure, I have received some additional documentation, which we were asked to keep confidential. It follows, therefore, that I am bound by confidentiality requirements as regards the Alitalia issue and I cannot say anything.
Il Giornale: You are a member of a Government that exists only on paper since it no longer enjoys a Senate majority...
Antonio Di Pietro: Are you referring to Dini’s moves?
Il Giornale: Yes.
Antonio Di Pietro: Can I answer with a Di Pietro-ism?
Il Giornale: Certainly.
Antonio Di Pietro: Dini is trying to screw someone and, in the end, he will get screwed.
Il Giornale: Beg your pardon?
Antonio Di Pietro: He is taking advantage of the situation in order to gain personal advantage at the expense of others. But I don’t believe that he will succeed. Also because it is improper.
Il Giornale: And yet, Lamberto Dini’s criticisms levelled at the Budget are shared by a number of international and other organisations...
Antonio Di Pietro: That may well be true, however, his argument is somewhat like that of the man who has Ursula Andress and says that he actually wanted Carla Bruni. That is not the right way to go about getting things done! Furthermore, I don’t believe that his reasons are entirely altruistic. I believe that his intention is to set himself up politically.
Il Giornale: A legitimate operation. Furthermore, this is not the first time. In this current legislature, there are other similar examples of people switching allegiance...
Antonio Di Pietro: I don’t agree with regard to the legitimacy. I personally do not agree with what he is doing. I don’t believe it is proper. In my opinion he is making capital out of it.
Il Giornale: In what way?
Antonio Di Pietro: He is attempting to break down and reassemble majorities. If such a situation is destined to occur, then it must wait until after the elections and not before.
Il Giornale: And when exactly will the elections take place?
Antonio Di Pietro: I undertake to let you know immediately after the electoral committees have made the announcement.
Il Giornale: So everyone else is being good...
Antonio Di Pietro: What do you want me to say? Who know? You would need a crystal ball in order to know these things and I don’t have a crystal ball.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 30, 2007

Dirty hands: conflict of interests

Here is a short extract from Gianni Barbacetto, Peter Gomez and Marco Travaglio’s book entitled “Mani sporche” (Dirty Hands), which picks up the discussion left by “Mani Pulite” (Clean Hands):


“The Tangentopoli front, often with no further need for bribes, is a conflict of interests. In the old system, you had those who pay in order to be awarded certain tenders or favours, and those who take cash to ensure that this happens. Nowadays, thanks to what Di Pietro calls «the re-engineering of Tangentopoli», the two parties involved in the above transaction are, with increasing regularity, one and the same person, who is both controller and subordinate and does not even need to go out of his way to pay any bribes since he would, in any event, simply be transferring them to himself. And even when the controller is not also the subordinate, it is normally because one of the two is a relative, a friend, a silent partner or a proxy.
In this strange model, which has grown up in the shadow of the berlusconian one and was not only never eliminated, but indeed continued to grow, hundreds of conflicts of interest have arisen within the various public administrations, from Parliament through to local bodies, in semi governmental and municipal companies, in the national healthcare system, not to mention the banks and private companies.
In Parliament, the vast majority of the elected representatives don’t even bother to submit any declaration of assets as required by the extremely bland Frattini Law. Even the various Authorities, who should be the ones that dig up and penalise conflicts of interest, are themselves riddled with them. The case of Alfredo Meocci who moved over directly from Agcom (which oversees the TV stations) to the Management Board of Rai (previously subject to his presumed «vigilance») in 2005 is merely a symbol of a reality that has become as commonplace as it is hidden. Also in 2005, former Chairman of the parliamentary commission overseeing RAI, the honourable Ds Claudio Petruccioli, became Chairman of the very same Rai, without any loss of continuity, and to make matters worse, this happened after a visit to the private home of Silvio Berlusconi, then Prime Minister and proprietor of Mediaset, a company in direct competition with Rai. The «Espresso» edition of 6 April 2007 printed an enlightening exposé entitled «Who controls the controllers ».”

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 27, 2007

Pardon or justice?

The State President has received a request for pardon from Giuseppe Lipera, attorney for Bruno Contrada, the former manager of Sisde who was finally sentenced to ten years for collusion with the mafia. The request was motivated by Contrada’s current state of health.

An unacceptable request, as highlighted by the Head of State himself, who deemed it necessary to explain that: “It is a well known fact that any provision concerning a deferment of a penalty, based on the state of health of the person paying such penalty in prison, falls within the jurisdiction of the overseeing Magistrature”. Bruno Contrada has, to date, only served seven months of his jail sentence at Santa Maria Capua Vetere and, given that a pardon and the man’s state of health are two entirely different matters, should the competent magistrature see fit, the necessary measures could be taken for Contrada to be admitted to hospital. Pardon for a State Official who has been sentenced for mafia activities cannot be construed as “something due” to him, as stated by the Justice Minister, since there are no grounds for such pardon, and the man himself has not expressed any regret whatsoever, nor has he collaborated fully with the magistrature.
Court sentences must be respected and Contrada’s age does not constitute sufficient justification for making him out to be a victim.
Should the family wish to do so, they can request a review of the proceedings, but a pardon cannot be used as a short cut in order to escape a conviction for collusion with the mafia.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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Prevention and safety, now!

I hereby acknowledge receipt of, and publish, a letter from Marco Bazzoni, worker representative for workplace safety.
"The workplace killings at Thyssenkrupp in Turin are still very much in all our thoughts. While I would have expected the Prodi Government to take some sort of concrete action, this has unfortunately not been the case.
On Tuesday 18 December, 5 workers died within the space of a few hours (a worker at the Fiat factory in Melfi, a 22-year old worker in Rome, a 50-year old worker in Alessandria, a 55-year old worker in Venice and a 37-year old carpenter in Modena). Yesterday saw the death of Rosario Rodinò, the sixth worker who suffered severe burns at the Thyssenkrupp plant in Turin. He was only 26 years old!!! I ask myself: what more needs to happen before the Prodi Government takes some sort of concrete action in order to put a stop to fatalities in the workplace?
Following the deaths at Thyssenkrupp, both the Labour Minister, Cesare Damiano, and Prime Minister Romano Prodi have done nothing other than reiterate that there are laws in place and that all that is required is to ensure that these laws are respected. I am fully in agreement with this, however, the real problem is something else: there is a lack of people to ensure such compliance. The real problem, just in case the Government has not yet realised this, is that there are only 1950 Asl accident prevention officers to cover the whole of Italy, in order to enforce workplace safety in 5 million companies requiring inspection. It is estimated that, should they inspect all of the companies with the available personnel, each company would be inspected only once every 33 years. So, what do the companies have to fear with regard to penalties when there is no one around to carry out inspections? Why don’t we simply reverse the freeze on new appointments, so that additional safety officers can be employed in order to increase the number of workplace inspections?
On 17 December it was announced that Campania Regional Premier Bassolino and Healthcare Councillor Montemarano had adopted a regional council resolution aimed at employing another 200 workplace safety inspectors. The news would appear to be great, except that the resolution provides for the retraining of healthcare staff (how this is to be done is still completely unknown), who would then be reassigned to Safety Inspection duties, without any concern for issues such as the competence, professionalism, suitability and effectiveness of the interventions and to the dismay of all the students reading for their degrees in accident prevention. And to think that, just a few hours ago, the Chamber and the Government approved the measures aimed at reversing the freeze on the engagement of Accident Prevention Officers. I am therefore obliged to stand firmly behind the call by the “AITeP” (Italian Workplace Accident Prevention Officers Association) to increase the number of Safety Inspectors in Campania by 200, and no to "simply" retraining existing staff. We want to see the employment of some real Accident Prevention Officers.
Furthermore, I would dearly like to put a stop to the practice of agreeing to appoint additional safety inspectors only after a worker is killed or injured in the workplace, once and for all. The workplace inspectors have only a minor appointment as regards workplace safety on site (DPCM 1997). And that’s it. Safety inspections are the domain of the Asl (Law 833/78). We have said this on so many previous occasions that even the walls have understood, but apparently not the Prodi Government.
In addition, I would also like the Government to be clear on one issue: of these 300 labour inspectors, only 75, and I repeat, only 75 are actual workplace safety inspectors charged with carrying out workplace safety inspections on site, while the remaining 225 are charged with enforcing contribution payments, in other words, dealing with the primary function of the Regional and Provincial labour Directorates. It is obvious that inspections alone are not enough to resolve the problem of workplace safety and that much more is required, however, let’s start with these in the meantime.
In conclusion, I appeal to the journalists to spread the word and to make it clear, once and for all, who is actually responsible for carrying out workplace safety inspections. And please, don’t turn the spotlight away from the issue of workplace safety. We need to keep the attention focussed on this issue, now more than ever before.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Work
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December 26, 2007

State privacy

Following the telephone call between Saccà and Berlusconi, there was talk of media pillory, violation of privacy and civil barbarity. The Justice Minister highlighted the urgency of January’s scheduled Senate approval of the draft bill to gag telephone taps, following its earlier approval by the Chamber.
The “Italia dei Valori” Party will be voting against the bill, although this is merely a symbolic gesture, given that the majority of the parties, both on the centre-right and on the centre-left, have agreed to approve it.
Politicians do not appreciate being caught with their hands in the cookie jar, indeed they scream foul when their conversations, with people who are under investigation for a wide variety of crimes, are made public.
There are two aspects worthy of comment in the current pseudo defence of privacy by these one-way privacy guarantors. The first is that it is not the politicians' calls that are being tapped, but those of people that are under investigation by the judiciary. If, for example, a member of the Mafia talks business with a politician, the politician is in no position to complain bitterly about privacy violation. Were he only to talk to honest people, then his privacy would be intact. The second aspect is that any public figure, parliamentarian, minister, party secretary is not above the law. Indeed, the exact opposite is true. He has a duty to ensure transparency in all his actions and, should he be under investigation, he should insist on being taken to Court immediately.
Nothing has been said about the Leader of the Opposition’s attempt to convince a senator to change sides, in return for services rendered by the Government television service, notwithstanding the fact that the news was made completely public by the telephone call with Saccà, which was published by the Espresso newspaper.
Berlusconi’s privacy, rather than the cow market in the Senate, has become the Parliament’s problem. There are far more important legislative urgencies that must take precedence over some law to safeguard politicians’ privacy, such as safety, temporary employment, workplace fatalities, conflict of interest and the radio and television system reforms. Not only should the law regarding telephone tapping not be approved, indeed it should not even make it to the voting floor.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 24, 2007

The Cabinet. Rules for tenders

Friday 21 December, the second last Cabinet meeting of the year, because the last one is scheduled for 28 December to approve the so-called the “thousand postponements decree”. At the end of each year, a survey is done to identify all of the provisions that have not been finalised during the year, so that, by passing a final legislative decree, the finalisation can be further postponed, thus permitting us to do next year, that which we were unable to do this year.
In the CIPE, we decided on two basic issues. A range of public works to be performed using all the remaining available funds. It is important to let everyone know that, for the first time ever, the Ministry for Infrastructure will not have a single cent left over, meaning that it has spent all of its funds for the envisaged works. There are no residual unused funds lying around, nor are there any stalled, half-completed works, in other words, we of the “thousand postponements decree” will not have to postpone the works that should have been carried out this year, because the works for which the money was allocated have all been commenced.
It is very satisfying to know that the last 200 million, more or less, have been allocated through the CIPE, to a whole range of important interventions, above all to complete those interventions that were already underway but required additional resources.

Read the complete text

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 23, 2007

Live streaming appointment

Here is an extract of today’s live streaming.

Text:
"We are once again approaching the end of the year and I felt that it was my duty to dialogue and communicate directly with you, my listeners, who are logged on throughout Italy and the world, because I believe it is the duty of those in public administration, those who, above all, utilise your money, to report back on what we have been doing, and to dialogue with you. Via my Blog at www.antoniodipietro.it, please feel free to chip in and let me have any reports, suggestions and criticisms that you believe are appropriate.
This is an information system that is necessary, on the one hand, necessitated by the fact that we do not own television networks and, on the other hand, a service provided by the new technology that is in the process of changing the worldwide communications, even though many people have not realised this. From here, via this video camera, I’m in contact with the entire world, and I’m able to have my say without any interference from intermediaries and, more importantly, you are able to listen to me directly, without some politically motivated director, who holds the real power of information in his hands, censuring out that which does not suit him and favouring that which does. All of you are required to make decisions based on the information available, but so often, the decisions made by the public are based on false information that has been received.
Let me mention a case in point in order to explain what I mean. In recent days there has been an ongoing debate regarding the relationship between telephone tapping and the need for privacy. Privacy is one of our sacrosanct rights. Telephone taps, authorised by the judicial authorities, are not only a right, but also part of a sacrosanct duty to find out who is stealing, who is murdering and who is behaving like a delinquent. It follows, therefore, that if the delinquent happens to be someone involved in public administration, or in politics for that matter, then it is even more important that the magistrates be given the means with which to do their jobs, using any information and every legal tool at their disposal, including, inter alia, telephone tapping."

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 21, 2007

15.00: meet you here in live streaming

Today, Friday 21 December, at around 15h00, I will be appearing on my own Blog and on the Italia dei Valori website in live streaming. I will be discussing the year’s work, important upcoming appointments and the initiatives scheduled for 2008.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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Safety now!

Here is the text of an interview I gave the “Il Giornale” on Wednesday 19 December 2007.
Antonio Di Pietro: If it were up to me, I would get rid of that regulation, which is muddled and badly drafted, and simply carry on with the Decree.
Il Giornale: Why, in your opinion, was it necessary to forge ahead?
Antonio Di Pietro: In this Country, we need safety as much as we need bread and water and, as regards interventions, the need is even more urgent. That is why we have made provision by means of decree.
Il Giornale: But a split has occurred regarding the article on homophobia …
Antonio Di Pietro: For political reasons, which are by the way unacceptable. However, that article has nothing to do with safety, “non c’azzecca niente” as the old Di Pietro would have said. It is clearly being pushed by one part of the coalition, in order to infiltrate a different problem, relating to conscience and culture, into the issue of safety, which affects the Country as a whole.
Il Giornale: So you are against the withdrawal of the decree?
Antonio Di Pietro: I believe that it would be unseemly, untimely and nonsensical to give up on dealing with the issue of safety by decree. I believe that the government urgently needs to do two things: acknowledge that the regulation does nothing in terms of safety, and accept responsibility by not going on any Christmas Break, because there are still a number of working days left between Christmas and New Year to ensure that the decree is not allowed to expire. We should approach the Senate vote with dignity and heads held high, backing up against the wall anyone who intends to exploit their vote in order to achieve some something other than safety.
Il Giornale: Are you saying that Prodi should dig in his heels, remove that article and carry on?
Antonio Di Pietro: Definitely yes, because we still have a few days in hand, and the real reason why we are doing it is for fear that some hothead in the Senate will say “then I won’t vote for it”. But this is blackmail, political-ideological blackmail, by someone who is seeking to obtain some competitive advantage, notwithstanding the urgency of the need to address the safety issue.
Il Giornale: Off the record, how do you feel about the provision on homophobia?
Antonio Di Pietro: I believe that the principle, which states that there must be no discrimination, and that anyone who discriminates on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation should be punished, is not only right, but is also contained in the declaration of human rights. However, that regulation, as it stands, is so ambiguous and broad that we may land up paradoxically punishing the priest who, in his sermon, urges his parishioners to behave in a certain way with regard to sex. Such a regulation should be drafted with a certain sense of responsibility, not by urgent decree, and must make a clear distinction between discriminatory acts, which should be severely punished, and mere opinions, which simply constitute part of our right to freedom of thought.
Il Giornale: Why is Prodi not prepared to risk it?
Antonio Di Pietro: How else could he answer me? Unfortunately, it is impossible for him to accept only my assessment alone. And I, according to the institutions, have learned that the rules of coalition impose a duty on members to take one step at a time. The problem is not the Prime Minister, but rather the irresponsibility of those who are constantly trying to profit from every situation. This, however, once again raises the age-old problem, namely, the ability of such a scanty majority to govern the Country. We of the “Italia dei Valori” Party say that it can be done, as long as there is some sense of belonging to a coalition. A sense of belonging that is, today, ever decreasing and becoming increasingly threadbare, revealing a situation where everyone behaves like rats abandoning a sinking ship in search of their own survival.



Today, Friday 21 December, at around 15h00, I will be appearing on my own Blog and on the Italia dei Valori website in live streaming. I will be discussing the year’s work, important upcoming appointments and the initiatives scheduled for 2008.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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December 19, 2007

The never-ending slaughter

The spotlight on the five people that died at the ThyssenKrupp plant in Turin have now been turned off, however, workplace fatalities are currently following hot on each other’s heels in an appalling manner. Today alone, another five people have died: in a foundry in the Province of Alessandria, in a workshop in Venice and at a sewerage plant construction site in Rome, as well as at Vignola and Melfi.
This kind of daily tragedy, which is the result of a work culture that is founded mainly, or perhaps even entirely on profit, and also the result of the inadequacy of the penalties facing those responsible, needs to be broadcast continuously and effectively.
My Blog, and that of the “Italia Dei Valori” Party, will soon be publishing these so-called white deaths: numbers, names, companies and causes, on a daily basis. I want to open urgent discussions within Government, in order to discuss the relationship (because there certainly is a relationship) between temporary employment and work-related fatalities, as well as any possible legislative solutions.
In fact, we cannot deny that a temporary worker is easily blackmailed and is thus obliged to risk his life in order to keep his job. Furthermore, the temporary worker employed for short periods of time in a factory or a company is often not given the adequate time or training necessary in order to avoid the risks that are sometimes even fatal.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Work
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December 15, 2007

Rubbish information

Newspaper editors are well aware that the readers scan the headlines but don’t always read the entire articles. By skilful manipulation of the headlines, it is possible to alter reality, to the point where the meaning of the headline is the exact opposite of what appears in the article itself.
The Thursday 13 December edition of Turin’s “La Stampa” newspaper carried the headline: “Montenero di Bisaccia fined and penalised 20 points – Attempted corruption for Di Pietro’s Squad – The Minister: they are getting just what they deserve, sever the hands of those who cheat”.
Instead, in the body of the article itself, it is stated clearly that I have no ties whatsoever with the squad, other than having had the misfortune to be born in Montenero.
However, anyone who did not read the actual article will have gained the impression that Di Pietro owns a football team that is involved in some sort of corruption.
This is not information, it is absolute rubbish. Unfortunately this is not an isolated case and the phenomenon is not limited to a single newspaper.
Information is one of the tools of power, in the hands of groups in power, and anything that does not conform to the general guidelines is therefore obscured or defamed. That is why we need to do some serious reflection on these consensus machines, on who really owns the newspapers and ask ourselves who actually dictates their editorial policies: is it the Editors, or perhaps the proprietors, expressing their wishes through the Board of Directors?
And as regards who the proprietors are and where their real interests lie: to spread information or disinformation.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 14, 2007

The Cabinet. New funds for security and information

Tuesday 11 December 2007, The Cabinet.

There was much discussion but very little was approved, in the sense that we failed to agree any new draft bills. Instead, we discussed a number of very important topics, most important of all being that of the Budget law, which has been approved by the Senate and will be presented to the Chamber by this Sunday, and we need to decide regarding which of the texts should be approved. The Chamber parliamentary committees have introduced further amendments and another new governmental amendment will be introduced by tomorrow, which will take into account all of the comments and which will then be put to the vote.

How does this year’s new Budget law look, you ask? It contains both areas of light and areas of darkness, but certainly there are many areas of light, in that it redistributes available resources in favour of the weakest members of society and in favour of development. Certain areas of darkness exist, however, due to the fact the Budget Law must be voted on in Parliament, where there is a very narrow majority in favour of this Government and we have, therefore, been obliged to make a few too many “offerings”.

I would now like to explain what are, in my opinion, the “offerings”. On my Blog, you will find a letter I wrote to the Prime Minister, in which I stated that from now on we must avoid squandering resources in order to satisfy any Tom, Dick or Harry. The Budget Law in itself is a good law. Pity about the dropped threads of submission to one or other blackmail attempt by one or other parliamentarian who would otherwise not have voted.

Here are some of the concessions made: funding for sanitary kennels and catteries, funding to save historic assets from the First World War (and here I was, thinking that it had ended some time ago!), funding to finance a book centre, funding for softening our tap water (it must be tap water though!), funding for an Italian immigration museum, and funding for the Italian accounting body (privately established). Just imagine, the funding to save historic assets from the First World War was detracted from a chapter regarding strategic infrastructure, namely the funding for a draft bill concerning our motorways and railways.

We achieved a lot, but we could have done more. If it is true that the State’s expenses and waste are excessive, then these would have been a good area for making some cuts and, on the subject of cuts, I would like to mention what we of the “Italia dei Valori” Party managed to obtain. We refrained from requesting any funding for some or other grouping and, instead, we requested a cut in the expenses. Here are a few of the expense cuts we managed to obtain.

The repeal of the so-called Mancia (Gratuity) Law, introduced during Berlusconi’s time, which made provision for a fund of 3 million Euro, from which, at the end of the year, every parliamentarian could request a portion on behalf of his constituency.
We requested and obtained a reduction in the number of mountain village municipalities, a reduction in the number of selection panel administrators and a reduction in the number of districts.
We requested that the bulk of these funds be allocated in favour of our forces of law and order, beginning with the payment of overtime pay to policemen and Carabinieri that carry out their duties every day, which was agreed to. It was also agreed that a portion of these funds would go towards increasing the funding for local television stations, those that offer some sort of plurality beyond Rai and Mediaset.

This is the contribution made by the “Italia dei Valori” Party: a reduction in the amounts of waste and the reallocation of funds towards security and information. This is why we would have preferred to see those funds, allocated on a whim to the other twenty or so chapters, rather being put towards security and development.

Whatever the case may be, since we are obliged to sum up the totals, this Budget is the best that we could come up with. Next time, however, the reduction of wastage had better be even clearer, in order to balance the books.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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December 12, 2007

Carcano Theatre in Milan: Break the mafia

I am posting this video containing Sonia Alfano’s speech at the "Break the mafia" conference held on Tuesday 11 December 2007.
I thank the guys from antenneattive.org who made available their recording of the event.


Text:
S.Alfano: It makes one angry, extremely angry. That which my family and I have had to live through is something that I would not wish on my worst enemy.
My family was a perfectly normal one, where my father was a secondary school technical education teacher with a hobby involving journalism and news reporting, while my mother was a nurse, now retired, working at a hospital in Messina Province. This passion for journalism caused my father, in a very short space of time, to switch between court reports and sport reports and he began writing and telling stories about what was happening in our province, which offered much as regards court reporting.
G.Barbacetto: He evidently then became somewhat of a problem for someone.
S.Alfano: Yes. Let me start by saying that Messina has always been renowned, and still is to some, as the “babba” province, which means “stupid”, where there is no mafia but where everything happened, in reality.
G.Barbacetto: Therefore, where there is no mafia, all the people are “babbi”, in other words, fools?
S.Alfano: Yes. If we take into account that our “babba” province played host to mafia bosses of the calibre of Nitto Santapaola, Bernardo Provenzano and Gerlando Alberti Junior, I think it is fair to say that our province was anything other than stupid. Building up this Messina only served to create a golden paradise for people on the run. I cannot say that they were on the run in that area because, above all Gerlando Alberti Junior and Nitto Santapaola were unfortunately permanent residents of the area, thanks to the complacency and laid back attitude of the institutions. In the case of Gerlando Alberti Junior, this even included the forces of law and order.
Nitto Santapaola stayed at Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto for a number of months, just thirty metres away from my house and suddenly, around the time that my father was killed, there was a spate of eavesdropping and wire-tapping, which picked up certain conversations between Santapaola and certain officers of the Carabinieri Corps. He was regularly escorted by the carabinieri to the motorway tollgate, they accompanied him to his meetings with the faithful and he was also regularly escorted into the hinterland where he went on hunting expeditions with a colonel in the Carabinieri Corps.
G.Barbacetto: But where did you get these ides and where does the information come from?
S.Alfano: For many years now, I have waited for justice to take its course after what happened to me. I had turned 21 years of age just two months before I saw my father leaving home at 21h30 on the eighth of January, on his way to pick up my mother from the hospital, and I asked him whether he would be coming straight back home or whether he was planning an evening out. He answered that he would be coming straight back home. At about 22h20 I heard the sound of my father’s car, which was particularly noisy, then I heard the sound of the two latches opening, then the hatches and finally the entrance doors to the house. However, immediately thereafter, I also heard one latch snapping shut, a single latch opening and one door closing. This alerted me and I immediately went towards my mother, I opened the door for her and, with a petrified look in her eyes, she told me that my father had hung back for a moment to look outside and sent her inside. Telling her to lock herself in. Never before had my father ever done such a thing.
The fact remains that we knew what we were up against, given that only two months before my father had received a death threat and was told by the then Head of AIAS that, if he did not stop writing, he would have him killed by the 20th January, the date of the Festival of Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of Barcellona.
We crossed off the days, one by one, just like a countdown. The moment when my father did not come upstairs with my mother, I became concerned, he was not answering his mobile phone and I clearly remember hearing the sound of sirens wailing, only to fall silent as they approached our house. Life in Barcellona was normal, if you consider that, by the 5th January, there had already been 7 murders.
G.Barbacetto: Some people called the place “Barcellona pool of blood”.
S.Alfano: Precisely.
A.Mascali: What did your father write that was so troublesome?
S.Alfano: He wrote much about the AIAS, an Italian aid association for the spastic, which was, in reality, purchasing furniture at inflated prices, and about cases of fraud against the EU with regard to citrus fruit. Certain businessmen were involved at the time, and still are to this day, such as Giovanni Sindoni. I am naming names and I accept full responsibility for doing so, because the only way to fight the mafia is by naming names. They were filling the trucks with oranges, taking them to the weighbridge, after which they were supposed to go for pulping. This did not happen. They would, in fact, bring the goods back, delivering it to the places that they knew, selling them and claiming EU funds as if they had destroyed the goods.
Then he wrote about international arms smuggling, which, soon after my father’s death, resulted in an inquiry being set up, split into three sections, and the only one that is still ongoing, after 14 years, appears to be the one in the Court of Milan.
He was your typical assault reporter. He knew the area and the all the families in Barcellona, however, I believe that what cost eventually cost him his life was having recognised Nitto Santapaola and having mentioned this fact to the wrong magistrate, namely Olindo Canali, believing him to be a friend.
My father was convinced that every Friday evening in Barcellona, after 22h00 and nearby our house, there was a meeting attended by a group of people that he thought may be members of a Masonic Lodge, under cover of Scottish rites. I must tell you that there are far too many Masonic Lodges operating in the Barcellona and Messina area.
Given that justice appeared not to be forthcoming, I have been obliged to roll up my sleeves in an attempt to give my father back some of his dignity, because the only that was said about my father is that his was a crime of passion.
A.Mascali: This was said often.
G.Barbacetto: After physical death comes the denigration.
S.Alfano: I reached rock bottom when, in June of 1995, while being cross examined in a courtroom, the defence attorney representing my father’s assassins asked me what type of relationship I had with my father. The allusion, and the inherent allegation that perhaps my father had molested me did not last for very long.
At that very moment I realised that the only people who had my father’s dignity, and above all his memory at heart, were the members of his family. We rolled up our sleeves and did everything in our power, to the point where we were unfortunately obliged to take over from the investigators and the forces of law and order, who simply maintained that there were no new developments, even after the conclusion of various court cases in which the boss, Giuseppe Gullotti, and the killer, Antonino Merlino were convicted.
G.Barbacetto: An investigation was held, court cases were held and the actual killer, as well as his immediate Principal were condemned, is that right?
S.Alfano: Only the military Principal was convicted, in other words, the man who gave permission for the murder to be committed.
As regards the boss, Gullotti, who returned to the “babba” province, which is not really “babba”, I am certain that no one is aware, other than Minister Di Pietro, that the remote control used to set off the explosion that blew up Judge Falcone and his escort was provided by none other than Giuseppe Gullotti, closed in a wooden box on the back of a truck transporting a mare that was being taken to the Palermo area, for delivery to none other than Brusca. No one is aware of this, perhaps because someone has a vested interest in keeping Barcellona “babba”. There is very little in the way of “babba”, however, there is much that is sad, corrupt and devious. I did everything that I was able to do.
G.Barbacetto: Now, given that an investigation was carried out, after the man who pulled the trigger, and his military Principal have been convicted, why can you and your family not let the matter rest? What is still missing?
S.Alfano: We will not rest until those that made the decision behind the crime are chucked in jail, and by that I don’t mean the mafia bosses that we are often led to believe were responsible. I can assure you about the people who actually made the decision to kill my father, is that the one is now sitting in Parliament at Montecitorio, and the other wear a collar and tie because he works in some or other court department. In any event, there is a very strong alliance in place between the judiciary, the institutions and politics, which I have been attempting to uncover for a long time, however, I realised I was alone, with very few volunteers like myself, who have tried to turn the spotlight onto Barcellona.
A.Mascali: You are now making some very harsh and serious allegations. Is there any ongoing investigation underway regarding the matter of an outsider or hidden Principal?
S.Alfano: The Messina district’s anti-mafia Prosecutors Office has been conducting certain ongoing investigations since February 2003, opened entirely on the basis of my testimony. If they have not yet decided to archive the investigation, since 2003, perhaps Mastella will see to it after this event, although I certainly hope not. Nevertheless, I asked Mastella to intervene with regard to the Messina issues and he asked about the Messina and Sicily issues. To be precise, in a telephone conversation with the very same Mastella, which appears in this month’s issue of Micromega, I asked him why he has come out so strongly against De Magistris, placing him under the microscope with no thoughts of continuity, rather than focussing his full attention on Sicily? I cannot remember how many years have passed since we last had a Public Prosecutor in Catania, Caltanissetta is on the verge of shutting down, something that would, without a doubt, please the Mafia and, perhaps you are unaware that Messina has a general Prosecutor from the Appeal Court of the Court of Assizes, Franco Antonio Cassata, who works in the courtroom and dispenses justice and who also has relationships with a number of very shady characters. There is a report drafted by the Carabinieri of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, which places him in one of the local squares, publicly talking to Venerina Rugolo, the wife of mafia boss-in-hiding, Gullotti. The Judge was called before the Upper Council of the Magistrature, where he proceeded to justify his actions by saying that everyone knows everyone in Barcellona, and that he had only stopped to caress the child. Pity that there was no child in sight and that he had obviously stopped to talk to the mafia boss’ wife.
I think that these are the magistrates that should be sent away rather than those that are currently under investigation.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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December 11, 2007

Break the mafia, let’s break the silence

Today at 21h00, I will be in Milan, attending the Break the mafia conference at the Carcano Theatre situated at No. 63, Corso di Porta Romana.
The event has been organised by a group of “free men and women” that are wanting to “break the silence in order to break down the increasingly high wall of indifference, but also to prick consciences, to inform without any media filtering and to reawaken a sense of civic duty”(from the website: www.breakthemafia.it).
I will be present at this event. Also taking part will be magistrates Luigi De Magistris and Clementina Forleo, currently still involved in the “Why not” and “Unipol” inquiries, we have no idea for how long this will still be the case.
As Minister and as Chairman of the “Italia dei Valori”, I want to publicly show my support for two courageous people who embody the values of civic duty and public morality, which are essential for the future of this Country.
Part of the event will be shown live, be means of streaming, on this Blog and on the websites italiadeivalori.it and antenneattive.org.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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December 10, 2007

The false emergencies

The matter of work related death is being classified as a national emergency. Anyone that has been following this blog for any length of time will be well aware that this issue is anything but an emergency. People have been dying in the workplace every day, without respite, for many years now. Use of the term “emergency” is a last resort for the people that have never done anything concrete to address the problem. The so-called Gypsy emergency was, indeed, a widely acknowledged fact, long before Mrs. Reggiani’s death. The temporary worker emergency, the poor health care emergency, the emergency of semi-freedom of speech, the conflict of interests emergency, the emergency of a justice system that is lying in tatters, without adequate resources and being targeted by ongoing political interference, and the emergency of the current electoral law that, as I remind my readers, fails to make any provision for citizens to directly elect their preferred candidate. It would appear that the Country is nothing but an unending list of emergencies.
The word “emergency” is being used, like a fig leaf, in order to conceal political liability. I certainly do not exclude myself in this regard, and I too am obliged to bear a certain amount of responsibility for having been unable to convince our Government allies. I have raised the issue of these so-called “emergencies” in Cabinet on numerous occasions in the past, as clearly proven by the weekly videos published in this space. Unfortunately however, I have not always enjoyed full support from my allies. I have always done everything in my power, and continue to do so to this day, but I believe that the idea of causing the Government to fall, which is often proposed as a solution in the readers’ comments on my blog, would be the worst possible thing that could happen, because it would deliver the Country back into the hands of those who managed to almost totally destroy the Welfare State and freedom of information, into the very hands of those that would certainly go on to complete the task, of this I am convinced.
I will continue to expose the profound sense of malaise that is exerting its effect on many different aspects of our Country, and I will continue to intervene whenever possible. However, the term “emergency” nevertheless makes me itch, because it constitutes both an admission of failure, and hypocrisy. As regards work related deaths, the issue is not an emergency, but simply a matter of a political desire not to take action, displayed to date, even by the current Government.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Work
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December 09, 2007

Greater investment in security

The police forces are complaining because they have not been allocated sufficient funds in the latest Budget. Let me say immediately that it is not true that there are no funds allocated for this purpose, but certainly the allocation that there is, is inadequate, a fact that we should be aware of because, after all, we all make use of public areas at some or other time.
This Budget makes more funds available for the modernisation of vehicles and for staffing purposes than what was the case last year, where 7 billion 334 million was allocated for this purpose, while this year’s budget, instead, allocates 7 billion 550 million. This proves that there has been an increase of 200 million, and not a reduction, as is being claimed. The problem remains that this is not enough.
What are the three main areas requiring our effort, in terms of what the forces of law and order have asked for so that they can work better? They ask that the funds available to the police stations be increased so that they may purchase more fuel for their vehicles, more paper on which to write, and for the purchase of everyday items that the need.
They ask to be allowed to recruit more staff. There are 6000 vacant posts that must be filled.
Finally, they ask that their training facilities be increased and expanded. There were, at one time, 12 such facilities, which have been reduced to only 3. From the point of efficiency, this would appear to have been a good idea, on condition that these 3 facilities produce the same level of results as the original 12 did.
Our forces of law and order are not asking for too much and, with certain appropriate cuts and rationalisations, we can grant these requests: this is our aim.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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December 07, 2007

Calabrialibre writes to State President Napolitano

I hereby receive and publish an open letter written by Giorgio Durante, Chairman of Calabrialibre, to State President Giorgio Napolitano.


"To the Right Hon. Giorgio Napolitano,
This letter follows on from the earlier appeal, made a few months ago and signed by tens of Calabrian movements, personalities and associations, an appeal whose only effect was to draw the attention of the General Investigation and Special Operations Unit of Reggio Calabria, which, I am sure you will agree, would have better employed hunting down members of the "Ndrangheta" (Calabrian Mafia). But what on earth did we write, other than the fact that we sought your involvement in the Calabria issue and that, as citizens of this Country, we would have liked to meet with you to tell you about those matters that, we often fear, are never brought to your attention. Oh well, meanwhile, nothing has changed, except for the worst, and now all of you, as politicians, bear the burden of the death of a third young victim of a regional healthcare system that swallows ever-increasing amounts of resources while providing an ever-decreasing quality of service, and that witnesses the very same Governor Loiero under investigation, inter alia, for alleged fraud.
We very carefully try to avoid exploiting such a serious life drama, but some sort of tragedy was to be expected, just like the usual dynamite-laden derailment attacks organised by the institutional big-wigs at the time of the investigations into the Fortugno murder. These events should have been sufficient to cause you to act in the interests of the Citizens that you, of all people, should be representing and protecting, but which you obviously do not believe to be appropriate. Precisely in the same way that you made yourself scarce as regards the matter of the Magistrates that are under threat from a form of degenerate politics that has become nothing more than a business, we refer here to Clementina Forleo and Luigi de Magistris, who are at the mercy of powers that be, who obviously have well-placed connections at the highest levels of the institutions. Magistrates left on their own, just as we simple citizens have been left on our own, with no hope of a better future for our children. Politics is now even killing off hope, with the aid of all the institutions, without any exclusion. We have taken to the trenches in an attempt to keep the flag of justice flying. It is clear that politics has abused its prerogatives and the facts are clear for all to see, or at least the information that is not yet fully under the control of the powers that be, or, as you hope, the tapped telephone conversations must remain secret, to protect who? Perhaps the scoundrels and delinquents, we ask ourselves?
The era of regimes has passed, even for you who supported one of them in the past, not even that long ago. The era of Pravda has also passed, and information now spreads very fast without networks, in fact, even with networks. The truth. Even if not certified by the normal justice system, which is always slow and sometimes even subject to the political powers that be and, when uncorrupted, is clearly visible to everyone. Please, prove us wrong on the issue of Calabria, let us know what has happened to the millions of Euro destined for development purposes, convince us that the healthcare system actually works, that the environment is unpolluted, that there is work, and that politics is ethically correct.
We citizens have already come to our own conclusions, with no haste, and have therefore been out demonstrating for some time and, just as happened in Tiananmen Square, the armoured cars contain all of the politics and the institutions, and the future of our fragile, young democracy lies within our ability to resist. Regards."
Giorgio Durante – Chairman, Calabrialibre

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Accurate information
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December 06, 2007

Voters without representation

The hot political topic of the week is the electoral law and everything else has been put on the backburner. In reality, the main objective of the current discussions is to preserve or expand one’s own parliamentary presence. The reference model, be it the German one or the French one, proportional or majoritarian, is nonetheless moulded to suit the electoral ambitions of one or other party. No one is taking public opinion into account.
In the public initiative law, signed by 350,000 people, amongst which was yours truly as the only minister and, I believe, the only parliamentarian to do so (video | article), the citizens clearly expressed their desire to participate directly in the process of defining the new electoral law.
The popular draft bill makes provision for direct preference, a maximum of two terms in office, albeit non-consecutive, for any parliamentarian, and ineligibility in the event of final criminal conviction. For me, these three points are non-negotiable in terms of any present or future discussions regarding the electoral law, which must not be discussed behind closed doors or in bilateral meetings, where there is no written record of the proceedings.
Elections represent the peak of democracy and the applicable rules must be discussed openly, with the main objective being maximum transparency and genuine representation of the citizens in Parliament.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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December 05, 2007

The disappearing court cases

The most striking thing about the issues surrounding the cases involving magistrates Luigi De Magistris and Clementina Forleo, is that the investigations that the two were conducting have been completely hidden from sight. No one any longer mentions Why Not and Unipol. We have gone far beyond the metaphor of the finger pointing at the moon. In this case they have caused the moon to disappear completely, leaving only the finger for us to look at.
As always, I have the greatest respect for the decisions made by the various organs of justice, but I also have a legitimate suspicion that there may be some sort of political influence hiding behind the fury unleashed against the two troublesome magistrates. The problem is no longer simply a judicial one, but has become, above all, a political one. The public is no longer interested in knowing from the judiciary whether any politicians are guilty of any crimes, but now, as far as the public is concerned, the simple fact of the removal of the magistrates that were busy investigating the politicians is, in itself, proof of the politicians’ guilt, as well as the umpteenth confirmation that different rules are applied to the elected as opposed to the electorate. The public opinion is now convinced that elected leaders are completely exempt from prosecution.
We must be honest in admitting that the handling of the De Magistris and Forleo cases, although perhaps unquestionable from an official point of view, nevertheless constitutes a serious defeat for which we will be obliged to bear the consequences.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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December 04, 2007

Security for the citizens

When we talk about security, we must start with the statistics, referring to the type and number of crimes committed and also the people who committed them, including their nationality.

The increase in certain types of crime, and the consequent perceived insecurity, is closely linked to illegal immigration, but not only, also to the normal immigration of European Union citizens. It is a known fact that, whether we like it or not, during the three-year period stretching from 2004 to 2006, the top foreign nation in terms of the number of cases of voluntary homicide, sexual assault, theft, robbery and extortion was Rumania, from where there is no illegal immigration. It is immigration nevertheless, within the European Union and perfectly legal, into our Country, at least, and it is legal simply because it is totally uncontrolled as a result of the Rumanians’ right to enter all member Countries of the European Union after becoming EU citizens.
It is a fact, because we immediately tend to think of non-EU citizens and illegal immigrants, while the major cause of insecurity, both real and perceived, is instead due to EU citizenship.

If this is a fact, the goodwill of a united Europe, which we read about all every day at school, serves no purpose.
Therefore, as regards this topic, I wish to point the first accusing finger at myself as a member of this Government, and I confess that, as a political force, I am powerless to change the current state of affairs. I must say, in all fairness, that not even the opposition parties in the previous Government made their voices heard because, if it is true that since January 2007 we have had an influx of Rumanians, it is, above all, also very true that this was allowed to happen because, in previous years, while we were busy with the process of ratifying the applicable agreements, we failed to regulate the entry of the Rumanians, not even by means of a moratorium. The politically accountable parties are, therefore, the past and present political class.

I need to remind myself, as well as the politicians and everyone else, that if it is true that security is a right, such right is guaranteed by the European Union agreements, as well as by the European Treaty that set up the EU, reconfirmed by the C6 in Poland where, in the basic precepts of the resulting document, it is stipulated that security, both inside and outside the EU, is one of the EU’s own fundamental rights.
If the constitutional bill that we want is constituted by the treaty that we confirmed at the C6 meeting held in Poland, then we are told that internal security is a fundamental right, which then imposes a duty to consider the regulation of people’s movements, even with reference to EU member states.

The “Italia dei Valori” Party must re-establish its governmental and information activities, specifically as regards the need to establish some sort of regulation and possibly including a moratorium, which would be applicable to those citizens who, although they have come into the EU, must nevertheless comply with the rules and requirements of our Country.
As regards this latest phenomenon, there is a need for new and updated tools with which to combat criminality, Islamic fundamentalism and both national and international crime, with specific reference to the new criminal elements.

Without a doubt, a number of important actions have been taken in terms of immigration, beginning with the fact that the Bossi-Fini Law would not be suitable as it stands, because it requires the person to be in possession of an employment contract prior to leaving his/her Country of origin, otherwise he/she would not be allowed to enter Italy. I challenge any Italian to enter into an employment contract with a person from wherever, without even knowing the person. We then have the Turco-Ferrero Law, which applies a totally different approach, based on immigration flows, based on the person’s ability to find employment, even via a tutor, and based on a whole range of interventions aimed at getting to know others and allowing ourselves to become known.

This has certainly not resolved the problem of illegal immigration, however, I believe that I must personally accept responsibility, as must the entire “Italia dei Valori” Party, for having signed the Turco-Ferrero Law because, at the time, we thought it better than the Bossi-Fini Law and because it attempted to counteract illegal immigration, but above all because it provided some hope of legal immigration.
As regards the Turco-Ferrero Law, it is our belief that it must be agreed and expanded as regards the security measures it contains, with specific reference to those that have no fixed address and have no way of proving that they have any means of support.
There is a need for some sort of a moratorium, regarding even EU member Countries whose citizens come to Italy without being able to show how they propose to survive and support themselves. This is not because we believe that our Country is any different from other countries, but because other EU member Countries have done precisely what we are now requesting, countries such as Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg and Holland, who are members of the EU, yet they have implemented systems to regulate the flow of immigrants.

There is a very important security package that has been introduced in recent weeks, to which we have agreed, in favour of which I voted with conviction in the Cabinet sitting, and which our Party will steadfastly support in Parliament. It contains four points, to which we have added a fifth of our own accord, namely the crime of fraudulent financial declaration, with regard to which there was already a regulation that we strongly desired and that we managed to push through the Cabinet, regarding urban security, in other words, a regulation enabling us to punish the exploitation of minors by involving them in criminal activities, to make the collaboration between voters and mayors more effective, to strengthen the collaboration between the urban police force and other forces of law and order, to grant the prefects additional powers of expulsion and, finally, to make it easier to prosecute for crimes relating to illegal public occupation and vandalism.

We then put together another important package to place additional emphasis on the matter of precautionary custody for serious social crimes. We reviewed the abolition of the Ex-Cirelli Law, namely, the one that enabled expedited prescription and that therefore established compulsory prescription for certain crimes. For example, we have made provision for convicted criminals to have their details entered into a DNA database. Finally, we have made provision for a whole range of measures against organised crime.
If these were currently laws, rather than simple regulations, we would see a lower perception of insecurity. The “Italia dei Valori” Party’s actions will be aimed at amending the agenda, immediately after the Budget vote, as well as introducing legislative measures with regard to security, because such measures are not only important, but necessary as well.

One of the key points of our governmental activities is that they properly take into account the issue of solidarity, however, when solidarity is achieved at the expense of security, the situation then becomes unacceptable. Solidarity must be achieved at the expense of the political costs, bureaucratic inefficiency, at the expense of the local clever-dicks and, above all, at the expense of the many inefficiencies that politics produces, such as consultancies and many others.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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Italy, the soft underbelly of the European Union

When we talk about security, we must discuss the statistics. The type and number of crimes, as well as who committed them is well documented.
The increase in certain types of crime is closely linked to illegal immigration or the uncontrolled immigration of citizens from new member states. Paradoxically, the latter group has proved to be extremely dangerous. In the three-year period from 2004 to 2006, the top foreign nation in terms of the number of cases of voluntary homicide, sexual assault, vehicle theft, domestic burglary, armed robbery, robberies in businesses and extortion, was Romania.
With effect from 01 January 2007, Romania became a member State and that Country’s citizens have been free to enter Italy, with no automatic expulsion, this thanks to a decision made by the Italian authorities, not the European ones. In fact, many other Countries have placed a moratorium on these entries, valid for a few years, precisely because they were afraid of the consequences.
Austria and Germany have introduced a moratorium that will remain in effect for at least three years. Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxemburg and Holland are to lift entry restrictions gradually over a period of three years. In conclusion, on 24 October this year, Great Britain announced that they would only be allowing the entry of a small number of Romanian and Bulgarian non-specialised experts in the agricultural and industrial sectors, up to a maximum of 20,000. Italy, together with Finland, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, has not applied any form of moratorium.
Compared to its counterparts, Italy has an additional problem in that, in this country, we never apply penalties and our level of tolerance with regard to phenomena such as the Gypsy squatter camps that have mushroomed around our major cities would be unthinkable in Sweden or in Finland.
So, what happened as from the 1st January 2007? Romania did not enter into Europe, but only into certain European Countries, mainly Italy, which is the European Union’s soft underbelly as regards the application of the penalties and is, therefore, an irresistible attraction for anyone that chooses to get involved in criminal activities.
Let’s take a simple example. Try to imagine what would happen, had the squatter camps that have invaded the Tiber River in Rome instead been built on the shores of the Thames, in London. They would not have lasted for more than half an hour. The increase in criminal activities carried out by Romanian citizens has been one of the more obvious consequences. As at 30/6/2007, Italian prisons held 43,957 people, of which 15,658 were foreigners and, more specifically, 2,267 were Romanians, the second largest group after the Moroccans, which numbered 3,326 people.
In order to safeguard the honest Romanians, of which there are many it must be said, and the Italians in our country, it is essential to introduce a moratorium, in order to allow us to decide who may enter and who must stay out, on the basis of the same criteria used by any democratic nation in the world, namely employment, residence and criminal record.
The “Italia dei Valori” Party will continue to fight to the bitter end for the introduction of a moratorium that nobody wants at present, not even the centre-right, and for this moratorium to be extended to include all the new Countries that will be joining the Schengen block in 2008.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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December 02, 2007

Let’s re-establish our identity

The “Italia dei Valori” Party met yesterday and called together its National Executive in order to state its position regarding the topics and the political agenda currently under discussion. We have already decided as follows.
As regards the Institutional and constitutional Reform Plan, we reiterated our bi-polar identity. In the sense that we must arrive at an electoral law that is either majoritarian or proportional and we ask that it make provision for the naming of the person who will be the Premier designate, which coalitions support him and what his programme will entail, prior to the elections, based on which we will then face the voters.
We are not reiterating our majoritarian aspirations, but we are declaring our willingness to discuss various solutions that may be put forward, as long as these meet two other conditions.
Firstly: that the voting public be given a real opportunity to indicate and identify their preferred candidate, a choice that can be made preferentially either during the primaries or at the time of the elections.
Secondly: that the solution adopted, whether it be proportional or majoritarian, will result in a reduction of the number of parties, because we firmly believe that the current fragmentation does not help in terms of Government action and the clarity of relationships. In particular, we agree that there is a need to rewrite the parliamentary regulations, so that a grouping may only be formed if the prospective members have been confirmed in the elections.
We agreed that further intervention is necessary with regard to those regulations that are not directly linked to the electoral model, but which are currently linked and permit the proliferation of parties, the major one being the Public Financing System because, as long as there is any possibility of accessing financing with as little as 1% of the vote, thereby ensuring the party’s survival, this is more than sufficient temptation to join forces purely to overcome the hurdle and then to separate again immediately thereafter.
We in the “Italia dei Valori” Party are re-establishing our identity, not tied to any particular ideology, put to the politics of action. We do not wish to be labelled and we reject anyone that wishes to classify us as a centralist, right wing or left wing party. We believe that these topics and methods belong to the past and, since the party was born at a post-ideological time, we therefore see ourselves as a party that wishes to reason in terms of values, plans and personal credibility, rather than in terms of ideological membership and, in this sense, we openly declare that absence of any preclusions based on ideology as regards the other parties.
One of our priorities is our political, institutional and planning dialogue with the Democratic Party, with which we have many common views regarding future plans, points which both parties share and which we hope to implement jointly, many of which we have already discussed in the past, and continue to discuss on a daily basis. This notwithstanding, we believe that the Democratic Party must first clarify what its future will hold in terms of collaboration. We therefore maintain that, given the current circumstances, we are not in a position to establish any form of direct collaboration with the extreme leftists, at least not for the next legislature, since their position is based on ideology that is respectable and respected, but nevertheless different from ours. This is because we wish to discuss plans, and sometimes the plans they wish to implement, based on their ideology, do not coincide with ours.

During the next administrative elections, we will be having discussions, municipality-by-municipality, province-by-province and in the place where the Regional elections are to be held, with any political forces that wish to hold discussions with us. We will firstly open our doors to the Democratic Party, however, they will first have to tell us to whom they are allied and for what purposes.
We of the “Italia dei Valori” Party reiterate our faith in the Prodi Government because we believe in its merit by reason of what they have done in the past and that which it was able to achieve. In the space of a year and a half in power, and faced with such a precarious majority, it has been able to achieve far more and in so many different areas than other “bulgarian” majorities have and, as far as I am concerned, most certainly in terms of infrastructure. We have achieved a figure of almost 40% return on our resources and have developed a series of relationships, the main one being that we are the first European country to have received any major European financing for trans-national networks.
We of the “Italia dei Valori” Party, in any event, reiterate our faith in the Prodi Government because of the commitments made to the electorate, whom we approached by saying that this Government, this coalition, this programme is part of “Italia dei Valori”, and that we would not attempt to put a spoke in any wheel, nor would we work at cross purposes in the case of any vote of confidence.
We of the “Italia dei Valori” Party acknowledge that a part of the coalition is wanting a review in January, which we are in favour of, on condition that the matters to be handled fall within the programme agreed to at the time with the electorate, and that we are prepared to identify priorities within the programme, on condition that we are allowed to have our say.
We are prepared to do this so that, after the finalisation of the Budget, the Government can reorganise itself on a functional level, with a complete, 360° organisational restructuring that includes a significant reduction in the Government structure. Should there be any review in this regard, we of the “Italia dei Valori” Party are in favour of any appropriate measures, starting precisely when the decision is made in terms of numbers specified by the law, and we place ourselves at their disposal, as do I personally as regards my ministry.
In conclusion, with reference to the many personalities and new political affiliations on the political horizon, we wish to state that we are prepared to not close our doors to anyone, but rather to dialogue with everyone. We will obviously lay down certain exclusions of an ethical and moral nature, since we cannot be seen to dialogue with criminals convicted by the courts, or with political or pseudo political organisations with neo-nazi or neo-fascist leanings, because we too have certain accepted limits. We are a movement that aligns itself, at the European level, with the Liberal Democrat Grouping of the ELDR, which is represented in the European Parliament where we also have our own representative. On Monday I will be presenting the “Italia dei Valori” party in its new guise to the European Parliamentary group of the ELDR.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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December 01, 2007

The Council of Ministers. Italian Plan against drug abuse

Council of Ministers meeting held on Thursday 29 November. One day early because the Premier has other commitments scheduled for tomorrow.
We discussed many things and we also held a number of side meetings outside of the Cabinet (CIPE, Arcus, 150 years of Italian unity and still more), but we also discussed a number of normal matters. However, we dealt with three issues that I believe are important enough to point out to you because perhaps they will not be part of the “official” information released. Firstly, it is the Government’s intention to implement a new Italian action plan against drug abuse, following on from the new action plan regarding housing policies, which we drew up in recent weeks.
We intend to implement a range of preliminary structural interventions over time, in order to protect the weakest social groups, because they too are in need of protection. The plan was submitted in draft form and must now be discussed by all interested parties, namely the associations, Parliament, Regional Councils and regional bodies. And so, I said to myself, why not discuss the plan directly with our employer, namely the citizens?
I am therefore publishing our Government’s proposed action plan regarding drug abuse, on my blog, so that all of you have the opportunity to read through it and make your comments, which I will summarise and certainly submit to the appropriate institutions, beginning with the Cabinet.
Read through it and help us to better carry out our duty.
The other matter we dealt with and that I would like to bring to your attention is the 2015 EXPO in Milan. We invited Mayor Moratti, as the responsible person, to identify the appropriate measures aimed at making the international, economic and institutional communities, in fact the entire world, aware that Italy, and more specifically Milan, is the right venue for the 2015 EXPO, the largest international Trade Fair for all that the world produces, or is able to produce, and thus an economic attraction for our Country, bringing with it many benefits in terms of credibility and cultural, financial and business exchanges.
It is important to do so and we decided, requesting a mutual commitment from us all (the centre-left Government, the Mayor of Milan and the centre-right Lombardy Regional Council) in order to, once and for all, present a single, united Italy to the outside world so as to put together a credible plan. You will find the plan, in its draft form, on my Blog because, here too, I believe it is important for the citizens, namely you, our employers, to have an opportunity to first read about what we are doing and give us some advice before we can do any damage. I think this is a good thing and I am posting it on the Internet so that we can discuss it. In this case also, I undertake to take back a complete summary of your comments to all of the appropriate institutions.
Another topic discussed, amongst many others, was the matter of compensation for damages to those who are victims, or even lose their lives, or are subjected to violence or threats resulting from violent sources, namely, three in particular that are seldom mentioned and tend to be confusing: victims of duty, Mafia victims and victims of terrorist action.
You will see that, as regards possible consequences, whether one is injured or killed as a result of a terrorist act, a Mafia attack or the actions of someone who is simply carrying out his/her duty, the extent of the damage remains the same. We have made provision to combine these three groups of victims, and we have also made provision for a consolidated system of compensation for damages.
Up to now we had various different systems in force. The victim of a terrorist act received a larger settlement than the victim of a Mafia attack, and both of these victims received larger settlements than did the workplace victim of duty. Were you aware of any differences? One the one hand there is the terrorist act, where the terrorist places a bomb and the person affected is a victim of terrorism. Then there is the Mafia member who demands protection payments from a company and causes it to go bankrupt. This business is the Mafia victim. Finally there is the Warrant Officer in the Carabinieri Corps who goes to the supermarket after receiving a telephone call. The criminal shoots the Warrant Officer, who is the victim by virtue of doing his duty.
At this point, we have decided to make provision for two types of compensation: a one-off payment, which is deemed to be an immediate grant, followed by an annuity for his family, otherwise how are they to survive? We have decided to combine these two types of payments in order to consolidate them, whoever is the victim, whether he7she is a victim of terrorist acts, the Mafia, or duty, because we believe that, in all thee cases, those affected are people who either give up their lives or suffer violence in order for this to be more of a Country based on the Law.
The day that there are no more victims will be the day that the Country based on the Law is functioning properly.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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