January 31, 2008

The law is not equal for everyone

With the depenalisation of false accounting approved by Berlusconi and his majority, the conflict of interests emerges in all its seriousness.
If there is no measure to resolve the conflict of interests, there will never be the certainty that those who are in the institutions are performing in the interests of everyone rather than in their own interests. In the specific case of Berlusconi, he was on trial for false accounting but having taken steps to modify the crime, he got away scot free.
We have brought back that crime with a DDL, but meanwhile, for Berlusconi, there’s impunity. It is already very serious that to sort out a personal situation, a law is modified, now to add insult to injury, there’s the really serious damage to the country and for those citizens who have been victims of the people who have committed the same crime and who will not be convicted.

Previous articles:
I’m going straight ahead
Council of Ministers. False Accounting
No throwing in the sponge on Bankrupts
A pardon for those who corrupt

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 30, 2008

No comment

In the programme Annozero of Thursday 24 January, a UDC city councillor for Palermo made an intervention against my declarations on the affair that saw Salvatore Cuffaro obliged to resign as the President of the Region of Sicily for aiding and abetting the mafia.

Previous articles:
La diffida di Cuffaro (www.italiadeivalori.it)
L'imbarbarimento etico delle istituzioni (www.italiadeivalori.it)
Legality in Sicily
Letter to Prodi

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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Let the politicians put themselves on trial

I’m publishing an interview I gave to il Corriere della Sera about the possibility of a conviction for Silvio Berlusconi in the judicial proceedings about Mediaset rights.
CdS: Minister Antonio Di Pietro, the President of the Republic is carrying out consultations, there’s the feeling of political elections in the air and they are going back to talking about a trial that sees Silvio Berlusconi as a defendant and how that and the decisions of the magistracy could influence the election campaign.
Antonio Di Pietro: It is significant that everyone is worrying about the prescrizione {time limit to get to the conclusion} of this trial and how to get there as soon as possible. Thanks to the laws approved during the government of the Centre Right this prescrizione will very probably arrive before the trial has ended with the final degree of judgement {the final appeal}.
The basic problem for the country is another one: do we want to have a President of the Council, if Berlusconi were to get there, getting the prescrizione for the umpteenth time or that it is ascertained that he has not committed crimes? No one, even more so the magistracy, could have thought of the collapse of the Prodi government when there was a request for the unification of the two trials.
CdS: From Berlusconi’s lawyers, from Forza Italia and from other political environments however, this is what they are talking about.
Antonio Di Pietro:It is not the work of the magistracy to place conditions on the elections, on the other hand, the elections are an element of disturbance for the trial. It would be good that all those who now are gathering round Berlusconi ask that these two trials come to an end as soon as possible, within a few months and before the election campaign gets lively, so that his full innocence can be verified. And the defendant can be cleared of any shadow of suspicion.
And then, how is it possible to talk about political intervention when we are still in a state of pre-crisis and we still don’t know if there will be an election campaign and elections?
CdS: Is it like saying there’s so much fuss about nothing?
Antonio Di Pietro:So, I repeat, let Berlusconi let himself be tried. It is not even a good thing for him that there are ongoing trials.
I believe that the time has come for the Italian citizens to rebel against this distorted and conditioned information. That they open their eyes and that they ask if the blame for all this is down to the magistracy or to those who commit the actions that the magistrates are then obliged to take an interest in.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 29, 2008

Town of Vittoria: no to protection money

I’m publishing two interviews dedicated to the fight against the mafia.
The first interview is with Leoluca Orlando, an Italia dei Valori deputy who for some time has been committed to the fight against the racket and the mafia in Sicily. The second interview is with Giuseppe Nicosia, the mayor of Vittoria in the province of Ragusa, who has decided to give exemptions and facilitation to those who denounce the pizzo { protection money} and the racket.
In the past, I have talked about certain measures (The pizzo and the Confindustria) with a measure of perplexity. That is not to say that the action of these people doesn’t represent a breaking point with the old system of connivance between organised criminality and politics.

"For the fourth time, in the Sicilian reality, the police and the security forces, with an action that deserves praise, have discovered those who were paying the pizzo: the list of economic and commercial businesses obliged to pay the pizzo to the mafia people. It is the conformation that the mafia has not stopped but is continuing, the confirmation that there’s need to continue in this action of repression, being carried out by the magistracy and the security forces, but also that it is necessary to bring in measures that will help this work of the security forces.

In a land like ours, in which the President of a Region, convicted and sentenced to 5 years with the prohibition of holding public office for having helped mafia bosses, has the arrogance to want to stay put and celebrate with little pasties, there’s also a Confindustria Sicilia that says: “those entrepreneurs who have any relationship with the mafia cannot be part of our organisation”

There’s a civil society that tries to rebel, there’s Addiopizzo, there are business people who courageously publish names, there are citizens who declare that they will shop only with entrepreneurs who declare themselves to be against protection money and who collaborate with the police to uncover the extortionists.”

Read the whole text.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 27, 2008

“Ammazzateci Tutti” replies

I’m publishing a letter from Aldo Pecora, Sonia Alfano and Rosanna Scopelliti of the campaign group “Ammazzateci Tutti”. This is a reply to a post called "Appeal from a citizen" published on my blog on 24 January.

Distinguished Honourable Di Pietro,
We have been told by our web observers that there was a recent intervention by Ida Annamaria Rotella, Court Clerk to the Catanzaro Tribunal..
While we appreciate the spirit that inspires signora Rotella and that is very evident from the letter that you published on your blog yesterday, we feel obliged to reply to the legitimate requests that your reader puts forward that relate directly to us as a campaign group.
As you will know and as is known by the few “real” associations in Calabria that have come together in the “Pro De Magistris” campaign group, as is known by the young men and women of the Beppe Grillo Meetup, as is known also by many activists in your party, in the last few months we have acted all together to promote support for the prosecutor Luigi De Magistris, by collecting tens of thousands of elements of support in terms of signatures and of people, many of whom are young people, who have come out into the streets of Calabria and who have filled every type of place in auditoriums, cinemas, and theatres in half of Italy (it’s enough just to think of the initiative “Break the Mafia” at the Teatro Carcano in Milan, at which even you yourself were present in person.)”

Read the whole text

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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Legality in Sicily

Today, 26 January, Cuffaro announced his irrevocable resignation from his post as Premier of the Sicily Region, not as a result of personal choice, but rather to prevent a legal provision from obliging him to resign.
Cuffaro is simply pre-empting a decision dictated by the regulations currently in force, as I laid out in detail in my letter, sent to Premier Prodi and ministers Lanzillotta and Amato a few days ago.
Cuffaro’s resignation is, therefore, much more than simply an ethical and moral act. The serious conviction described and the reasons for the sentence handed down leave no room for any doubt whatsoever. Resignation was, and is the only way to go.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 26, 2008

The Minister of Justice’s appointments

I have sent a letter to Prime Minister and Justice Minister Romano Prodi, expressing my concerns regarding Benvenuto’s recent appointment by the Management Committee of the School of the Magistrature. Appointments made by former Justice Minister Mastella as one of the last few acts in office.

I now publish the text of the letter:

"A number of issues that have emerged recently with regard to the Justice Minister’s activities have raised some serious concerns.
I am referring to the delicate appointments of the members of the Management Committee of the School of the Magistrature, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Justice Minister.
Already in the past, while discussing the amendments to the institutional regulations governing the school, I repeatedly raised the alarm – which went unheard – regarding the risks concealed behind the regulatory amendments so tenaciously supported by the Justice Minister at the time, and highlighted the risk of potentially influencing the autonomy of the Judiciary. When even the training institution charged with developing the future generation of magistrates and updating the entire profession is not only unexpectedly based within the very same electoral college preferred by the Minister of Justice in power, but sees its Management committee dominated, in terms of numbers, by members appointed directly by the very same Minister, it becomes clearly evident, beyond any doubt, that there is a certain manipulation of intangible constitutional precepts at play."


Read the full text

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 24, 2008

Appeal from a citizen

I’m publishing a letter from Ida Annamaria Rotella, Court Clerk to the Catanzaro Prosecutor’s Office. It is a heart-felt appeal to all the social groupings, to a part of the political scene and to the free information organisations not to forget what is happening to the magistrate Luigi De Magistris
I and Italia dei Valori have always supported and we will continue to support the activity of the magistrate which is aimed at the respect of the rule of law.
”Respected Dr. Di Pietro, I am a Court Clerk to the Catanzaro Prosecutor’s Office, the office that is by now famous because it is the office of Dr. De Magistris
I thank you for having been the only politician who has publicly supported Dr. De Magistris. I believe that the heart of a Magistrate has still remained inside you.
In my office, I am one of the few people who is morally close to this Magistrate but after the response of the CSM that has arranged for his forthcoming transfer, I have had the feeling that he has been abandoned by the public and that he is only supported in an undertone.
Where is the popular indignation? Where are the young people of "Adesso ammazzateci tutti” {Now Kill all of us}? Where are the “dissident” journalists who created “the issue” in the Media?
In this last month when Dr. De Magistris can appeal, it would be appropriate to have a solid and public movement of support for the Magistrate, even more substantial than that of last Autumn, so as to attempt to prevent the putting into effect of the unjust decision by the CSM.
Justice seems to be in a “coma”. For example, my office is “drowning” for a thousand reasons. No one is listening to us and Calabria is even more on its knees.
Why has Italia dei Valori not yet started to take action? Perhaps we are waiting to go out and demonstrate and shout “JUSTICE FOR DE MAGISTRIS" at the railway station when this Magistrate takes his leave for ever?
Thanks and warm greetings
Ida Annamaria Rotella"
Previous articles:
Antonio Di Pietro a Break The Mafia
Magistratura indipendente dalla politica (www.italiadeivalori.it)

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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Letter to Prodi

I am publishing a letter sent today to the President of the Council and Minister of Justice, Romano Prodi with copies to the Minister of the Interior and the Minister for Regional Affairs.
The topic of the letter is the suspension of Honourable Salvatore Cuffaro from holding the office of the President of the Region of Sicily.

The text of the letter:


As you know, on 18 January, the Palermo Tribunal pronounced judgement and convicted the President of the Region of Sicily for helping the mafia and revealing secrets.
The facts that have been verified by this trial have emerged and are extremely serious. This is seen not just from the important sentence handed out (five years in prison and perpetual prohibition to hold public office) but above all in as much as it is a question of helping the mafia and revealing official secrets in relation to investigations regarding mafia affiliates. I am keen to underline two considerations about this.
Firstly, the agreement on the modality for intervention in the affair, specifically applying what is already obligatory according to the regulations in force. In fact, in relation to this, article 15, comma 4-bis of law number 55 dated 19 March 1990 sets out the need for suspension, even in the case of a conviction which is not definitive.
As is well known, the institutional route to take is for the President of the Council, having listened to the Minister for Regional Affairs and the Minister of the Interior, adopts the measure that ensures the suspension.
For facts that are clearly serious, this outcome comes from the need to guarantee the protection of the public interest, which has been damaged by his staying in his position and carrying out the related institutional functions by a person for whom it has been verified that he does not have the essential requisites to hold an elected public office. But, above all, it is urgent that I put forward a second consideration.
As a Minister of the Republic and above all as a citizen, I am disconcerted by the reaction that has been the characteristic of the behaviour of the President of the Region of Sicily with respect to the conviction and that for anyone with dignity and respect towards the institutions should have only suggested the need to offer his resignation.
I believe that the Government cannot remain inert in relation to this affair and that it is indispensable to take concrete measures, in conformity with what is laid down by the regulations, so as to ensure the primacy of law and the full respect of the principles of the rule of law, and in this way, restoring credibility and the authoritativeness of the institutions of the State.
It is a question of an action that is imposed by duty for the respect that we all owe to the institution and the law. But even before that, for the moral debt that we have to make good for the many, too many, victims of the mafia and their close family.
Never as in this affair, is there the need to act and to act fast and it is the duty-bound form of fulfilling the requirements of the law that must distinguish a governing class that is worthy of this name, from one that is hypocritical and mean. I am convinced that you are not deaf to these needs, and in a manner that we agree on we will be able to express the response that is the most convinced and worthy of respect for anyone that has preferred to sacrifice themselves to the mafia rather than reveal official secrets to them.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 22, 2008

Mud and Politics

Mastella, Fabris and other UDEUR people are having a competition to see who can throw the most mud at myself and at Italia dei Valori. The principle is always the same: if they are guilty, then the others must be guilty too. Today the UDEUR has decided to leave the majority coalition and so leading to the fall of the government. They did this because they knew that a confidence vote in the Mastella family would never get through. They did this because they were obliged to do so by what is happening. I am committed to letting no calumny coming from the lips of these people, go unheeded and in the next few days I will prepare the first action against them. Within the walls of the court room signor Mastella and signor Fabris will have to prove their accusations about the actions of the Minister of Infrastructure, of ANAS and about the behaviour of Italia dei Valori during the election campaign. I want to remind the UDEUR that Italia dei Valori ONLY put forward candidates without previous convictions.
For us, a conviction is not a “merit point” as happens for other parties.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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January 20, 2008

Interview with TG2

Herewith an interview I gave the TG2 news service on Friday 18 January, regarding the statements regarding me that were made by the former Minister of Justice.

Giovanni Romano: Former minister Mastella stated that: “Never again in a government with minister Di Pietro”. What is your response to this?
Antonio Di Pietro: The response should come from the Prime Minister, or indeed from acting Minister of Justice Prodi, and he should give the response on the occasion of the inauguration of the new judicial year. Does this government share the belief that there is a judicial plot at play every time one of the ministers is placed under investigation? Does it believe that the judiciary constitutes a democratic emergency for the Country? Let the Prime Minister resolve this problem, and then it will become clear whose side this Government should take.

Giovanni Romano: The President of the Republic emeritus, Scalfaro, spoke about watch movement justice.
Antonio Di Pietro: It is not the justice system that runs by watch movement, but indeed it is politics that is very often guilty of criminal activity, thus requiring the intervention of the judiciary. It is not the magistrates’ fault if certain politicians commit any criminally significant actions. When a politician is innocent, he/she does not personally attack the magistrate, but rather, he/she runs to the nearest judge to prove his/her innocence.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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January 19, 2008

All guilty, no guilty party

Yesterday’s speech in the Chamber by former Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella in fact signalled the end of the second Republic. The conflict between politics and the judiciary and the almost unconditional applause at the criminalisation of the judges by the politicians are a repeat of 1992, almost fifteen years on, of the speech made by Bettino Craxi at Montecitorio, entitled “All guilty but no guilty party”, and the call to arms by Mastella’s parties are, in essence, almost identical.

7% and 93%, these are the percentages revealed in the recent survey carried out by Renato Mannheimer, regarding the Italians’ faith in politicians. 7% have much faith in them, while 93% have no faith at all. Politicians cannot withdraw into their shells in the light of this fact. Today, in the space of less than twenty four hours, Cuffaro was sentenced to 5 years, not including the aggravating circumstance of having favoured the Cosa Nostra and has been banned from holding public office, while the head of the opposition, Silvio Berlusconi, has been committed for trial on charges of corruption following his telephone conversation with Agostino Saccà, Director of RAI Fiction, and Premier of the Molise Region, Forza Italia’s Michele Iorio, is under investigation by the Campobasso Public Prosecutor’s Office for suspected collusion and abuse of office. Cuffaro stated that: “I am still the Premier of Sicily. Back to work from tomorrow”, while Forza Italia has classified the charges against its leader as “laughable” and the UDEUR has given the Government an ultimatum: “Either a motion of confidence for Mastella or this is the end of the majority”. I wish to appeal to all responsible politicians who are serving the interests of the citizens rather than those of their Secretariats. It is impossible to go up against the laws of this Country and its citizens without there being serious consequences. The judiciary must be respected, as must the citizens, to whom the vote of preference must be given back as soon as possible, by means of an electoral law, after which we must go back to the polls.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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January 18, 2008

No to the vote market

I would like to tell you exactly what I think regarding the Mastella case, Campania politics and much more still.
At the time of the First Republic, in order to finance its activities, politics resorted to using a system of bribery, in other words, illicit funding paid either to the parties or directly to the politicians themselves. In exchange, favours were handed out, such as for example, the awarding of tenders, favourable jobs and high-powered appointments, especially in the business environment. However, there was at least one thing wrong with this system, in that it was not always the best companies that were awarded the tenders and the parties, having funds at their disposal, were in a position to achieve greater electoral success, even though their policies were no better than those of the other parties.
During the time of the Second Republic, namely the one following the so-called “Tangentopoli” corruption scandal, the system was further refined. Crimes were no longer committed, however, the power was physically obtained by directly taking power in the public offices and various administration bodies and doling out positions and roles to cronies and friends, so that these people could then control the so-called vote market.
Bribes are no longer paid systematically as they were at one time because, if these bribes were intended at the time, to be used to finance the party, while now, by placing the right people in the right posts, they would then be able to convince all the employees that act and interact with these “right people” (chairmen of the various divisions of ASL, heads of public offices, and so on) to vote for the party that they represent. And here, therefore, we make assumptions galore.
Consider the matter of waste disposal in Campania, which has the highest number of street sweepers, as well as the highest level of dirt.
In situations such as this, the problem is not so much a judicial one. Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that Mrs. Mastella could have put the fear of God into Bassolino, but rather, I believe that, in a case of exchange of secret roles (“many places for me” complained the Udeur, many places for the Democratic Party and many places for yet another party), they became angry with each other, however, to get from here to something which is criminally significant is something that is difficult to prove.
The question we must ask ourselves is not whether Mastella, Bassolini or anyone else is guilty or innocent in a criminal sense, since this would be up to a judge to decide, but whether or not the time has come to stop playing politics by seeking consensus via the vote market, by carving up, by practicing nepotism, using family ties or practicing clientism, and whether politics is once again to become a service or whether it is to remain an opportunity for power grabbing, in this case via the vote market.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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The only ones for the Rule of Law

I’m publishing the intervention made by Massimo Donadi, the Leader of Italia dei Valori in the Lower House. The transcription of the speech has been taken from the records typed up in the Lower House. The speech was applauded only by people of Italia dei Valori.
In this whole affair what is disconcerting is recognizing that Italia dei Valori (and a few other deputies) are isolated in the defence of the Magistracy and of the Rule of Law.
"Signor President, signor President of the Council, we appreciated it when, in your speech, you called for the autonomy and the independence of the magistracy. However, signor President of the Council, we believe that governing means, always and above all, to take on to the full, the responsibility to give solid responses to the needs of the Country. Well, we believe that today the Country needs to know from the President of the Council whether or not it is true that in this country there are fringes of the magistracy who try to knock down their political adversaries (Applause from the deputies of the Italia dei Valori group). The Country needs to know whether…”

Read the whole text

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 16, 2008

Applause from the Caste

Parliament is nude before the country. Apart from a few deputies it has lined up to support the thesis of a Minister of Justice who is attacking the magistracy. So called representatives of a sovereign people, but Italia dei Valori was not among them. They applauded a speech that was subversive. A speech that gives the label “extremist fringes” to the judges who have placed Mastella’s wife under house arrest for abuse of power and have laid formal accusations against many representatives of the UDEUR. An “a priori” applause, without knowing, without even being aware of the motivation of the magistrates. The applause of the Caste. The solidarity shown by Prodi to Mastella can have value from a human point of view. However from a political point of view it is a great error. It associates him with the sly solidarity expressed by the Centre Right, by people like Bondi and Cicchitto.
The image that the deputies are giving to the general public is that of a delegitimised, dirty Parliament.
It must always be kept in mind that the parliamentarians have not been elected with the direct preference and that they are responding to the party apparatus not to the Italian people.
The Constitutional Court has given back to the citizens, the chance to speak, by approving the electoral referendum. This is good news for democracy.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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Mastella’s resignation

photo from repubblica.it
I am expressing my human understanding for the affair that relates to the wife of Minister Mastella. It is equally to be appreciated the sense of responsibility and the institutional correctness that led the Minister of Justice to announce to Parliament his resignation. It is a gesture that we are sure will contribute to keeping the atmosphere calm and it will keep the field clear of base instrumentalisation.
Having said that, we of Italia dei Valori cannot but keep our distance from the words pronounced by the Minister, when he talked about clockwork justice, about judges who try to bring down their political foes, or of magistrates who take hostages. We have not tolerated these words when others have used this type of discourse and we cannot accept them now, if we are to be coherent, from the one who is currently the Minister of Justice, even because, when you think this of the Italian Magistracy, it becomes difficult for you to carry out with the necessary balance, a role that is as sensitive as that of Minister of Justice.
Finally, I repeat, even on this occasion, the concept according to which when you have an issue with the system of justice, you have to defend yourself inside the tribunal and not outside.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 15, 2008

Free elections, freedom of information

The battle raging about the conflict of interests has for some time seen Italia dei Valori stand out. The Centre Left in the previous legislatures did very little for the freedom of information in the country. The Gentiloni law is certainly not the solution but it would represent a signal the government is aware of the issues. It is certainly “criminal” to make the electoral reform subject to the acceptance of the Gentiloni law. Many times I have underlined the position of Italia dei Valori: that it will not betray its own voters, that the location for debating this, is and will remain the Italian Parliament and that the people to be involved are the parliamentarians.

I am publishing an interview given to today’s La Stampa about both of these topics:
La Stampa: Minister Di Pietro have you heard what Berlusconi said. The Gentiloni law is “criminal”?
Antonio Di Pietro: For those of us in Italia dei Valori it’s already a baseline. When we discuss it in Parliament we will try to make it significantly stronger. Anyway the draft law of the Minister of Communications both logically and politically, had to come before the discussion of electoral reform. Then the referendum came along, but for IdV {Italia dei Valori} the themes of incompatibility, of conflict of interests and of Berlusconi’s excessive TV power are priorities. We consider it to be nonsensical to sell off the law about the TV in exchange for a “yes” from Forza Italia to electoral reform.

La Stampa:Of the two, the most important…
Antonio Di Pietro:The electoral law is for the elections; to have elections without resolving the conflict of interests and Berlusconi’s TV power, would give rise to parliamentarians who would never do that reform as it should be done. Whether we like it or not, Berlusconi’s conflict of interests exists: no one wants to take away his right to do politics and to govern, if the majority of voters are behind him. However, first of all we want to give a minimum of democratic rules: either you can be a politician, or you can be an entrepreneur in the field of communications. And in any case, let us not forget that he is abusively using a channel that has been properly assigned to Di Stefano of Europa 7.

La Stampa:For you who have been a prosecuting magistrate, what’s the meaning of “criminal”?
Antonio Di Pietro:I think of classic crimes like robbery, extortion, … but for me it is politically criminal to do false accounting in a balance sheet, a law that has halved the time limits for “prescrizione” and the "ad personam" regulations.

La Stampa:But to safeguard the fragile dialogue between the two groups wouldn’t it be worthwhile to give up something, including Gentiloni?
Antonio Di Pietro: There’s no doubt that to have a dialogue about the rules of the game is something positive. And I appreciate Veltroni’s institutional sense of responsibility. We of Italia dei Valori are willing to have a 360 degree dialogue even to write the rules of the game together, but it’s not a question of taking a step back on principles of political ethics.

La Stampa:And are you not taking sides in relation to the electoral law?
Antonio Di Pietro: We were disconcerted when we read what Veltroni said to il Corriere della Sera: he said that Italia dei Valori will disappear even if the ideas survive. Well: to have the ideas of the rule of law (after the story of refuse in Campania) represented by the Democratic Party leaves me very perplexed. The Italians must be the ones to decide if IdV is a political force whose ideas must be represented and by whom. Does he want to get rid of us? We’ll see what the Italians say: we will present ourselves with our own lists at the next elections.

La Stampa:Well it depends on the electoral law who will be there. Is that not so?
Antonio Di Pietro: We don’t stand for being classified “little dwarfs”. First of all, because we are not, both in terms of numbers and in terms of proposals. Secondly, because we have collected signatures for the referendum: we are in favour of majority voting, for bipolarism, for prior indication of coalitions and of the candidate for the premiership, for a strong reduction of the number of parties. And we won’t be going to the discussions on electoral law to “save ourselves” by keeping the quorum low. We want a referendum, and we are against the Bianco proposal. We are getting organised to overcome the threshold at the next elections. At the next elections, Italia dei Valori will be present.

La Stampa:Even if that were to bring about the defeat of the Centre Left?
Antonio Di Pietro: We will not sell off our spirit to survive. We are not asking the Democratic Party for a safe haven, by imploring them to give us a tiny space on their lists. If the PD {Democratic Party} does a law aimed at putting us out of the game, let it be known that we will present ourselves and they will loose another million ad a half of the votes. In any case, we won’t be part of a coalition with the maximalist Left or with the pseudo-environmentalists.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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January 14, 2008

Italia dei Valori cuts 890 million

It’s a new year and we have the usual occasion for meeting you.

Today is 11 January and it’s the first Council of Ministers and the first meeting with you. Thus “Happy New Year”. We really need good wishes for the New Year, we citizens, but also we Ministers. We who are “precarious” Ministers who are trying to do our duty and at the same time trying not to be pawns of the system according to which you always say “yes” when the ones talking are of the coalition and you have to always say “no” when they are from the other coalition.

As regards us of Italia dei Valori, this year we are even more committed to the themes we have always been pursuing, that are the generation exchange of those who do politics, who change nothing if they don’t change a few people, the fight against the abnormal waste and cost of politics, the functioning of the public administration, the fight against bureaucracy, transparency and the rule of law.

What did we do in this first Council of Ministers? As regards institutional decisions we did very little, in that we had a decree brought by Padoa-Schioppa relating to some controls by the Bank of Italy, and we put it off because if we put it into action with a decree law it would have crowded out Parliament that already has to deal with other things and then it would have ended up in festive spirit.

We should have done the reform of the honorary judges, a draft law presented by the colleague Mastella, but there is still too much tension regarding a fundamental issue: is it right that those who find themselves in a judging role without having taken part in a “competition” then end up as judges like those who have done a “competition”? OK I said that in “dipietrese” but that’s the idea. There’s pro and contra, because on the one hand they have the professionalism, on the other hand, they haven’t got through the “competition”. This needs further discussion and it has been put off to another Council of Ministers.
This Council of Ministers stands out more for what wasn’t decided or for what was decided outside the Council of Ministers. Even a few appointments were decided, but I’ll talk to you about these at the right moment, because everything has its “right moment”. Make a note of that.
A lot of things have been done out of the Council of Ministers. There was a meeting of the majority the day before, to look at the economic policy of this country, an important meeting that I would dare to define in a few words as “a joyful and warm meeting of the residents of a condominium” in which everyone found agreement in so many good intentions.
I got left with the bitter taste of understanding if we were all so good was it because we had said as much to “baby Jesus” or because we were afraid of not going home before Carnevale? Is it the fear of abandoning the “armchair” or a sudden explosion of political maturity?
I don’t know because there were 38-39 people. There’s something sweet about these meetings of the majority. Every time we meet, we discover that there’s an extra condominium resident. At the beginning of this legislature, there were 9 of us. Today I found so many people who surely represent themselves, at least with the vote they were not representing. I was present.
Everything that we decided on wages, which is an important thing for workers in regards to taxation was decided in words. Now let us see whether in fact all this will be done.
Another thing has been done by Italia dei Valori: we have shown all the things we managed to get through our actions in this budget law. Since they are so many, I invite you to click on our website to see how we cut the fat of politics.
In this the budget law Italia dei Valori created a saving of nearly one billion euros, 890 million euros, cutting some unnecessary expenses, such as eliminating the "circoscrizioni" in many towns.
Just think there are in Nuoro 13 constituencies for about thirty thousand people.
We were also able to achieve a reduction of 20 million in funding to political parties to make a few prisons. Perhaps it is better to do some prisons rather than give the politicians, maybe they could use them too.
Read on the blog, where you will find the fat of politics, as can be cut. Read it, tell us what you think and what more can be done.

I tagli ai costi della politica

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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Fight against the racketeering

Here is a letter from Leoluca Orlando, National Spokesman for the “Italia dei Valori” party, regarding the draft bill concerning the fight against racketeering.


"Dear Mr. President,
As you well know, we have prepared a draft bill concerning the fight against the phenomenon of extortion and to provide support for the victims, namely, the small businessmen.
This proposal, of which I hereby attach another copy, will have to be discussed with the political parties and the applicable associations, and has already constituted a significant part of the daily meeting of the majority, held at Palazzo Chigi, on the subject of economic development and social equality.
Politicians must decisively support the fight against racketeering and organised crime, which is obtaining some good results, even by means of organic legislative provisions.
Even after the judicial inquiries and the operations carried out by the forces of law and order, and following important initiatives undertaken by public associations and the firm stand taken by Confindustria and other organisations, politicians have not yet made themselves heard.
We cannot allow politics to stand by and appear to be almost embarrassed in admitting that the phenomenon of extortion has spread to many businesses in our country. This phenomenon continues to become more widespread throughout the country and poses a risk to all of the country’s businessmen.
It is unacceptable for politics to entrust the outcome of this type of social drama to the actions of the judiciary, albeit meritorious, or to limit itself to applauding the actions of individual or groups of businessmen. It is for this very reason that we wish to make it legally worthwhile to collaborate in the fight against extortion.
Extortion is fast becoming a veritable “criminal tax”, which must be fought by offering a range of benefits and concessions to those who provide “useful collaboration” in terms of identifying the extortionists and proving their guilt. The proposal in fact envisages significant tax and contribution concessions, as well as full cover against any damage suffered, and State guarantees n order to obtain the necessary credit following criminal damages.
The beneficiaries would be entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, artisans and independent professionals enrolled in the legally sanctioned professional registers, employing less than 15 people or with an annual turnover of less than one million Euro. These are businesses that constitute a significant part of our economic system, namely, the small to medium-size businesses that are mostly exposed and unprotected against the phenomenon of extortion.
The proposal is envisaged to remain valid for a period of one year, after which, time extensions and amendments may be considered in the light of the experience gained and the results achieved.
This is another example of the “Italia dei Valori” party’s contribution to the consolidation of an ethic of responsibility, both individual and collective, a contribution that is not only necessary, but also worthwhile.
In this regard, the proposal envisages the strengthening of existing security systems, including video surveillance, and the strengthening of the police presence on the ground. Amongst the associated potential penalties, the legislation also provides for the possibility of suspending the trading or professional activities of anyone who fails to collaborate, or who fraudulently abuses the legal provisions, for a period ranging from three months to one year.
It is important for us to receive all comments and amendment proposals in order to arrive at a final text.
Kindest regards
Leoluca Orlando"

Download the document

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Justice
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January 12, 2008

Campania: the people that erred must pay

Here is the text of a brief interview I gave for the 20h00 edition of TG1 on Thursday 10 January, regarding the issue of responsibilities in the Campania Region:

David Sassoli: Minister Antonio Di Pietro is here with us this evening. Good evening Minister.
You have heard about the controversy regarding the waste disposal emergency and you have had some harsh things to say about Governor Bassolino. Are you convinced that the governor’s resignation would help in resolving the problem?
Antonio Di Pietro: Firstly, good evening to everyone. You see, I believe that in politics, just as with everything else in life, it is unacceptable to pass the buck by maintaining that someone else is always to blame. The person that made the mistake must bear the consequences, even in politics, and it is wrong for those who have contributed to the error to be called upon to remedy the error. Let me say, with much regret, that Bassolino is not the only individual in this situation and this begs the question “Where has the judiciary been all this time?” Perhaps the courts have been a little lax, conniving or intimidated and have therefore not made use of the iron fist that was needed in order to make the decisions that needed to be made.

David Sassoli: Minister, at the majority summit, you spoke about the economy and the electoral law. What are you most satisfied and what are you least satisfied with? There are great expectations regarding today’s meeting.
Antonio Di Pietro: Firstly, let me talk about the method, and here, please allow me to make a newsworthy point in that the meeting turned out to be both agreeable and one of agreement. A meeting in which we worked very well, although I’m not sure whether there were many good intentions or many good outcomes.

David Sassoli: These are unusual words in terms of political language.
Antonio Di Pietro: Having said this, I am not sure whether it was due to genuine political maturity, a sense of responsibility, or a fear of being sent home. In this regard, however, we accepted the task of re-launching the productivity within the companies and, above all, employee salaries, by allocating significant resources to these areas, in fact, the entire 2008 excess, as well as a series of tax reductions and tax concessions for the most disadvantaged workers and for increasing productivity.
These are the good intentions and I would like to support these with a sense of responsibility and good faith, in the hope that it will be so.
There were many of us, a complete condominium.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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January 10, 2008

Malpensa, an issue to be sorted out

I’m publishing an interview given to today’s il Giornale.
On Monday 15 January in a mini-cabinet we will have a discussion about the reduction in the number of flights for the airport of Malpensa. One thing is clear: we can’t throw to the wind twenty billion in investments in a region that today represents the engine of the economy in this country.
Il Giornale: Many people reckon that Malpensa is not well connected and that this is its main handicap. How do you respond?
Antonio Di Pietro: We have already created a lot of infrastructure, and together with the Region we are in the process of creating more. With the Region, we have had meetings and have done positive things like the “Pedemontana” {Motorway running through the foothills of the mountains}, the connection with the Turin-Milan motorway, the connection to the Fiera{exhibition area in Milan). We have put in a lot of money and anyway, Malpensa is there. For us to ask now whether it was right to put the hub in the heart of the Po valley is like asking whether it was right to build a hospital that exists anyway and is an excellent structure. There would be no sense in closing either one or the other.
Il Giornale: Are you intending to tackle this issue in the Council of Ministers to get clauses safeguarding Malpensa?
Antonio Di Pietro: We will have to see in the Council of Ministers, but the “Tavolo Milano” {Roundtable on Milan} is even more important. At this moment, its function is more sensitive, because it has strict commitments. I will repeat officially the commitments made by the Ministry of Infrastructure.
Il Giornale: In the last few meetings, the “Tavolo Milano” seemed to have little substance. Will you ask for strong commitments?
Antonio Di Pietro: I will repeat that I intend to keep to the completion of the infrastructure connections that are useful for Malpensa. Having said that, I will go and ask what the others intend to do because we don’t intend to construct cathedrals in the desert. I will ask what guarantees they intend to give. We will talk about the issue of Malpensa without regard to the situation of Alitalia or at least we will have a look at what needs to be done regardless of Alitalia.
Il Giornale: The meeting between Bossi and Prodi has not brought great results. Does it seem to you that it would be realistic for the government to defend Malpensa?
Antonio Di Pietro: I don’t know what is realistic. I’m in the habit of looking at that the day after. Actions in defence of Malpensa are in defence of the system of Italy. The intercontinental airport does not just serve Lombardy but the whole country. And it should be considered in reference to what it can become in the future, above all with its insertion in Corridor 5. My commitment is to take action so that Malpensa’s air traffic can grow still more.
Il Giornale: There are those who propose accepting Campania’s rubbish in exchange for guarantees of slots.
Antonio Di Pietro: The two things must be kept separate. I will fight to ensure that Malpensa’s functioning continues. Something like that seems offensive for Campania and for Lombardy. It would be a cattle market.
Il Giornale: How is it possible to keep the intercontinental routes?
Antonio Di Pietro: Thinking of Malpensa’s future only in terms of the slots is reducing the issue. No one is denied four slots. But the problem is the intermodality because we have to be sure that any possible upset doesn’t lead to the whole thing not being used. An interchange is needed, the strengthening of the Ferrovie Nord {Northern Railways} and the connections with Switzerland, the Pedemontana {motorway running through the foothills of the mountains}. After that the slots then come on their own. Already now, there are extra ones that are not being used. Perhaps the problem will be resolved like that. If I were in the Region of Lombardy, I would not rest. The aircraft will come if they find an economy that is fruitful.
Il Giornale: What do you think of Formigoni’s idea for a Northern company?
Antonio Di Pietro: I don’t know. When I see it functioning I will see. Even “Volare” was a Northern company and it flew straight into the hands of the bankruptcy court. In itself, it is neither good, nor bad.
Il Giornale: And a mixed State-Region company on the business model of the Cal for the Lombardy motorways?
Antonio Di Pietro: It’s not my job to say.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Economy
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January 09, 2008

Pianura, Italy

I’m publishing a letter I’ve received from Eugenio Cocozza, a citizen of Pianura:
“Signor Minister Antonio Di Pietro,
I am turning to you with the deference and the respect that is due to your position and to your person.
The one writing is an Italian citizen who is unlucky enough to live in the neighbourhood of the Pianura rubbish tip and who has felt the need to go out in the streets to make a civil protest about its reopening. Many people are indignant because a part of the population of Pianura has dared to oppose the reopening of the rubbish tip by using “violence”. However, I would like to tell you about certain aspects of this decision to reopen it that are no less “violent”.
Signor Minister, none of those in the Campania Region who have been handling the refuse emergency over the last 14 years have felt the need to say sorry to the citizens of Campania and especially to those of Pianura who for half a century have accepted refuse from the Region of Campania and from the North of Italy. This also includes clandestine refuse, the so-called special refuse, the kind that makes you land up in the cancer departments of half of Italy. The Pianura neighbourhood, for what it has given in all these years should have deserved to be transformed into a small Switzerland rather than be handed over by Politics and by the Institutions to the camorra and to degradation.”

Read the whole text..

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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January 07, 2008

Avis and Dracula in Campania

We need to go from words to action. As work at the Regional Assembly starts up again, Italia dei Valori will present a motion of no confidence in relation to governor Bassolino.

I’m publishing here an interview that I gave for today’s Il Giornale.

Antonio Di Pietro: It’s nonsensical continuing to entrust the case of the refuse in Campania to the one who caused it. It’s like handing over Avis to Dracula.

Il Giornale: If your motion gets passed, there’ll be the need for new elections, Minister.
Antonio Di Pietro: OK new elections, then. There’s a special committee that will work on the emergency. In Campania there’s the need for a generational change of the political class: in Naples the “no” party has always been in power. Now it’s time for many to examine their conscience.

Il Giornale: Are you also referring to your colleagues in the Government?
Antonio Di Pietro: Certainly. The ones to start examining their conscience are the Minister of the Environment, Pecoraro and the Minister of Justice, Mastella, who has been a local leader for decades. They cannot stand back. I would like there to be a deep reflection in Campania. A reflection like that in Lombardy that has given rise to the “doing party” in which everyone makes themselves available to solve problems. In contrast, In Naples, each one is working to block the others. The result is a flow of money that has been spent on committees, research, conferences, groups, with the associated clientelism and nepotism. It’s the moment to pull out the plug. We of Italia dei Valori are the only party of the Centre Left that has not been a part of the regional government. We are taking the responsibility for this on ourselves.

Il Giornale: Bassolino is accusing you of being irresponsible in asking for his resignation.
Antonio Di Pietro: Arrogance like that is a sign that he has no further points to offer to the discussion. It is good that the government has decided to tackle the issue directly. Up until now the governments have dealt with it in the only way allowed by the Constitution, that entrusts the Region with the disposal of refuse: they have made financial resources available and they have appointed commissioners. It’s right that they now go and see where that flow of money has landed up, lost in a thousand tiny trickles of clientelism, inefficiency and bags of bad practice. And the massive political responsibility is all down to Bassolino.

Il Giornale: And yet until this last dramatic emergency, the position of the governor has never been in question. How is that?
Antonio Di Pietro: I was astounded yesterday when I watched the Tg1 {News on RAI one): for them, the news was that Bassolino was accusing me of being irresponsible! There is obviously an anomaly here. Even on the left there is a caste of untouchables. The politics of appearance and of image is not just about Berlusconi’s lifting, but also the pretend “goody-goody”-ness of the Centre Left.

Previous articles: Bassolino must resign
Campania: sciogliere il consiglio regionale (www.italiadeivalori.it)
Bassolino maggiore responsabile (www.italiadeivalori.it)
Rifiuti: assenza delle istituzioni (www.italiadeivalori.it)
Eco-balle (www.italiadeivalori.it)
Appalti truccati in Campania (www.italiadeivalori.it)

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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January 06, 2008

Bassolino must resign

Here is an interview I granted SkyTG24.

After 10 years of centre-left government in Naples, the model has failed and, irrespective of whether or not there was good faith shown and whether or not the people are good, there is a certain responsibility that must be accepted.
One must be the type of person that delivers political results, or else one must resign. This said, Bassolino would do well to resign.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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January 05, 2008

The pardon, as seen by the Espresso

The Espresso magazine on display at the newsvendors has dedicated its front page and its main article, written by Riccardo Bocca, to the “Odissea Carcere” inquest. Anyone reading this article after returning to Italy after a few years away, and thus not fully aware of what has transpired in his/her absence, would certainly get a wrong impression of what has occurred.
My party has done everything in its power, certainly more so than any other party, to prevent the law on pardons from being approved. I have proclaimed its futility in terms of resolving the problem of prison overcrowding, which has in fact, in little more than a year, returned to its pre-pardon levels.
I said, and wrote, at the time that this law would only serve to keep corrupt officials and partisan smart alecs out of jail, rather than to release thousands of common or garden delinquents, most of whom, immediately after their release, went straight back to a life of crime (70% according to the Espresso). I also said that the pardon was sending a clear signal to anyone wishing to come and commit crimes in our Country. Those citizens who have become victims of crime and the policemen, and judges that have worked tirelessly to enforce the law, have paid for the price of the pardon. The only ones to enjoy the benefits have been the political parties, both on the right wing and the left wing, which have avoided seeing their supporters incarcerated.


The Espresso article, after having illustrated the explosion in the numbers of people incarcerated, defines the pardon as: “The synthesis of a failed provision, which is an indictment against those that failed to vote for it (like the An and the Lega)”. The “Italia dei Valori” party is not mentioned, nor am I mentioned personally. I am fully expecting that, at some future stage, it will be written that I am the one that proposed the pardon and that Mastella was the one that opposed it.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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January 04, 2008

Law 194, useless discussions

The revision of the abortion law, law 194, is one of the main political debates of the beginning of 2008. As far as I am concerned, a woman should not have an abortion, but I don’t claim that my choices should have precedence over decisions made by other people.
I reckon that the law 194, even with its imperfections, present anyway in all the other laws, should not be modified. I don’t see reasons why it should. Law 194 has functioned. I don’t think there is any doubt about this. And it has protected the liberty of thousands of women to be in charge of their own lives. The current debate has two aspects that disturb me as a citizen and as a politician. The first is that a discussion about civil rights is being influenced and perhaps being directed by religion. The second is that with all the unresolved problems in the country, and there are thousands of them, there’s debate (and the waste of precious time) about a law that is working, a law that was approved by Italians in a referendum. The image that the political class is giving out, one more time, is to be living in a different world, isolated and far off from the Italians and their expectations.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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January 03, 2008

Ecopass in Milano, a starting point

From today, the most polluting cars will have to pay for a pass called Ecopass to go into the centre of Milan.
Letizia Moratti has been strongly in favour of this tax to reduce pollution and she has introduced this even against part of her own majority. The outcomes of this Pass can be evaluated in the next few months, but this measure is anyway a strong signal of a change of direction in the occupation of the city by private vehicles and thus in the emission of poisons in industrial quantities into the air. Letizia Moratti has had the courage to “do” something. This is rare in a country that is dominated by chatter. It’s possible that the measures are only partially effective, but it is a starting point.
My opinion is that in Milan, as in the other most important cities, the historical centre should be closed to private vehicles and that the use of alternating registration plates for being on the road, is a simple and effective remedy against the traffic as well as the introduction of electric public transport vehicles, including taxis as well as safe cycle tracks. But it’s necessary to start somewhere, and this is why I thank mayor Moratti for having brought in the Ecopass in Milan. It has already shown itself to be very effective in other big cities in the world, as for example in London.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Society
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January 01, 2008

Happy New Year for 2008!

The last day of the year is the moment to take stock and to make new resolutions.
The year 2007 has been a year of hi-lights and lo-lights for the Government. The hi-lights are that it has ensured stability in the country and it has stopped the hemorrhaging of the economy that was started by the previous government. Without money we can go nowhere and the priority has been to avoid the bankruptcy of the State.
However, a Nation cannot just be based on the economy. It is not a company. And this is where we see the negative points especially in relation to promises that have been made to the electorate and not carried out. I will list those that I would like to see being tackled by the Government with the utmost energy in 2008. The deaths at work are the top priority, deaths at work are not a surprise. The ThyssenKrupp company with its unending list of deaths saw the most recent one just today which is the umpteenth episode. The penalties must be dramatically increased and the number of inspectors increased. Anyone who causes the death of a worker because of lack of care must end up in prison with no discounts and no pardons.
For the very survival of democracy, the news industry cannot be controlled by political parties. Those who are doing politics must not have any control over the media, or like Berlusconi be actually the owner. In the year 2008, I hope (and I will do everything possible to make this true) that the reform of the radio and the TV and the rules concerning the conflict of interests are finally sorted out and brought to a conclusion.
Electoral reform must be tackled “from the viewpoint of the citizens” who must be in a position to choose their own candidates and to no longer have convicted felons representing them in Parliament. Furthermore, the process of defining the new law must be transparent. It’s not a question of power games for the seats, but of defining the rules for democratic elections.
Enterprise is another emergency. Today we are seeing the continual shifting of production to other countries. But this means eliminating jobs in Italy. It’s pure arithmetic. We need to give incentives to the entrepreneurs to invest and to stay in Italy by slimming down the paperwork and reducing the tax burden. It is a paradox that the foreign companies don’t come here and ours go abroad. This process cannot go on for a long time without causing unemployment and the withering of the industrial fabric of the country.
The final point, perhaps the most important one is to give back to the citizens the trust in the Justice system. The episodes with Forleo and De Magistris are just the tip of the iceberg of a justice system in great difficulty and ever more subject to the political system. The machinery of justice is creaking because that is what the parties wanted after “Clean Hands”. The result is that in Italy, almost no one serves out a complete prison sentence, whether they have committed false accounting, corruption or simple theft.
Safety at work, news, electoral law, the relaunch of enterprise, Justice. These are 5 topics to be tackled and resolved. This is my wish for the year 2008.

Postato da Antonio Di Pietro in Information
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