Antonio Di Pietro - Cambiare l’Italia

29 September 2010

They won’t have satisfaction

This afternoon I’ll broadcast live using direct streaming, my speech in the Lower House in reply to the speech of a President of the Council in his twilight days and to explain the reasons why we will not vote “yes” to the umpteenth confidence measure for this government.

Below I’m publishing part of my intervention last night at Porta a Porta. It’s a part that I feel is extremely important for rebuffing the attacks of politicians and journalists that in recent months have been attempting, and who will make every sort of attempt in the future, to put myself and Beppe Grillo one against the other in accordance with the ancient strategy of “divide and rule”. Italia dei Valori is not going to fall into this silly trap.

Text of the intervention

I’m not falling into the trap that would like to set Beppe Grillo against Di Pietro and Di Pietro against Beppe Grillo. Neither I myself nor Italia dei Valori considers the 5 Star Movement to be an adversary. But we believe it is a useful ally to open the eyes of the Italians in relation to a political drifting made up of cultivating your own interests. For this reason, I feel that the blame for what is happening is not to be laid on Grillo who is starting to move into politics, nor of all those who demonstrate and decide to form a campaign group and to move into Parliament. If the parties are afraid of Grillo it means that they are not able to represent an element of trust for the citizens. Grillo has indicated important topics that are in the DNA of Italia dei Valori and in its political activity. We have collected signatures for the referenda to say no to “nuclear”, to “the privatisation of water” and to the “legitimate impediment”. In Parliament, we of Italia dei Valori are the only ones taking forward this battle. If someone else arrives, they are very welcome. Today what is a priority, for the good of the country and of democracy, is to liberate ourselves from the P2-ist model of government. I believe that it’s necessary to construct an alternative that has to have coherence about a choice: the fact that convicted people cannot be candidates. Furthermore, it’s necessary that this alternative is based on a coherent programme that we are constructing together, that we have initiated at Vasto, a programme to be shared with the other parties. This is the choice that I have made. In relation to Grillo’s ideas, I am choosing another route. So as to win elections, not just as a way of protesting.

Let’s pension him off

Tomorrow Berlusconi will intervene at Montecitorio. He will present a document with 5 points, all of which are for the exclusive advantage of the “Caste” and not for the majority of the Italians.
Some media have reported three of the thoughts from the President of the Council that confirm, if there were still the need, the state of confusion that he has been drifting into for some time.

«We have to talk about the growth of the country, to claim the good things that we have done and to distance ourselves from this discredited way of doing politics.»

Three nonsenses in a single sentence: Berlusconi has no interest in the growth of the country but in the growth in the turnover of the family companies. Berlusconi cannot claim "good things" because the activity of his government has been disastrous in every aspect. Berlusconi cannot distance himself from this discredited way of doing politics, because he is its most important creator.
Tomorrow he is expected in the lower House. He will be speaking on the day of his 74th birthday. And for this, I believe that it is OK to give him a great present: let’s pension him off to take care of his grandchildren, because the Country no longer needs people like him.
The Majority elected by the Italians in 2008, no longer exists. The PDL no longer exists. Any form of support to this government is just a badly placed patch. The seven deputiesi that have left the UDC and API provide confirmation of a sick political system, that is not dealing with the problems of the people and that is aiming at a single objective: power.
But this cannot be enough. This government has to go home as soon as possible, so that a new governing component can try to reanimate the Country.
Italia dei Valori has already presented a “no confidence” motion against this Government. To vote on it, it’s necessary to have the signatures of 63 deputies and we have just 24. So far we have not managed to get the support from the other parties that, even daily, are talking about Berlusconi-ism as the most serious epoch since the war. The battle against this government needs to be carried forward with actions, not just with words. Tomorrow could be the opportunity to do this. Anyone who stays at the starting line has no justification: he is a Berlusconi-accomplice and he has no right to criticise him.

28 September 2010

The effects of bad practice in politics

In the last few years, according to the CGIL report on the crisis in salaries, Italian employees have lost 5,453 euro in purchasing power.
It’s a worrying figure. The umpteenth in the last few months. Italians are poorer. To lose nearly 5,500 euro in ten years makes the already depressing condition of Italian employees even worse, in position 23 in the classification of the OECD area for salaries, worse than Ireland and Greece.
Galloping unemployment is affecting one young Italian person in three and the National Collective Work Contracts {Contratti Collettivi Nazionali del Lavoro = CCNL} of many categories are not renewed punctually. And if from the real economy such a negative figure on purchasing power is emerging, it means that not only the CCNLs are not being brought up to date and renewed, but it’s as though wages were subjected to downgrade.
In such a serious situation, at the start of a really hot autumn for the Italian economy because of the end dates of the social security arrangements, the Government has allowed itself the luxury of doing without a Minister of Economic Development for a good 146 days. Certainly, I am definitely not convinced that a Minister appointed by Berlusconi could resolve things. Even because at the moment, the only actions coming out of that Ministry have been to make things easier for Mediaset. Basically, anything but the interests of the country, the premier is making laws for his own personal use. This is why I am convinced that the only hope is to send home the whole government. And fast.
The Italian economy has to change pace, because that’s what is required by the global economy. The system of production needs redesigning, because by now it’s impossible to think of competing with countries that have strong expansion like India and China. The Italian public debt will soon reach the level of 200 billion euro. We are living in a Nation that is no longer ours.
To save the life of a desperate patient as is the country of Italy, it’s necessary to send away "dracula-Berlusconi" from the Accident and Emergency section. This Government, struggling with an enormous conflict of interest, has plastered up the Nation on 4-5 laws. No one deals with workers any more, with the middle ranks who are ever more at risk of poverty, with the young people who have no future.
The day after tomorrow, in the Lower House, there’s a unique opportunity: we can send home this government. They are close to committing suicide and you can see that from their behaviour and from their use of the usual techniques: media confusion - that is, by raising the ante on “nothing” to shift the attention. Thus we are obliged to absorb Bossi’s insults, when it is he, biologically speaking, who is the true insult, or the dossier-making on Fini.
Anyone who votes in their favour on the day after tomorrow, is just their accomplice. And that is just enough to belong to that circle of politicians who don’t care a fig for the country.

26 September 2010

Fini don’t become an accomplice of the blackmailer

The story of the property in Monte Carlo no longer convinces anyone. I believe that it is really the time to finish this playacting: let Fini ask his brother-in-law for the name of the actual person with whom he negotiated the tenancy contract for that apartment, because you cannot imagine that signor Tulliani in Rome happened to know by chance that a gentleman from Santa Lucia was renting a home. He evidently knew it in Rome at the moment when the property was sold. It’s time that we know the full name of the owner and how much he paid for it. Anyone who has such an important political position has the duty to say this. I believe that right now we are faced with a squalid affair between a blackmailer and one who is being blackmailed: that above all, the blackmailer must be placed in a position in which he can no longer blackmail, after the various precedents that have marked out his way of being, and I am referring to the Berlusconi government. If Fini doesn’t want to assume the role of one who is being blackmailed, he has the duty next week to vote “no confidence” in Berlusconi because otherwise, he will become not just one who is being blackmailed but also a moral accomplice of the blackmailer.

Below there’s an interview I gave that is published in ‘Il Riformista’.

Antonio Di Pietro: “Today Fini made an accurate diagnosis of Berlusconi. After 15 years, he makes it clear that he has finally realized who “il Cavaliere” is. At this point I am wondering why he doesn’t withdraw his confidence in him.”

Il Riformista: Now you’ve asked the question, are you going to respond?
Antonio Di Pietro: “The response is that having opened one’s eyes in relation to Berlusconi, today, for Fini , is an aggravating circumstance not an extenuating circumstance. I am saying this clearly. If for15 years he has been an unknowing ally, and let’s make out that we believe that, now he is an accomplice. If before he was a pretend ‘ignorant person’, in the sense that he pretended to not know the true nature of “il Cavaliere”, now he is an accomplice.”

Il Riformista: Are you saying that Fini is blackmailable?
Antonio Di Pietro: “Unless he wants to have it believed that he is a victim of the ‘Stockholm syndrome …’ You see, apart from the documents that have been rigged, here we are faced with 2 crimes. ‘Extortion’, article 629 of the criminal code, and perhaps even ‘private violence’. But the basic problem is that there is a President of the Council who is a blackmailer and a President of the Lower House who is being blackmailed.”

Il Riformista: Do you believe that the really famous document of Santa Lucia is a fake?
Antonio Di Pietro: “Apart from the fake, it’s possible to suspect that the facts told there are true.”

Il Riformista: And that is that the apartment in Monte Carlo is really owned by Tulliani?
Antonio Di Pietro: “Otherwise so many things could not be explained. In the background of that apartment there’s a specific surname: Tul-lia-ni. Now, if I were Fini, a month and a half ago I would have got the brother-in-law and said: Tullià would you like to tell me who on earth rented this apartment to you? Can you kindly tell us who is behind those off-shore companies? If the President of the Lower House has not done this, there’ll be a reason, won’t there? Anyway, if things were all in order, it would be enough for Fini’s brother-in-law to fish out the tenancy agreement and the affair would have finished there. Whereas …”

Il Riformista: Whereas?
Antonio Di Pietro: “Instead we are at such a point that Fini no longer has the peace of mind to preside over the Chamber of Deputies in an impartial way. He is being blackmailed by Berlusconi, who is still aiming at getting the constitutional Lodo Alfano onto the agenda for the discussions in parliament. ”

Il Riformista: Are you asking for Fini to leave the position of President of the Chamber at Montecitorio?
Antonio Di Pietro: “We are faced with an anomaly. We can no longer go on like this.”

...

25 September 2010

5-Star Woodstock live from Cesena

Today is the start of the 5-Star Woodstock in Cesena, an event organised on the Web by Beppe Grillo and his Movement. I have decided to also broadcast the two days’ proceedings via live streaming on my blog because, notwithstanding the operational differences between the Italia dei Valori and the members of the Grillo movement, I fully support these youngsters’ guidelines.
In recent days I have noted widespread attempts create a rift between me and Beppe, but I can assure you that these attempts will not succeed.
The Italia dei Valori party will always support initiatives such as the 5-Star Woodstock event because they prove that an ever increasing number of Italian citizens are beginning to pull up their noses at Berlusconi and his Government. Their eyes are being opened!
Dear Beppe, they try to tell us that our op position is too harsh, but you know only too well that even this is not enough! We need to do even more and, the more we oppose them, the more we will be able to prick the people’s consciences.

24 September 2010

United against the devious hidden powers

Dear promoters of the NoBDay2-Yes to the Constitution event,
It is with great pleasure that I read your letter addressed to all the opposition party secretaries and I can assure you that the Italia dei Valori party will obviously lend every possible bit of support that we can to your initiative, as we have always done in the past.
We must all stand together in order to defeat the devious hidden powers of the P3 and we have to give the current berlusconism a hefty shove out of the way.

As regards the three points that you are proposing, we of the IDV are one hundred percent behind you. As a matter of fact, we have proposed that certain changes be made to the current electoral law in order to end up with a regulation that enables the Country’s citizens to choose their own representatives in Parliament. Some time ago, we already tabled a bill regarding conflicts of interest and we believe that when this majority finally collapses, the voters should be the ones that elect a new one, one without any fiddles or horse trading.
The Constitution is our Bible and we will continue to defend it for all we’re worth.
We will support this demonstration with every means at our disposal and, to this end, we assure you of all our logistical support down in the streets, as well as media visibility on all our websites and our online television services on WebDv.it, which will broadcast the event live. Our regional representatives have already been mobilised and will be taking part in the event.

I sincerely hope that the other parties and organisations that have expressed their support will do likewise and I also hope that Bersani, who has thus far remained stubbornly silent regarding this initiative, will now respond to the calls from his members and will, once and for all, end this embarrassing silence and come out clearly and say that he and the Democratic Party also support this public festival aimed at protesting loudly and clearly against Berlusconi and the berlusconism in this Country.

23 September 2010

Open letter to the people who vote for the Lega

I want to send an open letter to the people who vote for the Lega, because I have the impression that you don’t know what your representatives in parliament and in the government are doing in Rome.
Do you know what happened yesterday? Parliament was busy voting on the authorisation to proceed for some parliamentarians who have been accused by the magistracy of various crimes, some of which are collusion with organised crime, with the Camorra.
Yesterday in parliament , there was the decision whether, on the part of the magistrates it was possible to carry out the investigations into the former undersecretary of the Economy, Nicola Cosentino: parliament decided “no”, that is that the magistracy must not have the tools needed to investigate Cosentino. Do you know, you who vote for the Lega, with whose votes this was possible in parliament, to put a stop to the investigation into Cosentino for being close to the Camorra? With the votes of the LEGA. The very ones who say that they want to cut off the head of the Camorra. And that’s not all: do you know what was then decided? There was a decision as to whether to give authorisation to proceed to the Court of Accounts against the old “arnesi” {disreputable types} of the First Republic that while carrying out their functions, are alleged to have caused damage to the collection of taxes, that is damage to the State. Do you want a few names? De Lorenzo, Di Donato, Crippa, do you remember them? They were those Ministers of the First Republic, people who ended up in the Mani Pulite {Clean Hands} investigation, and even convicted, then getting “timed out “ under the Statute of Limitations and other stuff. Well, the Court of Accounts is saying to these gentlemen: you have to give back the money that you wasted, that you administered badly. But parliament said “NO”: you the Court of Accounts cannot judge them. Do you know with which votes this decision was made? With the votes of the Lega, of the LEGA! I am saying to you, “People of the North” that you cannot see these old codgers of the First Republic that have impoverished the country and piled up the debts of the State. Thus we cannot put them on trial, we cannot even get them to pay back the money because the Lega made its contribution in saying NO.
There was also a discussion of the requests by the magistracy in relation to Silvio Berlusconi himself and to Cirino Pomicino … because they have said the most obscene things about other parliamentarians. Do you know what the Lega said? Another NO, if they are in our coalition they can defame whoever they want; and even in the case of Silvio Berlusconi, it’s OK to attack an editorial group like l’Espresso, by saying to the entrepreneurs when he attended their meeting, don’t accept advertising for that editorial group. So there, you continue to vote for the Lega, but the Lega in Rome is behaving like Alì Baba and the 40 thieves: there they are telling you fibs, in Rome they are stealing your bread!

22 September 2010

The untouchables can defame

This morning the Chamber of Deputies refused to give the authorisation to proceed against Silvio Berlusconi, saying that his affirmations (defaming myself) made during an episode of the programme "Porta a Porta" were unchallengeable. The President of the Council, on that occasion had expressed serious doubts about my degree in jurisprudence calling me a liar. A fact that confirms the untouchability of some, in a Country where democracy no longer exists. Below I’m reporting my intervention during the session.

Everyone knows that the right to criticise is one thing that no one wants to take away from anyone and another thing is a fact. It’s not possible to say things that are historically false. I want it to be that what happens with the verdicts given in the tribunals, also happens in Parliament. That is that Berlusconi like others in this Chamber have told lies when they have affirmed that I didn’t have the original certificate of my degree. Here they are saying that I have not obtained a degree. Berlusconi has affirmed something false knowing that it was false when he affirmed that I presented a number of degree certificates that were different from each other. He affirmed what is false saying that I got my degree in 3 years. I got my degree exactly within the timeframe set out by the state university of Milan and I got a degree in the first session because I studied and I passed. Berlusconi said what is false when he affirmed that at Montenero di Bisaccia the only person with a degree was the pharmacist. He is insulting all the citizens of that village whether or not they have a degree. Berlusconi said what is false when he said that my degree was handed to me by the services.
By refusing the authorisation to proceed against Berlusconi, this Parliament is violating the Constitution because it is allowing a parliamentarian to be defamed by telling lies. So, let it be written in black on white, once and for all, that the facts have to be true and that this Parliament, only out of hate for a political force and for a person that has been a magistrate, is violating the Constitution, allowing the defamation of a deputy by telling lies. You should be ashamed. ”