19 November 2008

Supervisory Committee of the RAI: political corruptor

I’m publishing the video and the text of my speech during Italia dei Valori’s press conferences on the issue of the Supervisory Committee of the RAI.

"Italia dei Valori has taken note, once more, that there is a veto in place towards this political group, actioned by the President of the Council, by the Government, by a good part of the parliamentary majority and even by splinters of the Opposition.
Italia dei Valori is a political group present in Parliament because it has been elected by the Italian people, and in a democracy it is necessary to respect the vote of the citizens. We ask whether what is subversive is the behaviour of Italia dei Valori or the behaviour of the President of the Council, of his mates, or that lump of power that Leoluca Orlando talked about when he spoke of the origins of this story and the reason for these facts.
This is why, as Italia dei Valori, we are leaving the Supervisory Committee of the RAI and we will go round the country so that the voters and the citizens, having heard both versions, can decide for themselves whether what is subversive is our behaviour or that of the majority.
On this occasion, what I am keen to say, even because completely falsified information has been spread about, is that there is no question of a day of reckoning with the Democratic Party, nor with Walter Veltroni. I personally thank the Democratic Party and its Secretary, I also thank the UDC and all the Opposition parties, who have coherently tried to keep alive a democratic principle, by which parliamentary practice sees that the President of the Supervisory Committee of the RAI is chosen by the Opposition. In relation to them, we have absolutely no recriminations, but simply sincere thanks.
Personally I believe that Walter Veltroni and the Democratic Party are victims just as Italia dei Valori is. Twice victims, because offended externally and betrayed internally. We are not going to fall into the trap of those, as I have been able to read in the quality newspapers, who are waiting for us to have the day of reckoning.
Our exit from the Supervisory Committee of the RAI is done with a sense of responsibility so that that Committee can take on the responsibilities and the tasks due to it. We are delegating to Secretary Walter Veltroni, the candidate President of the Oppositions, the task of identifying with the other Oppositions, not with Italia dei Valori, a shared solution for the presidency, well knowing that if the currently nominated President, Villari, remains, that he is the President of the Majority, and not of the Oppositions. In this way I believe that the ambiguous position of Villari is revealed, because there is no longer any reason for the existence of his nomination to that position.
From now on, and precisely to avoid any misunderstanding, we believe it is correct that the choice of candidate for the position of President should be made by Secretary Veltroni. We will not intervene in any way in relation to the naming of the President who would have to substitute Villari, always assuming he resigns. Obviously it could not be someone from Italia dei Valori, as we are no longer in the Supervisory Committee.
We will tell the story, in Italy and in the world, of what is happening in this country so that people can be aware in time of the antidemocratic drift that is occupying power.
I am immediately denouncing the existence and the continuing existence of a political corruptor who is called Silvio Berlusconi. Many times he has been under the scrutiny of the magistrates and he has always got by with “ad personam” and other devices, in relation to accusations of corruption. It is the magistracy that will examine the judicial corruption, and it is certain that he is a political corruptor. He tried to corrupt me when he offered me a position as Minister. He tried to corrupt Leoluca Orlando when in recent weeks, he offered him a position, he tried and he probably succeeded in corrupting Villari, because if he voted for him it is because first he called him in.
If then, someone in the Majority, or even the President of the Council himself, does not believe this, let them even denounce me to the magistrates, and we can probably find some evidence to take before them.
He is a political corruptor who buys power and who has to oblige all of us, who want neither to be put on sale nor to give up, to join forces so that Italian citizens can make themselves aware of the danger that democracy is going through. This is the reason why, starting with the Region of Abruzzo, we are asking Italian citizens whether they intend to give up or to keep on resisting."

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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14 November 2008

Argentine Dictatorship

I’m publishing the video and the official transcript of Italia dei Valori’s voting intentions on the 2009 finance law.

” Signor President of the Council, or rather signor President Videla, you are truly a head of Government on Argentine lines. You have humiliated Parliament and you continue to humiliate it with sleight of hand that violates every rule of parliamentary democracy. Only a few moments ago, you have instigated and put into effect the latest provocative action that is promoting an antidemocratic drift, namely the appointment as president of the Supervisory Committee of the RAI of a person chosen by your majority. I am saying this to those who are listening to this live: this parliamentary majority has had the arrogance even to chose who must represent the Opposition. It is a matter of behaviour that is just typical of Argentine Dictatorships (Applause from the deputies of the Italia dei Valori group, from the deputies of the Democratic Party and the Union of the Centre groups)

...


You, Signor President of the Council, starting from the beginning, you have told such enormous lies and made such colossal false statements, even in relation to the Alitalia affair. You said that you had as buyers, a group of ardently patriotic Italians, and instead the company went bust. You stated that you had Italians ready to buy it, and instead you just had a handful of your friends, most of whom were inveterate and persistent financial speculators, who have bought with small change, all the assets of the company, while the debts and the liabilities, including the 300 million in bridging loan that today should be paid for by the old company – and therefore us – have to be paid for by all the Italian citizens.

...


Do you know why Alitalia has been valued at such a low figure? Sure that you know, they are all your friends!

...


In our country there are millions of citizens who are dying because they have no work and nothing to eat. I conclude: Signor President of the Council, in these conditions you cannot continue to behave like that caricature of Hitler that Chaplin presented so well, when he showed him so wrapped up with playing with the globe of the world as though it were a football. You cannot continue to play with the lives of Italians, giving them the impression each day that everything is going well, while the country is in flames. (Applause from the deputies of the Italia dei Valori group and from the deputies of the Democratic Party group).”

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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12 November 2008

The slave trade

There is no doubt that the interruption of a public service job is not to be hoped for. There is no doubt that it is not just a battle by the pilots as the media would have us believe, but of all the Alitalia workers who have been taken for a ride because in the agreement there was an agreed methodology for deciding who to lay off, whereas now in the contract they want to do the selection of the “race”.

It seems like going back to the time of the slave trade, when the young were chosen to work, while the old people were thrown into the sea. The relationship that this government has tried to set up with the Alitalia employees is not that of employer-employee but of master-slave.

I am appealing to the government not to close the door with an arrogance that is typical of a “Putinian Government”, but to help the workers to reach a shared agreement with the CAI.
Transport is a right of the citizens, and should be guaranteed, but we cannot ask the workers to take the blame for the fault of others.

Some people say that Italia dei Valori encouraged the workers to go on strike, but that is not true. Whereas, to line up against abuse of power is a duty of every parliamentarian. In the relationship between the CAI and the workers, there’s imbalance. I am reprimanding the government that is taking no interest in finding a role as a peace maker, but rather it is encouraging the clash.

As regards certain whispers that say that some of the CAI partners are also partners of the Leonardo Bank, an advisor that has been defined as independent and chosen to evaluate the assets of the flagship company, last week I asked a written question in the House and I have received no reply from the government. Silence is consent.
However, I wonder how the valuation of the asset can possibly be independent if it is done by the Leonardo Bank, when it is possible that some partners are part of the consortium.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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11 November 2008

Facts, not opinion polls

According to a recent opinion poll, 62% of Italians said they trust Silvio Berlusconi.
For the elections in Trentino, the PDL got just a bit more than 12%. The opinion poll was wrong by +50%. Statistics that are commissioned are always shown up as lies by the facts. That will be the case as well in Abruzzo where today the usual phantom opinion poll has come out. No one has read the questions. Everyone reveals the results. This government, the journalists and the parties have all got us used to see an abundance of opinion polls, all commissioned.
Opinion polls are useless because they are a marginal analysis of reality. Because they don’t talk about a trend over time, they often don’t show the question, that according to how it is presented influences the response, they don’t explain how the sample was selected geographically and demographically. So basically they don’t say anything. No, in fact they do tell us something, if the numbers go against what the citizens can see, then the opinion poll is used to dis-inform. The information of facts, that the citizens have in full view is what Carlo Costantini talks about in his video. He is the Italia dei Valori candidate to be President for the Centre Left coalition.
The truth is that the Centre Right presents itself in Abruzzo with an emptiness of content, of programme, of presence, even the symbol that represents the candidate does not even have the name. A dangerous vote that is the prelude to a regional government emptied of any authority that could do anything except something in the interests of the citizens of Abruzzo. What is new is in the reputation and the programme of a man. It’s not in the political alternating between Centre Left and Centre Right. What is new is in the facts.
The facts say that Carlo Costantini is there, that Carlo Costantini has a programme, that Carlo Costantini has been a clear name for more than three months, that Carlo Costantini will govern with a solid team and he has asked them to carry with them at all times, their criminal record certificates and the certificate showing ongoing trials. Carlo is the guarantee that what will be done is solely and exclusively in the interests of the people of Abruzzo
The facts also say that there is no Centre Right candidate, in fact that the Centre Right candidate is hiding behind the name of Silvio Berlusconi. He, however, is well known to the citizens and they know that they cannot trust him.
Continue reading in Italian.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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8 November 2008

The ABC of democracy

Yesterday I was in Genoa to help with the gathering of signatures for a referendum against the Alfano Bill. The gathering of signatures is simply an initial step in terms of all my initiatives planned for every square in Italy. The real emergency in our Country is employment and the downgrading of democracy that has been brought about by Silvio Berlusconi and his government followers. Yesterday, down in the streets, I reiterated the A B C of Democracy. The people applauded these simple concepts, which they obviously miss at the moment: a Parliament that does what it is supposed to, a free media and a justice system that is vigilant.

Here is the text of a video filmed by someone who was present and that I posted on YouTube:

A country can only call itself democratic if it meets at least the following conditions: a Parliament that works, a media system that is free, objective and real, and a justice system that works. If the voters are able to choose those individuals that will represent them in the institutions, if citizens are well informed about what is going on and if there is a control authority that penalises the errors, mistakes and abuses of those that manage public affairs, then we have a democracy. It’s like having a manual and the above are the ABC’s.
Now let’s have a look at what is currently happening in our own Country.
First of all, who is sitting in our Parliament? 70 of the 900-plus current Parliamentarians have certain legal problems. Some have been found guilty of various offences in a court of law and, were they not currently sitting in Parliament, they would either be in hiding or in jail. This is almost 100 of the 900 candidates, in other words almost 10%. Show me any area in Italy where 10% of the population has cases pending or has a criminal record. You won’t find such an area because, even in a criminal organisation, not all of the members are sentenced criminals.
The most serious problem we face today is that our Parliament is made up of “appointees”. They are all dependents, in the same sense as a drug addict is dependent on his pusher, and they are dependent on only 5 people, namely, Di Pietro, Berlusconi, Veltroni, Casini and Bossi because, with our current electoral law that leaves the choice of the candidates in the hands of the party secretaries, you already know without any doubt who will be going to Parliament, and all this is decided by 5 people, only five. Even for those that act in good faith, and I am one of those, deciding who to send to Parliament is a major problem because, whatever your decision, it is wrong, even with all of the good faith in the world. It is wrong because you are obliged to play a role that is not strictly yours. You should not be the one that decides who goes to Parliament and who not because that choice lies with the citizens. I repeat, only the citizen is truly able to make this choice.”

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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7 November 2008

Education: They will try again

Here is an interview I gave for today, Friday 7 November’s edition of “Secolo XIX”, regarding the education reforms.

Secolo XIX: First of all let’s talk about education. The Government has done a complete about turn regarding the Gelmini decree. What do you think about this?
Antonio Di Pietro: This simply an action resulting from the fact that the Government is only concerned about opinion polls and their own image. Please allow me to use a somewhat crass expression: they realised that they peed outside the pot. And so they withdrew a legal provision that, and please excuse me again, is an unmitigated shithouse.

Secolo XIX: Which you were unable to block in any event and that was eventually approved...
Antonio Di Pietro: True, but at least they realised that the entire Country was against them.

Secolo XIX: Including the Italia dei Valori Party and the Democratic Party with their demonstrations. Can we put these into the context of the newfound desire for street demonstrations?
Antonio Di Pietro: If only we had had the opportunity to “put them into context” a little sooner... All that is left now is a certain satisfaction that comes from the fact that the Democratic Party also finally realised what was going on. Initially, when we went to Piazza Navona, there were very few Democratic Party people that had realised what was going on...

Secolo XIX: What is actually wrong with the Gelmini Decree?
Antonio Di Pietro: The fact that the necessary resources must be found is an objective problem that any other Government would also have had to address. However, taking money away from the poor to redistribute amongst the rich is very wrong.

Secolo XIX: And this, in your opinion, is what the Government was doing?
Antonio Di Pietro: Yes.

Secolo XIX: Now, in any event, there has been an about turn...
Antonio Di Pietro: Do you honestly believe that? Those people never give up. At this point their way of doing things is patently clear: they try to push something through but then, when someone prevents them from succeeding, they simply say never mind, better luck next time. Then, sooner or later, they get lucky. They remind me of one of my old soldier buddies...

Secolo XIX: In what way?
Antonio Di Pietro: He would try his luck with a hundred different girls: at the end of the day, at least one of them would agree to go and have a cup of coffee with him.

Secolo XIX: However, this is no wholesale market.
Antonio Di Pietro: That is precisely how this Government operates: if it goes through, then great. Take the case of the Budget. The other evening they proceeded to overrule everything in their attempts to get it approved, even ignoring certain amendments submitted by members of their own majority. Well, they tried at least. Fortunately things don’t always go their way. However, that is the problem: just one moment of distraction and they screw you over.

Secolo XIX: Come on Mr. Party President, surely you can’t object to everything.
Antonio Di Pietro: Certainly not. There are some things that may even be okay. The point is that the Government begins with something that is noble in purpose, take the “bank bail-out” for example, and then they proceed to take that noble desire and slip in some specific regulations. Take what happened with the decrees regarding the justice system for example. It was a good law in many ways. What did they slip in to corrupt it? The “Carnevale Bill”, another “made to measure” regulation.

Secolo XIX: Let’s get back to the issue of the schools and the universities. Investigations are underway in Genova with regard to alleged mismanagement that resulted in tax fraud spanning a number of years. Is there not perhaps a feeling that this lousy system could be cloned in the rest of the Country?
Antonio Di Pietro: There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever regarding the fact that the Italian system needs to be overhauled. We need to find a better way to manage funds, to improve the quality of research and to identify professionalism. It is true, all these things are indeed necessary. However, I repeat, this Government provision is wrong: Minister Gelmini was not addressing these problems, all she did was cut the funding, thereby punishing the most virtuous. The Ministry of Finance cannot simply implement this kind of reform entirely on the basis of cold calculations. No, it was born bad and therefore it is unacceptable.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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6 November 2008

Ku-Klux-Klan and the P2

Barack Obama has won. He is the first coloured President of the United States of America. Obama said that the Internet was part of the reason why he won. Furthermore, he has said that he will answer to the people and not to the lobbies of the powerful nor to the corridors of Washington.

The United States have a virtue, and in spite of the many choices that I did not agree with of the past government and of other governments, they demonstrate the courage to know how to face up to difficulties and to change with a strong sense of self criticism. But to truly change.

Obama is the first coloured President of the United States of America. In the next few months we will see his programme put into effect in actions and in choices. In the United States, politics is connected to the citizens by turning away from the castes.

Obama in America has definitively buried the Ku-Klux-Klan. Berlusconi in Italy will flick the dust off the P2.

Obama in America represents the hope for a better tomorrow. Berlusconi in Italy represents the sad decline of democracy.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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4 November 2008

Coherence of Governments

I’m publishing an article that appeared in the Financial Times on 30 October. The choices for the environment cannot be asked. They have an impact on the health of citizens and they cannot be taken to be guaranteed by one government and denied by another one. Development, even economic development must proceed along the train tracks that are parallel to that of respect for life. Otherwise, there is no development, but only problems that we egoistically leave to future generations to find a solution.

"Italy risks being cast the villain in undermining bold European Union plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Silvio Berlusconi, centre-right prime minister, is accused of playing politics while the planet heats up. In mid-2007, when European ministers unveiled their ambitious “20-20-20” targets, Italy was at the forefront of support. At the time it had a centre-left government whose Green environment minister, Pecoraro Scanio, was probably the most hated politician among Italian industrialists.

Now with Stefania Prestigiacomo running the environment portfolio, Italy has an industrialist as minister and a government more attuned to the big business lobby rather than fighting climate change.

At a summit of European leaders in October, Mr Berlusconi threatened to veto the climate package, saying it would cost Italy €18bn ($23.2bn) a year to comply, a figure hotly contested by the European Commission.

Brussels officials fear the stance of Italy, among others, could doom efforts to close a deal by December, the EU’s self-imposed deadline for adopting the package. The financial crisis and economic downturn in Europe have also made the negotiations more difficult, as governments shifted focus from climate issues.

This week Rome reiterated its opposition to the EU plans to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, saying it would cost Italian companies 40 per cent more. “This would be untenable for our production, particularly in light of the current global economic crisis,” it said.

Italy is also concerned about the other EU targets – to gain 20 per cent of energy from renewable sources and improve energy efficiency by 20 per cent, both by 2020.

Italy’s latest position is to ask that any European agreement be revisited in early 2010 after an international conference in Copenhagen next year to renegotiate the Kyoto climate accord. It is also pushing for concessions in separate but related European legislation that would force carmakers to reduce vehicle emissions by either 2012 or 2015.

European officials have suggested there are areas where they could show “flexibility” without compromising the plan’s main goals. This could mean giving companies credit for contributing to projects to reduce emissions in developing countries, a concession being pushed by Enel, Italy’s main power utility.

Professor Marzio Galeotti says the Italian government has woken up too late in understanding its commitments, although it was a previous Berlusconi government that ratified the Kyoto accord.

“There is too much tendency to concentrate on the costs and under-estimate the potential benefits which are harder to measure,” he said. He believes Italy will eventually settle for modifications and concessions to the package, possibly including the removal of mandatory intermediate targets rather than the final goal."

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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Federalism Inverted

The words of Giulio Ballio, the Rector of Milan Polytechnic, were to be expected, given the direction of the reform of the Higher Education sector. His were important words and it is right to repeat them: “Reducing public financing of our Higher Education institutions means killing them. Ours is risking closure.” We are talking about the crowning glory of our country.
If they close the universities like the Polytechnics of Milan and Turin and many other universities that welcome young people from all over the world, if they cut out the future, the alternative for our young people is to emigrate. Reducing the public financing of universities is not acceptable. It’s possible to make the best use of the funding, to increase it to bring it up to European levels., but not to cut it.
There are numerous cuts to be done to eliminate waste: from the provinces, to the Blue cars, to public financing of publishing and to the friends of Silvio Berlusconi. Yes, because to friend Scapagnini, former mayor of Catania, a city that has gone bust, this government has given grants of 140 million euro. The same government that is using the image of minister Gelmini, and at the same time cutting 40 million euro from the Milan Polytechnic. These are the miracles of an inverted Federalism.

P.S. In recent days I have signed up to many requests from campaign groups on Facebook. I have joined many groups and I am giving them all my support. I invite the readers to do likewise.
Here is the list: No Gelmini, Stop Gelmini-Tremonti, Insieme contro il decreto Gelmini, Teniamo la Gelmini fuori dalle nostre scuole, Tutti uniti contro la riforma universitaria, No alla legge 133, Fermiamo la Gelmini, L'unico Ministro che poteva fare peggio della Moratti: la Gelmini, Tutti contro Maria Stella Gelmini, No alla riforma Gelmini, Sono contro la riforma Gelmini.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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2 November 2008

Abruzzo: a message of change

Here is a video clip of the address I gave today at the Massimo Cinema in L’Aquila on the occasion of the presentation of the Italia dei Valori Party’s list of candidates for the upcoming Regional elections for Abruzzo.

"The lists were handed in at midday and with effect from one minute past midday we began our election campaign because, as we were quite rightly taught, “the early bird catches the worm”. We are that early bird.
Let’s try to make some sense of the situation. What happened in Abruzzo has happened and, the day after the events, we said to ourselves that it would be useless for us to dwell on the past. So, we asked ourselves: “What can we do? Do we simply resign ourselves? Do we allow things to carry on inevitably as they did in the past? Do we simply allow Abruzzo to fall at the feet of this right wing government that talks a lot and does very little and that feeds you a lot of codswallop while screwing you behind the scenes? Do we play a losers game where everyone, parties and individuals alike, resigns themselves to playing their own individual game, thereby saying “I hope I make it. Let’s nominate a few councillors just to save face”? These are the questions that we of the Italia dei Valori party asked ourselves the day after the collapse occurred in Abruzzo. A collapse made up of facts rather than chats, however, this is neither the time nor the place to discuss legal liability. The real problem is a political one.

For years and years Abruzzo has suffered from a total lack of transparency, notwithstanding the occasional changes of party. On occasion, there was a regional councillor who, having been sentenced by a court of law for certain offences, was sent to Parliament because he could no longer stay on as councillor.
We asked ourselves: “Must we simply resign ourselves? Is this what the population of Abruzzo deserves?” This is where the idea was born that we must not resign ourselves but rather “hold on”, as someone better than myself has said, and it appears that we have achieved some initial results, thanks above all to the great sense of responsibility and political as well as civil commitment displayed by the biggest party in this coalition, namely the Democratic Party. They have displayed a tremendous sense of responsibility by opting to share a common path and having chosen unity and political commitment at this very delicate moment in time for Abruzzo as a region and for Abruzzo politics.

A Democratic Party that has not barricaded itself in and that has instead chosen to enter into dialogue with an Italia dei Valori party that is determined to take appropriate action and use clear speech, which has understood from the very beginning that it should not resign itself and that, based not on parties but on individuals, it is possible to establish a new kind of ruling class that is credible, send out a positive message of change as regards transparency, efficiency and effectiveness and, above all else, to identify a candidate with the ability to unite all of the political forces and to also visibly provide the voters with a sense of trust and show them a common path that we can follow together. When we nominated Carlo Costantini, we did so because we know that he is able to do an excellent job and we also know that he will turn both the regional junta and regional politics as a whole into a “glass house”.

We are certain that what is about to happen in Abruzzo in the coming weeks will represent an initial step in the process of building a new Abruzzo today and a new Italy tomorrow. A new Italy of reform, where legality, liberty and a concrete commitment towards helping the weaker sectors of our society will be represented by politicians who are extremely sensitive in these areas.

Continue reading about "Abruzzo: a message of change"

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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31 October 2008

Cutting back on the future

That which is going on throughout the whole of Italy requires no comment because the facts speak for themselves. The Italia dei Valori’s parliamentarians were in Piazza Navona, megaphone in hand, to encourage our youth to talk, to support them, to beg them not to allow themselves to be exploited and to try to prevent violent confrontations with infiltrators that have absolutely nothing to with the legitimacy of this peacefully launched cry for help.

On Monday, I held a meeting with students at the Milan Public University. Here is a video clip and a brief extract from my speech.

Journalist: The Italia dei Valori party has come to the university, to the very place where politics has once again begun to rule the roost in recent days.

Antonio Di Pietro: We of the Italia dei Valori party want to explain to the university students that, irrespective of the current “Berlusconi” case, the model of democracy that is being adopted at the moment is one that does not guarantee our future, neither in terms of professional development nor in terms of personal ethics. Because poor examples always make lousy teachers. Because cutting the funding for the schools, for the universities and for research means limits the chances of ever having any sort of future, of finding employment and jobs. Because we want to make them understand that gagging the media, blocking the justice system and reigning in the democratic system within parliament are the classic methods that authoritarian regimes use to further their particular cause.
The youth, who have today managed very convincingly to come together as a team, irrespective of their individual political leanings, can become a barrier and indeed a dam wall to hold back this dictatorial flood.
We of the Italia dei Valori party do not hide behind anyone. We are aware of and we understand the difficulties experienced by the students. We know that they are disappointed by politics and we are fully aware that by coming into the university today we could well be facing a certain amount of confrontation, however, from these observations, from this very confrontation, we are better able to understand what we need to do inside Parliament. Those, such as the majority and the Government as a whole, that have instead shut themselves in their ivory towers without any knowledge of how the teachers, the families and the students feel, deciding what will be done and what won’t on the basis of a simple vote of confidence, in my opinion have shown no consideration whatsoever for others.

Classroom discussion.

Antonio Di Pietro: Both inside and outside of Parliament, we of the Italia dei Valori party have objected to both the method and the merits of this law, which has cut the funding and has specified methods and solutions that have both depressed and repressed the university institutions. The basic problem, as I see it and as I can say with absolute certainty, is that there is no one as deaf as the person who does not want to hear. We will have to find some way and some manner to make ourselves heard, other than the Cossiga manner, that is.

Student: In your opinion, does the university system not need to be reviewed?

Antonio Di Pietro: Certainly it needs to be reviewed, however, reviewing it is one thing, how to do so is a totally different matter.
Making cuts in a way that benefits the private system, and then in a manner that turns the universities into good business for the speculators, just like the airline business and many others, cannot, in my opinion, be classified as reform. It is simply a method, and not a new one at that, being used and abused in order to find additional funds by taking money away from the weaker strata of society and favouring speculators and business activities that can only ever benefit certain people.

Student: How does the Italia dei Valori party propose to improve our universities and make them more efficient?

Antonio Di Pietro: The Italia dei Valori party has put forward a number of proposals, which we are now also in the process of putting before Parliament. We came up with these proposals after having listened to the youth, even the youth within this faculty, who gave us some excellent advice. We did the same earlier today in Parliament.
I don’t know whether or not you are aware of the fact that, just today, the Italia dei Valori Party was thrown out of the Senate meeting. Since there were demonstrations going on just outside the Senate building, we went out to express our support and for this we were thrown out. Our parliamentarians had brought a solidarity manifesto with them, but we were told that the Senate is an “austere and solemn” place and that such overt actions are not acceptable, however, in my opinion, Parliament is in the process of being raped when there are criminals therein that have been convicted by the courts.
I am not trying to avoid the question. It’s just that I have a lot to say about this other issue, but we’ll talk about it later.
Firstly, there are in fact certain degrees that are neither here nor there. There has been a proliferation of different types of degrees, especially Bachelor’s degrees that are not worth the paper they are written on and are simply a waste of time.

Student: Excuse me, but as far as the Bachelor’s degrees and the control of the universities are concerned, what about the two years when the centre-left Government was in power?

Antonio Di Pietro: Yes, but remember that the centre left also introduced the pardon for prison inmates. Enough said. The problem is that, even within the centre-left, I, as the one who complains about these things, am considered to be a maverick, while all those that agree are considered to be all right.
Having said this, let’s return to the question. Yes, some sort of assessment must be done. The situation needs to be monitored.
There is a proposal on the table for the establishment of some sort of agency, whether it be a government or non-governmental one, as long as it is independent, to monitor the activities of the learning institutions, particularly as regards the flow of funding and the need for funding that is not historically based but rather based on the quality of the education provided, on the results achieved and the quality of the teaching and of the lecturers themselves.
We are very much in favour of the lecturer ratings being made public, just as the marks obtained by the student are. In this regard, it would also be appropriate for the students’ assessments of their lecturers be made public. When I lectured, I too was assessed by my students, sometimes positively and sometimes less so: thereafter you ask yourself why it happened.
I also think that a lecturer assessment is necessary for another reason. When a need is identified for some sort of reform, there is normally some sort of problem underlying the need: there was, and still is exasperating nepotism going on within our universities. Nepotism involving grandchildren and other family members, in the strictest sense of the word.
We have always put forward proposals that favour public universities and that favour of keeping the universities public. We look down upon the foundations, above all because of the way in which this statement was put forward.
The real problem with this regulation lies in its merits, whether or not it is a good regulation. The law regarding university reforms is an empty law and, therefore, we are unable to discuss the issue and propose some different reform.
We believe that we can, and indeed must, implement some sort of reform that includes the matter of assessment, funding, monitoring and transparency as regards the degree courses. We really want to discuss these issues within Parliament.
The decree has now been tabled in Parliament and tomorrow we will have a confidence vote and it will become law. The fact remains that this is little more than a disposable financial operation intended to balance the books that would not balance on their own and, when such choices are made, it is always without fail the weakest that suffer the consequences.

PS - DIRECT STREAMING: tomorrow, Saturday 1 November, at 11 am, live from the Massimo theatre in L’Aquila, on the occasion of the presentation of IdV candidates for the next regional council elections. The direct streaming link will be posted both on my blog and that of the IdV candidate for the position of Chairman of the Abruzzo Regional Council (www.carlocostantini.it)

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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30 October 2008

30 October: standing by the young people

Today I’m in Rome, in the midst of the students, the teachers, the researchers, the Trades Unions, in the midst of the citizens. I am wondering what this government was thinking of when it got this legal decree accepted. This decree that takes away funding and the future from our own sons and daughters.

I’m publishing the video and the text of my speech, that was recorded this morning.

”What must make this government think again is the spontaneity of this demonstration. The fact that the citizens from all over Italy are participating in a spontaneous way, in a determined manner and with the firm wish to not allow themselves to be walked all over by a law that deals with and is only concerned about how to recover financial resources to the detriment of a sector like that of education that is the future of our young people.
This is why, we of Italia dei Valori, have already prepared and altered the organisation that we’ve got in the whole of the country for the collection of signatures against the lodo Alfano, so that the same collection points starting from next week as soon as the law is published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale, will double up the collection of signatures.
Justice and education are two sectors that are fundamental for democracy, that we intend to defend in the most democratic way possible: with a referendum.”

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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The shadow of those who manoeuvre

What is happening in the whole of Italy doesn’t need comment, the facts speak for themselves. The Italia dei Valori parliamentarians were today in Piazza Navona, with megaphones - inviting our youngsters to engage in dialogue, to support them, to ask them not to allow themselves to be instrumentalised, to avoid possible violent episodes from infiltrators who have nothing to do with the legitimacy of a cry for help sent out peacefully.

Going on the reconstruction of the facts supplied by those present, the injured of Piazza Navona hide the absurdities, as though some suggestions from irresponsible politicians in recent days found willing ears in violent youngsters with the complicity of a part of those who were there to guarantee security. Some videos published on Corriere.it show violent acts against other demonstrators while the cordons of the security forces are held back by some of their leaders who were attentive to the orders received.

The declarations of some of the demonstrators in this video, talk of truncheons and sticks concealed by violent ones already prepared and with prior orders for everything. They talk of a vehicle that came into the square without too many controls. How is all that possible in a square that is surrounded by the security forces in anti-riot gear, in a square where the tourists were obliged to take unending detours to get across it? Who is behind this outburst of violence? Who gains from putting the students one against the other? Who would want citizens and parents to see in the sacred student demonstrations of today the subversive phantoms of the past?

One thing is certain and it is that the degeneration of these demonstrations of freedom in fact is a help to the approach of the government that in recent days has been anxious to denigrate the demonstrators and label them as dangerous and irresponsible elements on the fringes. For us and above all for the “civil society” we have no option but to oppose the Gelmini decree in the same way that we did for the Alfano decree, by promoting a referendum to sweep away their dictatorial decrees. As soon as the decree is published we will take steps to deposit the question with the Court of Cassation and to start the collection of signatures at the same collection points we are using for the referendum signatures against the Save-the-Premier law

Tomorrow morning from 9:30 am in Piazza della Repubblica, I and other Italia dei Valori parliamentarians will participate in the demonstration of the students against the Gelmini law that was approved this morning in the Senate.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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26 October 2008

The Internet: the leveller of information

This morning the Italia dei Valori Party was at the Circus Maximus. Together with the citizens, we gathered signatures for a referendum against the Alfano Bill. Here are a few of the exchanges between yours truly and some parliamentarians. At this historic moment in time, with a Government that is busy driving the Country into the ground even more so than the combined effects of international events, being in opposition is no longer simply a choice, but a moral obligation.

D. Martinelli: Honourable Mr. Pedica, here today at the Circus Maximus, where signatures are being gathered, we have seen a number of Democratic Party voters, or rather, people wearing Democratic Party caps, who have come to put down their signatures, notwithstanding the fact that Veltroni has been attempting to distance himself somewhat from this initiative.

S. Pedica: I think that the Democratic Party is currently re-thinking its position and the fact that their members are coming here to add their signatures to the list means that they agree with our standpoint. The party leaders and Veltroni will have to take note. It is a signal being sent from within their party that they should be joining in and collaborating with the Italia dei Valori party in this great event, which is not simply today’s event here at the Circus Maximus but began way back in Piazza Navona, in other words, to explain to the people that this Government of ours is doing things that are wrong and that we want to express our objection. We are doing so, here, today. What it means is that many people have moved on from Piazza Navona and have come here in order to point out to the people of the Democratic Party that, together, it is possible to bring about change.

D. Martinelli: Even today, the newspapers are continuing to report on the relationship between the Democratic Party and the Idv. Veltroni, who announced just a few days ago that the alliance was finished, is now saying, instead, that he hopes that the alliance can continue on. What is going on?

S. Pedica: I repeat that today, even the party’s voters are giving him a hand. They are trying to make him understand that together we can win while, alone, the problems are localised within the individual parties, in other words, that the problems need to be sorted out in-house. We have already sorted out ours and we are now creating opposition while they, instead, need to decide whether or not they will join us in the opposition in order to help this Country to stand up against this centre-right that is currently destroying Italy.

F. Belisario: The Italia dei valori party is continuing to be a major role player in the Italian street demonstrations because it is important to create firm opposition, without fear or favour, against a Government that is bringing this Country to its knees. Prime Minister Berlusconi is only concerned about saving the banks and big business. What he should be doing is to restore the purchasing power of wages, salaries and pensions because that is the only way in which to increase consumption and spending. Families can no longer cope and if the families cannot cope, the industries will also not be able to cope.

D. Martinelli: How is it going with the gathering of signatures?

F. Belisario: The exercise is proceeding well because the people want to show that it is necessary to confront this pre-dictatorial right wing that has nothing to offer and that has done nothing more than make announcements and hand out broad smiles.

S. Mura: We are here today to demonstrate against the Government’s Alfano Bill, and the soon-to-be Consolo Bill, against a Government that wants to scrap education and one that shows no concern for the increases in the cost of living, but only thinks about its own interests.

D. Martinelli: Remind us again, until when will the gathering of signatures continue?

S. Mura: Certainly for as long as possible, at least until 20 December, in other words, until the time comes to deliver the signatures to the Cassation on 8 January, by when we expect to have collected at least two million signatures. I would also like to point out that, today, the rest of the militants, sympathisers, leaders, parliamentarians and elected representatives at all levels of the Italia dei valori party are out gathering signatures in some 120 Italian towns, just as we are doing here today with our party Chairman, Antonio Di Pietro.

D. Martinelli: Chairman Di Pietro, today, here at the Circus Maximus, at this event organised by the Democratic Party, Veltroni will also be talking about salaries, stagnant pensions and temporary employment, and that on a weekend following another week of collapse on the stock markets.

A. Di Pietro: This weekend there have been another five workplace fatalities and therefore it is only proper that the issue of work be given pride of place during this event, just as it is also proper that the issue of family buying power be given pride of place. As regards the banks, with all due respect to the banks and stock exchanges, it is only proper to make this Government understand that the funding that the State has undertaken to provide as guarantees for the banks must be used to repay the mortgages that the citizens are having to deal with in addition to making it through to the end of the month, and must not be used to supplement the funds that the bankers use to buy their boats at the seaside. There is a major difference there. Therefore, in terms of the above, we believe that this demonstration, above all as regards the Italia dei Valori Party, the gathering of signatures has not only a technical purpose, but also a political one, which is to unite the opposition, so as to offer an alternative programme to ensure that the governance model being used by the right wing does not result in the creation of a dictatorial regime without the population even being aware of what is happening.

D. Martinelli: Just a few hours ago you announced that you want to nominate Marco Travaglio to the Board of Directors of Rai if Leoluca Orlando is not appointed as Chairman of the Rai Vigilance Committee.

A. Di Pietro: That was not an announcement, but rather a dream that I have. The basic problem is that they don’t want to allow anyone from the Italia dei valori party in to the Rai Vigilance Committee nor, for that matter, anywhere else where there may be any personal domains. Travaglio is not a member of the Italia dei valori party. Travaglio is an independent person who pays for his freedom of thought and freedom of expression out of his own pocket and we defend him, not because he in turn defends the Idv, in that he has let me have it on a number of occasions, but because an independent speaker is good for Democracy. For this very reason, we would love to have not one, but a thousand Travaglios, a thousand Savianos, a thousand fearless people.

D. Martinelli: Do you think that Curzi would also want a thousand Santoros?

A. Di Pietro: Why not? You see, the problem in Italy is not about finding people to give partisan versions of the facts and, in this regard, Santoro certainly does not always tell things as they are. The problem is that, in this Country, other parties are not given any opportunity to put their version of the facts across. Let me give you an example: just the day before yesterday, a Milan judge not only threw out the charges laid against me by Mediaset, but added that I had, in fact, spoken the truth when I stated that Mediaset had illegally taken over a television channel allocated to Europa7. Yet I was the one who was taken to court! A judge ruled that I was "innocent of all charges because he told the truth”. However, the fact that not a single one of the newspapers deemed this to be newsworthy, really makes one think. I posted the news on the Internet. Very soon now, the Internet will become the leveller of information. It will create a level playing field and place everyone on an equal footing.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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25 October 2008

Let's re-launch the matter of ethics

Here is an interview I gave to the "Diritto di Resistenza" (Right of Resistance) blog on the 9th October this year.

Diritto di Resistenza: Italy is currently going through a very uncertain phase as regards democracy. To what extent does the blame for the current state of affairs lie with the judiciary, which, with a few rare exceptions, has kept well away from taking action against the executive, legislative and economic powers that be?

Antonio Di Pietro: The judges work with the tools that they have available. Shall we discuss what is happening at the moment? From the many made-to-measure laws that the Prime Minister has pushed through, to the “save the caste” provisions and through to the shameful and immoral “Alfano Bill”, which attacks the constitutional principle that everyone shall be equal before the law. It must be remembered that the separation of the three types of power forms the basis, and is the guarantee of our democratic system. Unfortunately, at this very difficult time in the Country’s history, the balance between the three types of power is in danger of collapsing since the Government and the majority have openly declared war on judicial authority. In fact, the Pdl party has proposed certain reforms of the judicial system that are aimed at gagging the judges and at subjecting the judiciary to political control, and not at resolving the real problems facing the justice system. However, this is not something new in the field of politics: the tongue is always drawn towards the tooth that hurts. In reality, every time a judge turns his attention to the area of politics, someone is there, ready to attack him and to hinder his work. This happened with the “Mani Pulite” (Clean Hands) case, as it has with many other judges. Therefore, until such time as the matter of ethics is once again brought into politics and action is taken to make politics more ethical, the problem will remain. Any political class that aims to operate outside of the rules and that attempts to raise itself above the law is essentially betraying the spirit and the principles of democracy.

Diritto di Resistenza: Over the past few decades, certain laws have been promulgated that are aimed at preventing the justice system from working as it should. How come these laws, which work in favour of the few and are patently contrary to the interests of the community, get voted through Parliament and are signed by the Head of State?

Antonio Di Pietro: Because Parliament is full of people with conflicts of interest. If the justice system were to function properly, these people would be first in line to have to account for their actions. The problem always remains the same: there is no real desire to change the things that don’t work in the justice system, and here I refer specifically to issues such as the slowness of the legal process and the lack of resources or, in other words, anything that interests the community rather than the members of the privileged caste. Instead, the current Parliament is being hindered and obliged to pass only that legislation that affects mister Berlusconi’s legal problems. Never mind the Country’s interests! These “save the premier” laws put in place specifically to be personally used and abused by Berlusconi and his buddies have been voted through by the Pdl Party Parliamentarians who, on these occasions became little more than the Prime Minister’s employees, people that operate by corporate rules rather than those required by a democratic system. As regards the Head of State, everyone is well aware that, on numerous occasions, I have appealed to him as the guarantor of our Constitution. Our forbearers wrote in a number of filters and important guarantees into our Constitution, namely the roles of the State President and the Constitutional Court.

Diritto di Resistenza: We have been shown a parliamentary video in which Luciano Violante revealed his connivance with Berlusconi in order to assure his eligibility to keep his television broadcasting rights. In your opinion, what did the left wing get in return for his guarantees to Berlusconi?

Antonio Di Pietro: Frankly, given his history and his personal past, perhaps depicting Violante as conniving with Berlusconi is a bit much, even though I don’t agree with some of his most recent stands. I have always told Veltroni that Berlusconi cannot be trusted. I know his political, legal and personal history and I know that this man could never constitute any guarantee for our Country. Initially the Democratic Party displayed some trust, however, since then they have had to rethink their position. During the last legislature, when we held a majority, the Italia dei Valori party asked that the matter of Berlusconi’s conflicts of interest, a serious anomaly in our Country, be resolved. However, nothing ever happened in this regard and the IdV party remained a voice in the wilderness.

Diritto di Resistenza: Italy has changed over from a first to a second Republic thanks to the ‘clean hands’ investigation, however, it would appear that this second Republic is no better than the first. Whose fault is this?

Antonio Di Pietro: Certainly not the fault of the ‘Clean Hands’ investigation. We reported the existence of the illness and it was up to the politicians to find a cure and, above all, to prevent the illness in question. The problem lies with a political class that refuses to place the issue of ethics at the centre of political discussion. Until such time as action is taken to put the ethics back into politics, there will be no difference between the 1st and the 2nd Republic. The IdV party has asked its candidates to open their individual criminal records for scrutiny and to reveal any legal action pending against them, this in addition to submitting their electoral clearance certificate. What politics needs is to do a proper spring clean within its ranks. There are currently some 70 convicted criminals, people under investigation and statute barred offenders sitting in Parliament. Therefore, it must really be said that many of these people would have been obliged to go into hiding if they had not been elected instead.

Diritto di Resistenza: In your opinion, what are the chances of Italy ever becoming a Country with western democratic standards?

Antonio Di Pietro: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the situation in other Countries is particularly fantastic. There are scandals everywhere, for example regarding public responsibility. Democracy is an imperfect system, however, it is the best system that we know of. What concerns me are politicians that refuse to play by the rules, because what they are doing is destroying the principles that were wisely established by the founding fathers of our constitutions and thereby leading the entire Country to the brink of disaster. I am concerned about the conflicts of interest of our Prime Minister, who has control of the television broadcasting system. I am concerned about people making laws to protect themselves against having to face legal problems. All in all, the picture is not a pretty one and it will take some doing for us to raise our standards to match those in certain other Countries.

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23 October 2008

The swindler and the “Italian Patriots”

I’m publishing the video and the text of the voting intentions of Italia dei Valori on the umpteenth vote of confidence that we are well determined not to give to this Government.

Signor President, I could want to say even this time,«Signor President of the Council who is not present», but I seem to understand that I will have to say «Signor Government who is not present»!
With all respect to the Undersecretary Martinat, I am asking the office of the President of the Chamber if it’s possible to get to this point: we are giving a vote of confidence to a Government that does not present itself with even one Minister, never mind the President of the Council of Ministers, but not even with the Minister for Parliamentary Relations, not even the Minister who is directly affected!
Thus in my opinion, we find ourselves in a situation in which it is necessary to deny the vote of confidence to this Government, because we consider its way of governing to be dangerous for democracy, for the economy and for the justice system in the country.
Its continuing absence in relation to Parliament shows once more that you, President of the Council who is not present, have no consideration for the democratic institutions. Your way of governing, with the continual use of legal decrees and with the repeated use of the vote of confidence, is emptying Parliament of its functions and of its role.
Allow me, signor President of the Chamber, to use the first part of my speech on this topic: we are continually voting confidence and we have the government continually absent when we are voting confidence! To whom should we give confidence? To empty benches?
The truth is that this Government has no interest in Parliament. It goes its own way just as, once upon a time, one who decided on his own, with a definitely different idea.
Let’s talk then about the substance of this measure that is called «salva Alitalia» { save Alitalia}.
What’s that?
But what’s this about saving Alitalia? Alitalia already has its accounts in front of the Tribunal! Alitalia has practically gone bust. It no longer exists! It could have existed , if everything had been left as we had tried to leave things, that is by selling it to Air France, a company that operates in the business of air transport. Instead, during the elections, the President of the Council told us: «Stop everything, give me 300 million, because just round the corner I have one who will buy Alitalia and will make it work well. He will come up with all the money, the employees will stay in their posts and Alitalia will journey on safe and happy». But where? Where? It was a cheat, an election cheat.
Of cheating, then, allow me to talk in this speech of mine. You, signor President of the Council, you are cheating the Italians! You and your Government want to have it believed and you achieve this, thanks to your TV channels and to the State TV channels, that are by now at your service, and thanks to your journalists who wish to please you and depend on you – that you have saved Alitalia. Instead you have buried it! Alitalia today is bust! In recompense, the CAI friends have presented themselves, your CAI friends, signor President of the Council!

...


For this reason – and I am coming to the conclusion, thanking you, signor President – we of Italia dei Valori, not only can we not give you our vote of confidence, but we are making known to the general public, the Citizens of Italy that you are distancing yourself ever more form the State based on the rule f law, of the State of legality and you are behaving ever more like one who we believe you to be: a political swindler. “

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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20 October 2008

He’s playing golf, I’m playing rugby

I’m publishing my telephone interview given today to Corriere.tv in relation to Walter Veltroni’s declarations about the dissolving of the alliance with Italia dei Valori.

Corriere: What was your first reaction to this declaration: “alliance finished”?
Antonio Di Pietro: Well, since it was said by Veltroni, straight away I thought he wanted to say “alliance finished, but also”
In reality, any person and any political leader with common sense knows that when faced with Berlusconi there’s the need to have do a harsh, determined and pure opposition. An opposition that finally Veltroni has realised needs to be done, and paradoxically, right at the moment he realised this he is getting angry with me who realised this from day one.

Corriere: And why do you think this is?
Antonio Di Pietro: Because, from an eternal second, he realised the following day. He notices today and he will see tomorrow that breaking off with Italia dei Valori cannot be practicable for him. While we are talking, in Trentino Alto-Adige they are completing the phase of the electoral competition in which there’s voting in a few days, where we are walking together. In Abruzzo, Italia dei Valori has made available to them a presidential candidate, Carlo Costantini, and a strict programme that can give back credibility to a Centre Left that has finished up in prison. In the next few months there’s voting in three or four thousand administrative realities, where without Italia dei Valori, they won’t even manage to win a dickey bird.
It seems to me that this speech of his was more an action that he had to do to sort out the umpteenth daily faction, or the umpteenth every day stomach ache inside his party. They have said vile things to me because I am collecting signatures against the Lodo Alfano for the referendum, when a few of his leaders are doing the same thing and he takes it out on me and I’m not in his party. Evidently he takes it out on me because he doesn’t have the courage to reprimand some people in his party. So basically it seems like an action of weakness and of fear rather than a decision.

Corriere: Veltroni said that the alliance finished on the day that you did not respect the commitment to form a single group in Parliament.
Antonio Di Pietro: From the first day that we have been in Parliament we have been acting as a harsh, determined, coherent and decisive Opposition. Every day, Berlusconi knows that he has to face up to me. What would i have done in a single group with him? I would have been running after him doing “but also”? He’s playing golf, I’m playing rugby to put a brake on this new generation model of dictatorship, the Berlusconi one. In relation to all this, he is saying: “no, that one should have stayed with me.” To do what? To loaf around?

Corriere: What will happen then, at this point, for the election to the supervisory committee with Orlando. You have declared “coward the one who doesn’t vote for him.”
Antonio Di Pietro: Certainly. For the RAI supervisory committee, the whole of the Opposition when it met to decide what role was due to each one, decided all together. While so many many things were for the others, for us there was the duty to offer the candidacy of Orlando for the position of president of the RAI supervisory committee. Why should I go back on that? What have we done wrong? What has Orlando done wrong? Why is it necessary to bow down in relation to the arrogance of Berlusconi’s majority that says “It’s I that chooses your candidate”. It is an act of anti-democracy, an unacceptable silliness, and anyone accepting that is acting as a collaborator.

Corriere: Do you think that the words spoken today by Veltroni hide a change of tack as regards the candidate for the RAI supervisory committee and, for example, an opening to the majority for Pecorella?
Antonio Di Pietro: I don’t know, you would need to ask him if he has done all this reasoning. To me it seems simply that he has taken refuge in a corner so as not to tackle the problems inside his party.

Corriere: What happens now? Is it an argument to be aggressive, or is there room to make peace and to join together to be in Opposition?
Antonio Di Pietro: I have neither made peace nor have I had an argument. Yesterday I was with the friends in the Democratic Party at Trento and Bolzano to do election campaigning with them. As you can see, there are 4000 towns in Italy in which the coalition is getting together and preparing to tackle the local elections next year. It seems to me that the only one that is out of place and out of logic is Veltroni.

Posted by Antonio Di Pietro in Politics
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17 October 2008

Oxygen for the businesses

Banks are a necessary part of the economic system and should act as economic “entrepreneurs” when times are tough. It is very easy to grant credit to businesses at high rates of interest when times are good, however, it is deplorable to refuse to grant them any credit the moment that there is any uncertainty in the marketplace. Businesses are currently facing asphyxia in terms of liquidity, a kind of asphyxia created by the Government itself, which demands up front tax payments and deposits, leaving businessmen scrambling to collect all outstanding debts. The Government must intervene at this point because the banks have a moral obligation to grant credit, otherwise both the Government and the banks will find themselves floundering and will then be responsible for thousands of business insolvencies, not to mention the many families that will consequently end up out on the street. After decades of taking, the Government must now also work out a way of giving something back.
Here is an interview that yours truly conducted with Federico Palomba, Italia dei Valori parliamentarian, and a number of citizens who were there while signatures against the Alfano Bill were being gathered in Cagliari.

"Friendly greetings from Cagliari. I am speaking to you here from the Mediterraneo Hotel’s conference room, where Antonio Di Pietro and Sardinian parliamentarian Federico Palomba have just arrived to collect the forms bearing the signatures demanding the annulment of the Alfano Law. Today’s topics of discussion have been many, ranging from the economic recession, to the stock market crash, the Alitalia matter, fiscal federalism and through to the Consultative Committee where, as you are no doubt aware, sentenced offender Gaetano Pecorella could soon be making his comeback. These are all topics that I brought up during the informal discussions held in the Hotel reception area, and that I would now like to continue with in these interviews, to which I have also added a number of observations made by the young people that have come here to add their signatures to the lists.

D. Martinelli: Party Chairman Di Pietro, we know that you are here in Cagliari in order to collect the signed forms against the Alfano Bill, but I would like to start by talking about the economic crisis, because this morning we have once again seen the stock exchanges plummeting. Is it true that the Government has done nothing specific in terms of forecasting and preventing this crisis and, while perhaps there is not much that the Government itself can do about the problem, it appears that the opposition has also gone missing-in-action in this regard. Am I right?

Antonio Di Pietro: On the economic and financial front, we in the Italia dei Valori party have been saying from day one that what the Government has done so far is nothing more than a lot of smoke and very little roast beef, in that they have already promulgated two legislative decrees while not putting a single cent of their own into the pot. The only way to deal with economic crises is to provide funds in order to help meet people’s needs. We are currently facing one economic and financial situation that is dominated by speculation, and then there is another economic and financial situation where families really need help in making ends meet on their salaries and small and medium-size businesses need to be able to lay their hands on some money in order to ensure the survival of their small business enterprises. These are the two fronts that must be addressed and so, we will be officially requesting that the tax rates be lowered, starting from the lower income groups, applicable with effect from the upcoming thirteenth cheques. We have also officially asked that the minimum pension payments be increased and that the Government set up a special guarantee fund, which could then be used to provide certain guarantees for the banking system, so that the banks may, in turn, be more willing to grant mortgages and extend loans to small and medium-size businesses in order to ensure that current job and employment levels are at least maintained. As you can see, these are some official and specific requests, however, nothing is being done in this regard. Certain legislative decrees have been promulgated, stating that the Italian Government will intervene. With what funds is it going to intervene? The Government has stated that it will guarantee all individual savings up to a maximum of one hundred thousand Euro, however, what they haven’t said is that savings are already guaranteed up to a maximum amount of one hundred thousand Euro via the inter-bank fund. So, the usual lots of smoke and little roast beef, as against our concrete proposals, which you have already heard. And so our more than determined criticism will continue unabated.

D. Martinelli: You have stated that the legislative provisions regarding Alitalia are unconstitutional, even though Alitalia no longer exists and it now called Cai. Today’s newspapers are saying that Alitalia will somehow be sorted out within the next three weeks.

Antonio Di Pietro: Alitalia no longer exists, since the bankruptcy judge has already sorted it out. The company’s debts have all landed on the shoulders of the Italian taxpayer and the small investors have lost everything, while all the meat and gravy parts of Alitalia (all the assets) have been handed over to the crafty old buddies from the extended neighbourhood. Now they are going to put it out on tender, so they are already selling off some bits, and they’re apparently looking for some or other foreign company when, all the while, the Government should have been the one finding the foreign buyer. Instead, the Government handed it over to some or other buddy, who has been speculating since day one and who will go on to make a killing in five years’ time when he sells off again because, clearly, there will be plenty of buyers queuing up to buy an Alitalia that is debt free.

D. Martinelli: Now, what about the Consultative Committee? Sentenced offender Gaetano Pecorella appears to be well on his way to becoming an “organio super partes”. Somehow Pecorella in the Consultative Committee in exchange for Orlando on the RAI Oversight Committee just doesn’t seem fair.

Antonio Di Pietro: We in the Italia dei Valori party have said from day one that Pecorella’s candidature is unconscionable, not only because he was tried and sentenced for aiding and abetting a murderer who was accused of a fascist massacre, but above all because he used to be the Premier’s attorney. While he was working as an attorney, he was also the Premier’s legislator and thus he helped to introduce legislation to suit the Premier. Now he will be working as a judge in the very place where they decide whether or not those laws were constitutional in the first place?

D. Martinelli: Honourable Deputy Palomba, good day. You are the Italia dei Valori’s parliamentarian for Sardinia, which has a centre-left Regional Junta. Regional Governor Soru has recently also become the Editor of “L'Unità” and Sardinia is a Region with a long centre-left tradition, yet it is facing a number of emergencies, starting with that of employment.

Federico Palomba: There are indeed a number of current emergencies facing the area. We have looked specifically at the problem of reform, however, reform must be accompanied by development, because reform without development will not put food on the table and risks creating certain alarming situations, such as the closure of businesses. We have always claimed to be focusing our attention on the problems associated with development and employment and we asked for the refinancing