Italy

Berlusconi: some further questions

While Hugh Edwards’ article (Solidarity 161) gives a useful account of Berlusconi’s history, there are a few further points that should be made about the current state of Italian politics. Much of the current furore around Berlusconi, at least in the British press, has centred on the sex scandal. He has been criticised for an alleged affair with a much younger woman and over whether or not he paid for sex. But frankly, none of this is very relevant to our judgement of Berlusconi. At most we might observe that it could create problems for him with some of his more Catholic-minded right-wing...

Italy: Berlusconi, Craxi and P2

Over the last four months Italy’s right-wing government has been increasingly threatened by the fallout from the sex scandals surrounding Prime Minster Silvio Berlusconi. Are we now seeing a serious political and constitutional crisis? It all began with typically arrogant denials and outrageous lies about Berlusconi’s relationship with a 17-year-old model. Then one sordid detail followed another. A squalid bacchanalia furtively lived behind the walls of the baroque palaces of a government presided over by a man formally pledged to the public service of “God, Family, Country”. Berlusconi has...

Italy: Students join the fightback

The explosion of spontaneous protests by temporary teachers that swept across Italy at the beginning of September has continued following the opening of the school term on the 14th. Now the extent of the drastic cuts in teachers, technical and admin staff etc. has become clear to those still fortunate to find themselves in a job. This year 65,000 jobs were scheduled to be cut. There are more cuts to come in 2010. Those affected are part of the 300,000-strong temporary workforce in education. All types of public sector schools find themselves with a signicant increase in class sizes and reduced...

Italian Teachers: Occupying to save 25,000 jobs

While the numbers of workers across the world thrown on the scrapheap of global capitalism’s current crisis continues to rise, and those responsible sing along with their house trained professional “canaries” about “green shoots” of recovery, spasms of defiance and resistance continue to be seen everywhere. The latest in Italy? Following a successful 14 month occupation and work-in by 240 workers in a machine-tool plant outside Milan against closure and removal of the machinery, teachers are occupying education offices in protest against cuts of 65,000 teaching, ancillary and admin jobs. The...

Italy: teachers occupy! Will this be a "hot autumn"?

While the numbers of workers across the world thrown on the scrapheap of global capitalism's current crisis continues to rise, and those responsible sing along with their house trained professional "canaries" about "green shoots" of recovery, spasms of defiance and resistance continue to be seen everywhere. The latest in Italy? A successful 14 month occupation and work-in by 240 workers in a machine-tool plant outside Milan, against closure and removal of the machinery. It was supported by the workers' families and the local community, but largely left high and dry by leaders of their union...

Italy: criminalising migrants

“Generally they are short and dark-skinned. Many stink because they wear the same clothes for weeks. They construct shacks to live in on the outskirts. When they aspire to live in the city centre they rent ugly, run-down apartments; they appear at first, two of them looking for a room and a kitchen, and soon after a few days there are four of them, then six, eight, 10 and what have you. They speak a language unintelligible, perhaps ancient dialects. Their children they use to beg with, while in front of the churches women and the old ask for pity in whimpering and irritating tones. They...

Roma in Italy: "We are not maggots"

“Rome and Italy today are responsible for a racial segregation unique in the west” (La Republica). On 30 March the Guardian carried an editorial “Italy Fascism’s Shadow”, commenting on the merger of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia with Gianfranco Fini's ex-neo-fascist Alleanza Nationale party, pointing out how, alone of the former axis powers, post-war Italy had never completely confronted its fascist past and concluding that despite the efforts of Fini to distance it from that legacy it remained tainted by that tradition. But it takes a remarkable dose of liberal naivity — or cynicism? — to...

Italian earthquake: slapdash building led to deaths

The trerrible events on the morning of the 6 April that struck the beautiful medieval town of Acquila and its hinterland in the Italian province of Abruzzo has been all too predictably reported in the bourgeois press of Europe as inevitable. How the Italian peninsula is prone prone to earthquakes. All regrettably true, as the last 30 years graphically illustrates with major catatastrophes in 1976, and 1980 and lesser ones in 1990 1997 and 2002. But as the dead are buried it is gradually emerging that the extent of the tragedy, in terms of human casualties and the colossal damage to the town...

Roma in Italy: "We are not maggots"

“Rome and Italy today are responsible for a racial segregation unique in the west"(La Republica) On 30 March the Guardian newspaper carried an editorial "Italy Fascism’s Shadow", commenting on the merger of Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia with Gianfranco Finis ex-neo fascist Alleanza Nationale party. The newspaper pointed out how, alone of the former axis powers, post-war Italy had never completely confronted its fascist past, concluding that despite the efforts of Fini to distance it from that legacy it remained tainted by that tradition. "A day of shame", it further declared. Whatever the...

Lindsey Oil Refinery workers' new demands; and Italian unions on the dispute

These are the demands adopted by the Lindsey Oil Refinery construction strikers at a mass meeting on 2 February: * No victimisation of workers taking solidarity action. * All workers in UK to be covered by NAECI Agreement. * Union controlled registering of unemployed and locally skilled union members, with nominating rights as work becomes available. * Government and employer investment in proper training/apprenticeships for new generation of construction workers - fight for a future for young people. * All Immigrant labour to be unionised. * Trade Union assistance for immigrant workers -...

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