Newsgroup: it.politica.polo
Titolo: FT Vs Berlusconi

Dal Financial Times, noto giornale comunista:
A shaky start for Berlusconi
The prime minister has annoyed politicians over his failure so far to
resolve his legal problems and conflicts of interest, says James Blitz
Published: October 1 2001 19:58 | Last Updated: October 2 2001 11:52
Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, has been much in the news in
recent days because of his controversial comments about the western world's
"superiority" over Islam.
But the international dispute triggered by those words has drawn attention
away from something else that is beginning to irritate western diplomats in
Rome: the new prime minister's determination to resolve his personal
judicial and business problems by forcing legislation through the Italian
parliament.
Although Mr Berlusconi's centre-right coalition won a resounding victory in
May's general election, two problems continue to hang over the 65-year-old
premier. First, there is a conflict of interest between his public and
private roles. Mr Berlusconi, one of the world's wealthiest men, owns
Italy's three main private television stations, its largest publishing house
and a leading financial services institution. He promised to "resolve" that
conflict within 100 days of winning power.
The second problem is the criminal trials still hanging over him. One of the
most serious is one in which he and Cesare Previti, his close associate, are
accused of bribing judges in Rome to win a favourable ruling on a large
business transaction.
Last Thursday, while governments across the world were trying to come to
terms with Mr Berlusconi's views on Islam, the Italian premier and his
cabinet colleagues were reaching a critical stage in their attempts to deal
with these problems.
First, the cabinet an-nounced a law aimed at resolving the prime minister's
conflict of interest. Before the general election, Mr Berlusconi teased
journalists that he might eventually sell his TV channels to placate his
critics. But the bill laid before parliament last week requires him to do
nothing of the sort. It calls for the setting up of an "authority" composed
of three individuals who would monitor alleged conflicts of interest in the
public sector. The three would be appointed by Mr Berlusconi's government
and would report to parliament, where the government has a strong majority.
"The proposed law is a fig leaf and nothing more than that," says Paolo
Gentiloni, a leading parliamentarian in the opposition centre-left.
Mr Berlusconi's aides care little about this view. Opinion polls have long
shown that the Italian public is largely indifferent to the fact that their
premier is also the country's biggest media tycoon. No European Union
government has expressed any concern about the conflict of interest problem
since the election. There has been no dissent within Italy's ruling
coalition.
Yet in recent days, Mr Berlusconi's confidence has been rattled. This is
because his government encountered huge difficulties last week in trying to
introduce legislation that would help resolve the second of his two
problems - the pending trials.
That has led some to think that Mr Berlusconi's grip on his coalition may be
weaker than first thought.
Last month, Mr Berlusconi's government introduced a bill in parliament that
would ratify a 1998 accord with the Swiss authorities aimed at enhancing
judicial co-operation. But the government has since made amendments to the
bill that, in effect, renders it useless. Italy's opposition argues that the
law would scupper several of the trials against Mr Berlusconi, including the
one on corrupting judges.
The anger at what Mr Berlusconi is doing has spread well beyond the
opposition.
Last Thursday, 27 parliamentarians from Mr Berlusconi's own coalition
rebelled against the government in the lower house, the chamber of deputies,
helping the opposition to carry amendments that delay the passage of the
bill. For a government that is little more than five months old, this was a
serious defeat.
European governments are also expressing irritation at the way Italy seems
to be making cross-border judicial co-operation harder just as, following
the US terrorist attacks, most other countries are trying to go the other
way. Switzerland's ambassador to Italy said over the weekend that his
government was "astonished" by the way the legislation was being amended.
Where does all this leave Mr Berlusconi? His government's survival is
certainly under no threat. In spite of last week's setback, parliament will
soon approve the new law on judicial co-operation in the form Mr Berlusconi
wants it. But sullen discontent with the prime minister is festering in
Rome's corridors of power.
First, there is the growing number of disgruntled politicians in his own
coalition. Many of them seem embarrassed by the range of controversial
legislation introduced by the new government, such as an amnesty for those
Italians who illegally took capital out of the country and are now bringing
it back again. The 27 deputies who rebelled against the government last week
may do so again during the debate on the conflict of interest law. Many of
them seem to be looking increasingly to Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italy's highly
respected head of state, for guidance on what to do.
Second, there is considerable irritation inside the Italian foreign ministry
with Mr Berlusconi's performance. Mr Berlusconi's comments on Islam have
done immense damage, compounding suggestions that he prizes domestic
popularity ahead of international obligations.
Last, there is creeping dissatisfaction with the government's economic
policy. Confindustria, Italy's employers' federation, strongly backed the
centre-right ahead of the election, believing it could implement essential
structural economic reforms that would boost growth. But the budget for
2002, announcedon Friday, carried no commitments on the fundamental issues
of pension or labour market reform. The budget, meanwhile, provided little
cheer for the millions of Italians who believed Mr Berlusconi's aggressive
election campaign propaganda pledging "fewer taxes for all".
"Berlusconi's popularity is still high," says Renato Mannheimer, a leading
opinion pollster. "The tense inter-national situation means Italians are
putting their faith in the government and national institutions." But Mr
Mannheimer warns that before September 11, "there were growing signs that
the government's popularity was already beginning to wane".
Silvio Berlusconi is getting off to a shakier start than anyone had
expected.
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Il 05 Ott 2001, 13:05, "Radamir Kostantinovìc" 
(cut)
E' ormai diverso
tempo che tutti i maggiori quotidiani stranieri dicono le stesse identiche
cose. Ma, notoriamente, gli italiani non leggono ne i quotidiani nazionali
ne, tanto meno, quelli stranieri; se, poi, sono specializzati come il
Financial Times, il discorso si fa sempre più arduo. E' ovvio che
l'elettorato di centro-destra abbia una cultura, eccettuate rarissime
eccezioni, medio-bassa, e che, quindi, parli per slogan. La dimostrazione
palese di questa dilagante ignoranza è questo news group. Se, poi,
prendiamo come esempio la compagine governativa, è ancora più evidente tale
affermazione. Bossi è quello che si suol dire un asino calzato e vestito,
privo anche di un barlume d'intelligenza. L'articolo da te riprodotto,
quindi, purtroppo non verrà compreso da nessuno di destra in questo news
group. E' questa la vera forza di Berlusconi, paradossalmente; riesce a
darla a bere a chi non ha un minimo di preparazione culturale.
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 involontaria.
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Tutti uniti contro il governo dei ladri e degli amici dei ladri.
Per il referendum abrogativo della legge sulle rogatorie internazionali
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