Tuesday, 07.29.08
Berlusconi's Crackdown
Photo by flickr user vas vas under Creative Commons license
Lega Nord
April 2008
Matthew Yglesias argues that for such a nice country, Italy's politics seem weirdly screwed up.
The Italian Prime Minister could hardly contain himself after a string of electoral victories this spring. "We are the new Falange," he crowed - a reference to the fascist party that helped General Franco seize power in 1930s Spain. Supporters of Gianni Alemanno, a former youth leader of the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement, celebrated his election to Rome's mayoralty later in April by chanting "Duce! Duce!" - Benito Mussolini's nickname - and raising their arms in the fascist salute. Arriving for a parliamentary session that same month, Umberto Bossi, a minister in Berlusconi's government and the head of the anti-immigrant Northern League party, all but threatened the Italian opposition with violence: "I don't know what the Left wants but we are ready," he warned. "If they want conflicts, I have 300,000 men always on hand."
Since Berlusconi's victory, these echoes of the 1930s have been backed by a series of chauvinistic and discriminatory measures. Claiming to address crime by clamping down on immigration, the Berlusconi government has conflated these two phenomena, scapegoating the country's Roma, or Gypsy, population as a major cause of its social problems. An impoverished and marginalized ethnic group, the Roma are particularly vulnerable to resentment by the rest of the population. Despite a presence on the Italian peninsula since the Middle Ages, Gypsies are poorly integrated and many live in rundown encampments on the outskirts of urban centers. Recent increases in immigration patterns - and public outrage over a series of violent crimes - have hardened the Italians' hostility and transformed Gypsies into the far right's ideal targets.
In the run-up to the April elections, Berlusconi pledged to act against "Roma, clandestine immigrants and criminals." Influenced by the vitriol of the Northern League and fearful that they could be labeled soft on crime, politicians from all parties (including leaders of the center-left) joined the Roma-bashing.
Inevitably, actions have followed words. In May, news spread that a teenaged Gypsy had tried to abduct a baby; a mob spontaneously assembled in Naples and proceeded to attack and burn down the city's Gypsy camps. Bossi's reaction encapsulated the government's attitude. "The people do what the political class isn't able to do," he said.
Soon after, in a move that carried overtones of the registration drives that eventually allowed for the persecution of Jews and Gypsies in the 1930s, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni announced a plan to create a national registry of the country's Roma population. This census was launched earlier this month. In Berlusconi's Italy, all Gypsies are now being recorded as members of their ethnic group, regardless of whether they are immigrants or Italian nationals - and fingerprinted as well.
The European Parliament almost immediately passed a resolution condemning Maroni's plan, though members of the body's center-right parliamentary group voted against the resolution. Sadly, this purely symbolic vote has been Europe's main political protest against Italy's authoritarian drift.
In 1999, when Austria's center-right formed a governmental coalition with the country's far-right party, widespread outcry led to Austria's being temporarily ostracized from the European Union. Since then, however, a number of countries - including Berlusconi's Italy - have followed in Austria's path without any reaction at the continental level. In other countries, the center-right has resisted an open alliance but has co-opted many of the far right's themes.
That is the case in France, for instance, where Nicolas Sarkozy rose through the political ranks by stigmatizing the Arab community and the inhabitants of the lower-class banlieues. After his victory in the 2007 presidential election, Sarkozy created an ominous-sounding "Ministry of Immigration and National Identity" and sponsored a proposal that would require immigrants already in France who are seeking to be reunited with their families to use DNA testing to prove their blood ties - a humiliating policy that tosses the concept of legal guardianship, reduces family ties to biological parenthood and moves back towards a model of citizenship based on blood.
In October, The New York Times blasted Sarkozy's "pseudoscientific bigotry" and likened the DNA testing bill to the Vichy collaborationist government during the Nazi occupation. Now Silvio Berlusconi is upping the ante, though, and even the Times hasn't bothered to protest. Europe's xenophobic drift has become dangerously routine.
Ad personamThe Economist regrets that Berlusconi is more interested in judicial reforms meant to help him in his own legal battles than in tackling economic issues. |
The first waveThe Guardian details the first series of anti-Gypsy measures the Berlusconi government announced in May. |
On cameraThe controversy over the drowning of two Roma girls captured the depths of the country's ethnic tensions. |
FirebrandThe BBC profiles Umberto Bossi, the controversial leader of the Northern League. |
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Egregiously unfair commentary. Only a propagandist for Veltroni, or a Huffington blogger, could have written a more slanted commentary.
Gee, I have not heard this before: Berlusconi is the fascist oppressor. Gypsies are oppressed minorities--specially those that robbed me in Madrid. Conservative governments such as those of Austria and France are evil, because they single out minorities to gain power. They just follow Hitler's playbook. I mean if this article had originality it would be worthy of being called moronic.
Fitting. I just did a Google search for Daniel Nichanian and it turns out that he is a regular blogger at the Huffingtonpost.
One suggestion Atlantic: if you are going to invest beaucoup dinero hiring Andrew Sullivan, Megan McArdle, Clive Crook among others to build a brain trust, do not do something mindless and let someone from the Huffingtonpost post for free.
Honestly, I have not felt this existentially dissapointed and confused since I slept with a model--only to have her sleepwalk around my apartment.
I mean I have been recommending your website at work, at dinner parties, and over-pretentious bars with over-priced drinks. And the first thing they are going to read is this intellectual manure? It is unfair, Atlantic, unfair.
So pardon me if I indulge in one more analogy but I am pissed. Atlantic: The Huffingpost is the toilet bowl of intellectual thought of the Americas. If it is the desire of the The Atlantic to be known as its over-priced bidet, then indeed continue to publish huffington bloggers in conjunction with Andrew Sullivan, Megan McArdle, Clive Crook et al.
Mr Del Valle's incontinent rhetoric is consistent with the new currents blowing in from the Italian peninsula these days. In the words of so many Italian conservatives and centre-right sympathisers you feel a scarcely containable rage, as well as a passionate intolerance for dissent. It seems that after decades of what they feel has been impotent compromise, they yearn for a more virile uncomplicated solution. And their leader is happy to provide it. Perhaps those who framed Italy constitution at war's end, committing the nation to decades of weak government knew a thing or two about the Italian soul after all. But one thing is certain: this latest experiment in democracy "Italian style", complete with its conflicts of interest at the highest levels of the state, the uneven control of media and the open war between the judiciary and the executive, is set to offer more surprises yet to those who would continue to shoe-horn this old, dysfunctional nation into the easy stereotypes the West has loved. Today's Italy does not feel "dolce" at all; it's angry. And as it gets poorer, it will get angrier still. Unfortunately, Mr Nichanian's rather superficial analysis does little to illuminate the path ahead.
I can't believe this piece got headline space at the Atlantic. This has "summer intern" written all over it.
And the photo of Berlusconi from Flickr! LOL!
Readers of the Atlantic have been long fed on a diet of sharp analysis and good journalism - which makes this piece's underwhelming sophomoric quality all the more notable.
I disagree with the previous comments - not only was this article insightful, but its look into the rise of the racist far-right in Europe is a necessary response to the relatively positive press leaders like Berlusconi and Sarkozy has received in the United States. There is nothing "superficial" about the discussion here about racism or violence against minorities, and the criticism of this well-written article smacks of a blatant denial of the danger of Europe's right wing.
A very important and timely piece - and Nichanian is absolutely right to insist that the situation of Italy's Roma is not an exception but part of a larger far-right, vehemently anti-immigrant mobilization that has been sweeping Europe for the past two decades, if not longer.
I wonder at the somewhat over the top comments above - why is it "radical" or "superficial" to raise the situation of an increasingly threatened and persecuted people as one demanding serious attention? I guess some readers of the Atlantic would rather not be bothered by such unimportant matters as rising violence against a group whose murder in Hitler's death camps has still not been fully reckoned with in Europe, or in most histories of the Holocaust.
What the article fails to mention is that the roma are marginal by choice, refusing to let their children be educated or take up regular salaried work. The result is a permanent underclass that live the lives of petty criminals. The USA would never tolerate such anti social behaviour, why should the Italians? The breaking up a roma community opens up great possibilities for roma individuals, a chance to free themselves from their cruel and tyrannical culture. Moral stupidity rises to the top yet again...
First of all I want to apologies for my poor english. After the first sentence I've been almost incapable to finish the reading. Nichanian shows a big crass ignorance and a bigger prejudice. Big ignorance because Berlusconi's speech with clear words and expressly was related to the ROMAN falange, that is a term to describe a winning military tactical organization in the roman republic, about 2400 years before Franco, e not to the falange of the spanish nationalist Primo de Rivera. Big pregiudice because, supported by this ignorance, Nichanian want to arbitrary connect, despite the words used by Berlusconi, the term "Roman falange" with the spanish fascism. About the rest: I've been in U.S.A. many times. I really don’t think the various towns administrations of the U.S.A could tolerate the kind of illegal situations due to illegal stays we usually see in our italian towns, like thefts, burglaries, snatches and child abuses. Honestly.
A point which always strucks me is how many British and American commenters are unwilling (or unable) to go beyond stereotypes and commonplaces when writing about Italy. In this piece only "Pizza" and "Mandolino" are missing. The detail about the Roman Falange is comical. I bet Mr.Nichanian has never seen those Gypsies camps' conditions and how their children are treated with his own eyes. Yelling "Fascist!" to someone you disagree with was the most practised method to get discredit on someone in politics in Italy in the past 50 years and sadly someone is still using it.
I'm italian... the situation is quite more complex than it seems. The Berlusconi government is using xenophobia just to distract the public opinion from his troubles with justice. It's not the same than nazi's persecutions, but now we have people that begins pogroms, and the situation is getting worse... (sorry for my terrible english!)
You right Mr Nican! Pipol Italy very razist with us! Yesterday, I find a bag in train. I think this is a nice bag and take it! Every person near start to cry you dirt gypsy. I say why you insulting me? They say you are taking a bag not your away!I say I dont see a name written on, and I no good at reading, also! Then I run, because they getting angry. Very racist!
In Italy with Berlusconi's governement there is not trip for cats !
Bye ! Bye ! To comunists and comunist's friends.
P.S. I'm very happy to my BAD inglish and I hope never improve it.
"moves back towards a model of citizenship based on blood"
Citizenship that is not based on blood is a very new concept, and one that is still not the norm.
Also, one cannot entirely blame Sarkozy for his rhetoric against the "banlieues". While it was not attractive, one cannot forget that tensions have long existed, and had escalated during the discourse, making the discussion appropriate (though maybe not the language).
"La Haine", a french movie analyzing the hatred between the thugs of the Parisian suburbs and the police, notes quite appropriately the sentiment that seems to be driving this political shift to the right. What is unfortunate, and makes the movie so real, is that there is no answer without sacrifice. Brossi's words, while abhorrent, carry some value, though in reverse. One should bear in mind that politicians are there to do what the public cannot do otherwise. It is unfortunate that politicians have become nothing more than populists, rather than guardians of social and economic order.
Berlusconi is not the power. He is a facade. Nevertheless, he can do what he want (or what he is ordered to do...) thanks to italian people. Yes italian people are distracted by media, but they anyway failed to feel as the owners of the Nations. The smarter an italian, the more devoted to the ruling power. We did nothing to gain a free Nation. We do not have a free nation. It's time that you journalists start saying this. Otherwise, italians will use "Berlusconi" as a reason to behave out of legality, as their big love (Berlusconi). As a matter of fact, italians love one-man ruler. It always has been so. You journalists allow this to be forgotten, if you don't focus on the immobility of an entire population.
A friend of America! No friend of barrak.Italia!
Posted by m-antony | July 29, 2008 10:18 PM