Just two years after being shown the door by the Italian electorate, Silvio Berlusconi is back, after his right-wing bloc won 46.5% of the vote in Italy's General Election. So, another 5 years of corruption and lawlessness, then, handed to the right by a minor party leader who wanted to avoid prosecution himself...
According to Beppe Grillo (an Italian comedian and blogger who campaigns against corruption), 100 of those elected have been prosecuted, convicted, or are currently under investigation for corruption. That's around 10% of the total. And he has some rather acid words about it:
In other countries, such as Finland or the United States for example, it would be sufficient to nominate one of the criminals on this list to ensure that the party would lose the elections. Here in Italy, things are totally different. A sentenced criminal in your crew could help to win you the elections. Such a person brings with him/her the votes of the Mafia groups, the lobby groups and the tax evaders. More simply put, this kind of nomination is merely the price of silence. Italy is the Country of Machiavelli. If the end truly justifies the means, then the criminal justifies the votes. Finally sentenced criminals and statute-barred offenders always get a reward for good behaviour. Offenders remanded for trial or awaiting appeals, instead, are granted parliamentary immunity. Parliament is a free zone. Meaning that anyone who gets in gets off scot-free.This should not be happening in a democracy. But it'll take a generational shift and some major changes to electoral laws to purge the criminals from Italian politics, and that looks to be a long way off...
