Democracy at Work

(above: L'Express, 5/17/06, feat. Napolitano. Cover reads: "It is necessary to change the [political] climate in Italy")

Giorgio Napolitano, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana, has chosen to give Prodi another shot -- so postpone the postponement. Prodi will face an official vote of confidence in the Senate and his coalition will be restructured. Was reinstating Prodi as Prime Minister 9 months after his installation Napolitano's idea of "changing the political climate in Italy", as he said in an interview with the French weekly L'Express in May of '06? As he massages Italy back to its feet, Napolitano contends that there was simply no other option, no other concrete alternative than reinstalling Prodi.

Shortly after Napolitano's announcement the Cdl and Berlusconi responded: "Italy is the one country that has the misfortune of having Communist parties part of the government. We were hoping that the Prodi government would implode, but we never spoke of forcing its implosion."

********UPDATE********

This Wednesday, Februrary 28th, Prodi received the Senate's vote of confidence. The new Prodi government is under way and will be reported on as noteworthy details arise.

Prodi Resigns

After less than 9 months in office, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has resigned. Prodi lost a crucial (although informal) vote of confidence on Wednesday pertaining to the Italian troop presence in Afghanistan and the enlargement of the American base in Vicenza. The outcome of the Senate vote was 158 in favor, 136 against, 24 abstainments. Italian Foreign Minister, Massimo D'Alema, a member of Prodi's center-left coaltion suggested that the Prodi government resign if they stood to lose the confidence vote.

Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano (a former Communist), urged Prodi to put his government's foreign policy to the test and see if it still held majority support in the Italian senate. The result: Prodi has effectively lost his mandate to govern. 9 months ago in early May, upon his election, Prodi pledged that his government would "last five years".

The outcome of the Senate vote surprised even Berlusconi, who just a few days earlier predicted that the Left would find common ground and work out their differences. Upon hearing the resignation of Prodi, Berlusconi joyously suggested that "a Prodi encore" was not what the Italian public had in mind. (N.d.R.: sources now deny that Berlusconi made a public declaration about Prodi, and it's possible that the "Berlusconi declaration" is fabricated)

If the majority does not form a new coalition, Napolitano could call for new elections (or even reappoint Prodi); the Italian public expressed today that they are contrary to trudging out to the voting booths again. But the law rules, and from the looks of it, a new Italian election could be looming...

(above: a spot by Berlusconi's Forza Italia; top: a picture of Massimo D'Alema (Center-Left coalition) with the words, "Foreign Policy: Without a majority we'll go home.", bottom: Forza Italia, "...well? GO HOME!!!"

The Belpaese Gets "it" Wrong

In a hopeful bid to relaunch Italy as the most visited country in Europe (France is #1; Paris the #1 tourist destination in the world), il belpaese has redesigned its logo (above), and endured a dual Prodi/Rutelli presentation, rife with explanations of its appropriateness.

Designed by San Francisco-based design firm Landor Associates, the logo is supposed to evoke "modernity", "naturalism" and "Italian tradition". Below the "it" it says "Italy leaves an impression". All indications point to the logo not being designed in Italy (for example, at Landor's Milan office) or even being the work of an Italian, but was rather outsourced to a design competition, albeit with some Italian judges on the panel. Italy's old turismo logo (above), whose look always struck me as suspiciously similar to Spain's (below), must have been more popular; an online survey taken today by Italy's second biggest daily La Repubblica found that only 29% of Italians approve of the new logo. Italy's turismo site, www.italia.it, is currently in fase di realizzazione -- coming soon -- just plain out of order; surely a great way to relaunch a tourism initiative.

Huge Commie Rally Outside U.S. Air Base

(above: Prodi sold us to the U.S.A.)

The polemics surrounding the expansion of the U.S. Air Force base in Vicenza (see Gennaio 19) will continue this weekend with Italian lefists staging a massive rally. Fausto Bertinotti, head of Rifondazione Comunista and part of the Prodi government, urged protesters to be non-violent after several Italian politicans voiced concern over the protests being infiltrated by militants (from Italy and beyond). The organizers of the rally pledged that Vicenza would be "invaded peacefully and noisily by (80,000) thousands of men and women, and the protests were non-violent.

In a massive sweep last week Italian authorities arrested a dozen or so members of the Brigate Rosse -- Red Brigades -- an Italian Communist paramilitary group -- with huge weapon arsenals. Italy is no stranger to political violence and terrorism, and since WWII has had several Communist and Fascist bomb attacks (as well as political assassinations) on its soil.

(above: US Army Friend$. Only imbeciles never change their mind)

The U.S. military restructuring plan of George W Bush -- cutting U.S. troops in Europe by 2/3, moving the Hiedelberg base to Wiesbaden, etc. -- also includes repositioning 2,000 soldiers to Vicenza. Italians recognize that the U.S. Air Base provides an economic injection to Vicenza's local economy, but worry that it could (once again) be used as a forward-operating base for American war plans -- like it was during the Balkans.

Saturday afternoon from Sardegna Berlusconi chimed in via conference call to the Forza Italia Youth Summit in Napoli: "I'm very sad because while you youth are there (in Napoli) discussing themes of liberty, thousands of protesters are marching in Vicenza against the United States."

Italy's Charm Tainted by Solar Panels

Pierluigi Bersani, Italian Minister of Economic Development, recently put forward an initiative to dramatically increase Italy's solar output. In 2002 Italy produced 2% of its non-renewable electrical energy using solar power ( source: DOE/EIA), and in 2004 it began a 0.35% annual increase. The Bersani initiative, which has allocated 62 million euro in 2007 to communities that employ solar power, is well-intentioned and adheres to Brussels' plan of reducing carbon emissions -- but in the eyes of many it causes eyesores.

Most that visit the Italian countryside can't help but leave with the feeling that the entire terracotta roof dotted landscape be deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The greening of Italy's energy sector is a good thing, but how far will it go, and with how much care will it be implemented? Will the towers of San Gimignano be covered in pannelli solari in the name of energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction? Will Bersani's plan create little energy, but lots of ecomostri? Luckily, these ecomostri can be easily removed. And in the end, what's uglier, a smoggy belpaese (N.d.R.: see Giugno 16), dependent on foreign fossil fuels, or one accented with solar panels?

(N.d.R.: see Aprile 25th and 27th for more on Ecomostri)

Italy to Try U.S. Soldier

The Caso Calipari seems to be far from finished. This morning a judge from Rome requested an extradition of American soldier Mario Lozano. Nicola Calipari -- killed by U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint March 4th, 2005 -- was an Italian Sismi agent. The post-mortem investigation showed that the ex-Sismi agent was killed by one bullet in the head. The killing of Calipari infuriated Italians of all political stripes, and some politicians suggested that he was targeted by the U.S. for his alleged involvement in paying cash ransoms (rumored to be in the millions of euro) to the insurgency for Italian hostages. The U.S. government has shrugged at all notions of these "conspiracy theories", calling it a "friendly-fire" accident; the U.S., however, does have a strict policy of not paying ransoms, since they fund the illegal acquisition of arms.

In response to today's request for Lozano's extradition, the Pentagon responded swiftly: "We will not extradite Lozano. The case is already closed."

(photo: Italy's popular Communist newspaper, il manifesto, runs the headline "With You" on the day following Calipari's death)

Bomb Kills Officer at Sicilian Soccer Match

Late Friday evening at the Palermo-Catania match (stopped due to teargas), ultras (1) took to the street and started rioting. A carta bomba (2) was thrown from the upper tier of the stadium, landing in a police officer's squad car -- and hitting him in the face. The officer, a supervisor of the Questura di Catania, died one hour later in Ospedale Garibaldi (Catania), in what is being described as a futile attempt to save a life. The deceased, Filippo Raciti, was 38. He leaves behind a wife and two children. Another officer wounded in the attack is in critical condition.

Prodi, as well as the commissioner of the Figc lamented the degeneration of the sport and promised risposte dure -- swift action.

An estimated hundred fans were wounded in the clashes outside the stadium with security forces, and thus far 14 arrests have been made in the bomb attack against Raciti. All pending soccer matches in Italy have been cancelled until further notice.

(1) Ultras, from the French word "ultra-royaliste", are fans that harbor strong attachments to their city and/or region, often manifesting it in violent, passionate ways. Opposing Italian ultras are often locked into "gang wars".
(2) a bomba carta is a rudimental explosive device, traditionally composed of some sort of PVC tubing or packaging, packed with gunpowder, and wrapped in adhesive tape.

********UPDATE********

Filippo Raciti (pictured left) is dead. His wife is in mourning, but the ultras hit back last night in Livorno (Tuscany), tagging up the walls of a local paper, Il Tirreno, with the following three phrases:

Un altro Filippo Raciti -- We need another Filippo Raciti
Morte allo sbirro -- Death to the pigs
02.02.07 Vendetta x Carlo Giuliani -- 02.02.07 Vendetta for Carlo Giuliani

Carlo Giuliani was the young No-Global protestor killed in Genova in 2001 during the G8 protests; two shots were fired by the police, one hitting Giuliani in the head, killing him instantly.