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Italy: The Problem Child ofEurope?

(Not really. Home of the Little Monsters of Europe

perhaps is more appropriate!)

Onetime in the late 198s in "taly #here " yet li$e " #as%rea&fastin' in the inin' room an eyein' the relati$ely ne# NN"nternational #hile an*horess +ettina Lues*her %leate on a%out

Europe,s e*onomi* ina%ility an $ulnera%ility. Out of the %lue shere$erte to "taly 'ripe a fe# ne'ati$e statisti*s then parenthesi-eher feelin's #ith this poi'nant point #ith this meia *orporationreuian slip/ ..."taly the pro%lem *hil of Europe.... (0he Miami+ea*h of Europe) " almost *ho&e to eath on my heerios. Ne$era'ain #oul you hear anythin' ineli*ate a%out 0he +oot on at leastNN. 0hat #oul %e %a for %usiness an the Nielsen ratin's. 2nit is not so politi*ally *orre*t n'est-ce pas? Hey! 0H"3 "3 NN!(Ha$e you e$er #onere #hy NN is al#ays repeatin' 0H"3 "3NN 0H"3 "3 NN 0H"3 "3 NN "t is %e*ause NN is

inse*ure. +e*ause NN in4uen*es so many people in the 'lo%al*ommunity an is al#ays passin' from one ethni* moo to anotherNN must %e e5*eein'ly *areful a%out ho# an #hat it says6annot only oes it not #ant to o7en $ie#ers. "t oes not esire torue the feathers of say the enta'on a$ertisers multinational*orporations an other potent eterminants. :hate$er sai on NNhas to %e *he*&e then ou%le *he*&e ;ltere for o7ensi$eelements an e$en passe throu'h the le'al epartment. 0herefore#hat *omes out of the announ*ers, mouths6#hether it %e true or

e$en false6sma*&s of Ne#sspea&ism an rin's li&e a leaen *oin.NN,s ne#s stories ree& of ha$in' %een #or&e o$er in*essantly. "ne$er %elie$e a #or sai on NN.)

" remem%er the ay 1 May 198

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e5pun'e the memories " ha a**umulate in the hi'h s*hool anuni$ersity history *lasses " ha attene in the @isAnite 3tates.+u%%lin' #ith e5u%eran*e " #ante to s*our the pla*e loo&in' for#here 'laiators an =oman emperors on*e hel *ourt6to see if "*oul ;n remnants of them. " #ishe to as*ertain #hether or not

that #hi*h " ha learnt a%out "taly in s*hoolhouse settin's Bi$e #iththe reality of them in their o#n en$irons. 2n %e*ause " &ne# thatmany of the histori*al lefto$ers of an*ient artefa*ts ha pro%a%ly%een unone an e$en *ompromise #ith the passin' of time "reali-e " #oul sooner or later ha$e to ;n #hat " #as loo&in' for inthe $ital prin*iple of the "talian people themsel$es6they #ho are the%est test for us to moul our opinions a%out them an their*i$ilisation.

rom that May ay to the present time an un*anny transformation

has ro*&e an rolle the "tali* peninsula mu*h to the re'ret of manyof its inha%itants. :hereas on*e %efore "talians #ere prone to 'loato$er their unparallele repute for %ein' one of the #orl,s mostprominent *entres for art *ulture stylin' esi'n an reli'ion a*y*le of eterioration has 'rippe 0he +oot lenin' *reen*e to the%elief that "taly is *hampion of the ne'ati$e *lassi;*ations ratherthan %ein' e$en at the top of one or t#o of the positi$e listin's. Most"talians #ill a'ree that somethin' is terri%ly out of #ha*&. 0here is ahorri%le malaise of un*ertainty in the air. @is*ussion is easily altereto ta&e up a $iolent %ent. 3tress is the norm. "taly,s #heels arespinnin' #illyC ho#e$er the repu%li* is ;nely ;5e in an eternal no?'o.

"taly,s 'eopoliti*al star has %een spent. "t t#in&les no more. +ut#hat is truly astonishin' a%out this %urn out is that it has happe#ithin less than one?hunre years of the European nation,s almostt#o?thousan?year %ein'ness. 2n a%solutely thunerouslyia*hroni* plun& that e$en :orl :ar " or :orl :ar "" *oul notha$e e7e*tuate. "nstea of enBoyin' status as one of the leain'ra#in' *ars of tourism an *ultural fas*ination "taly no# must%en o$er %a*ars to %rin' attention to itself an its #a5in'inustrial *omposites that not &no# ho#6nor are respe*ta%leenou'h6to *ompete #ith those fero*ious entities $a'uely*ate'ori-e toay uner the epithet 'lo%ali-ation. Most "talians&no# little of on?'oin' #orl e$ents. D of the "talians ha$e ne$er4o#n in a Bet.

0he maBority of us on the "talian s*ene #ill a*&no#le'e that 199

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#as an e*onomi* so*ial an politi*al #atershe for 0he +oot. "t #asthen that the "talian po#erfulness %e'an to e%% an it has notstoppe fallin' %a*& e$en toay. "t no# treas slo#ly %ut surely intoan enormous %la*& hole #ith no hope of es*apin'. 0he "taliane*onomy is %ein' hel to'ether #ith ru%%er %ans an %u%%le 'um.

or e*aes >ati*an "n* an *orrupt "talian 'o$ernmental o7i*ials6in *ahoots #ith or'ani-e *riminals6&ept sti*&in' their ;n'ers herean there into the "talian y&e that has these ays #orn itself out&eepin' "taly from efaultin' on its e%t responsi%ilities an othero%li'ations it o#es to itself an the #orl.

"t is not *le$er to thin& of "taly as some autonomous pie*e of theenormous European Fuanary esi'ne to test the in'enuity ofpoliti*ians an politi*al s*ientists. "talians #oul isa'ree that theyare not as parti*ular as they assume they are. "t mi'ht ha$e %een

sai that all roas lea to =ome %ut these ays many e$iationsha$e %een *onstru*te to steer in$estment farthermost a#ay from"taly. Anite 3tates, am%assaors are al#ays pullin' their hairs outto 'et "taly to 'et #ith it an *onform to their ieas of Busti*e fairplay relia%ility an ra*ial toleran*e6$irtues that "talians are notespe*ially reno#ne for. "taly is inee pe*uliar. Get it is importantto remem%er that it is in *ollusion #ith some of its nei'h%ors. 0hesesome%oies are often referre to as the pi's (ortu'al "talyree*e an 3pain/ 0he ro%lem hilren of Europe)6'ranspe*ialists in the 2rt of orruption a**orin' to the putriness 'urusof the erman?%ase 0ransparen*y "nternational. (One +a$ariane*onomist has enote the four as the 'ips I'ypsJ!) 2n'elaMer&el,s austerity is not a plea to European house#i$es to 'oshoppin' more s*rupulouslyC stri*tly spea&in' it is a hopelesse*onomi* maneu$er to *ull the sti'mas of 4a'rant *orruption an$ul'ar 'ree that are inee Beopari-in' the $ery eFuili%rium ofthe European *apitalisti* system.

onseFuently it is *ru*ial to e5amine "taly not per se %ut as amem%er of a mini Meiterranean Anite Nations. 0a&in' intoa**ount that there e5ists a $ariety of splinter populist 'roups(>eneto ruili aania >alle ,2osta 3a$oia 3i*ilia 3are'naatalonia 2ra'on the +asFue re'ion 2nalusia ali*ia an2sturias to name Bust a fe#) in this some#hat fra'mente southernsphere of the European *ontinent6as 2lain Min* *ompassionatelyprei*te in 199< in hisLe Nouveau oyen !"e#e$en those in theMeiterranean Anite Nations mi'ht one ay eure&a it an let it

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a#n on themsel$es that they ha$e inee many more*hara*teristi*s in *ommon than they o not.

:hat are some of these

0he ;rst is that they ha$e not yet *han*e upon the notion that inunity there is stren'th! :hat #oul %e the *onseFuen*es of a ;nally?'ot?to'ether Meiterranean Anite Nations 2n iras*i%le 'et?to'ether of ini$iuals. 0he population of the pi's ('ips) isrou'hly 1ati*an an its %an&or'ani-e *riminal or'ani-ations an priests %ishops an *arinalsare hoarin' funs in o7?shore %an& a**ounts for the lo$e of o#ho appears to #or& in $ery stran'e #ays. 0he "3 #or& intanem #ith the =* e$en if they o not #ant to or are silent a%outoin' so. +usiness is thi*&er then than %loo and reli'ion!

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0he MaKana irls +oys an the rotestant :or& Ethi* irls +oys for *enturies ha$e not %een &no#n an prone to satisfa*torily*ommi5 in a *onBointly syner'eti* state %ene;*ial to themsel$es antheir other surrounin' munane relationships. 0he EuropeanAnion #as in 'reat part *onstitute to amen this politi*al so*ial

an e*onomi* *hasm that no# appears to %e more polari-e than ithas %een in %y?'one time perios. 0he eli North. 0he Lo$esome3outh. 0he iealism of the an*ient ree&s. 0he pra'matism of thean*ient =omans. 0oay ermany the eputy sheri7 of the@isAnite 3tates of 2meri*a in Europe is o%sesse #ith tryin' to 'etthe "3 to play fair %y o%eyin' the rules of the European Anion that6#ith the self?ri'hteous proin' of the @A3 al#ays %ehin thes*enes6#oul lea to a harmoni-ation of all European Anionmem%er states6Bust another @isAnite 3tates of Europe!

Let us return to "taly the lar'est Meiterranean Anite Nations,so$erei'n state (a e*linin' population) no#aays in thethroes of issolution. "taly,s #orst enemy is the "talians themsel$es.0hat ma'i* #an that &ept "talians uner the thum%s of reli'iouspoliti*al an e*onomi*al potentates for e$en *enturies has no# lostits $im an spar&le. "n*ome ineFuality an so*ial strain are #orryin'to the "talian forefront. Panem et circenses is a %a Bo&e #hen forthose for #hom it has %een e$ise are *onstantly %ein' %laste #ithmeia pleas to %uy %uy %uy an %uy more #hile they are %ein'o$erta5e an esperately in sear*h of employment anor hi'her#a'es. "f the horrenous 'ap %et#een the poor an the ri*h6as "#itnesse it in >ene-uela in the early 198s6mi'ht %e a %en*hmar&it *an %e state that "taly is not on its #ay to a mile approa*h to#a'e earnin's for its *iti-ens %ut more to a caudillo-lie har line#ith the %ashin' in of "talian heas.

O%ser$e that this ilemma is one that is thou'ht to %e aeFuate to%ein' resol$e #ith sprea sheets an e*onomi* theorems that arepatiently #aitin' in the #in's for their 'ran entran*e. Nothin'*oul %e further from the truth of the matter. "taly is not in *risisC"taly is a *risis! "t is a *omple5 situation in #hi*h the ha$es an theha$e nots are in a psy*hi*al %ra#l ra#in' $itality from the one theother an slo#ly %ut surely %rin'in' "taly to a $irtual *ollapse. "t isnot that "taly mi'ht %e sa$e %y the imposition of some mathemati*alformulae or e*onomi* 'am%its thou'ht up %y %an& mana'ers anpe*uniary 'urus. No "taly,s most formia%le ai*tion is its $eryo#n *iti-ens/ the "talian #or&ers #ho are $yin' #ith their

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re*al*itrant "talian o$erlors #ho neither pay them to fa*ilely*onsume nor e$en #hat is #orse re'enerate the "talian ra*e.

2uthore %y 2nthony 3t. ohnP @e*em%er MMQ">

alen-ano "taly

###.s*ri%.*omthe#or#arrior

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