At the conference I attended in Rome last month I encountered a remarkable political correspondent. In the margins of the meeting she unfolded the true scale of what independent journalism suffers in Italy. The decisions of the constitutional court in Italy that Berlusconi’s self-serving law grants him immunity from prosecution, is unconstitutional, throws into sharp relief the reality that in the very heart of the cradle of European democracy – Rome – lurks a true enemy of press freedom and worse.
My friend works for an old and extremely established medium which under edict from Berlusconi himself prohibits any political correspondent covering either his doings, pronouncements or his announcements unless they are individually approved by Berlusconi himself. Effectively the only journalists who report Berlusconi in more than 50 per of the television and print outlets in Italy that he owns, are fully paid-up members of his political coterie.
For nearly a decade and a half my friend has been restricted as a political correspondent to only covering opposition politicians and politics. This explains why the “escort scandal” was all but unreported on the state television RAI and in the stable of newspapers and magazines that Berlusconi controls. Many opposition politicians have remained strangely inactive and silent about this. My informant tells me they live in fear of libel prosecutions. Berlusconi has at least three live (libel prosecutions) in the courts as I speak.
Berlusconi is the very same Berlusconi that Tony Blair chose to holiday with whilst serving British prime minister. My informant says that there are a number of European leaders who have been complicit in the continual international silence about Berlusconi’s excesses.
The combination of his position as prime minister, richest man in Italy, and owner of his multi-tentacled media empire renders him a dangerous blot on Europe’s democratic landscape. It may be that other European leaders regard this as a merely domestic issue about which they have no right to comment. But the outside world’s convenient blind eye over the issue runs the danger of accepting the Italian leader’s activities and approving of them.
Despite the court’s ruling I am concerned for my friend’s welfare and dare not name her although I believe she has the courage to be indentified. The Italian space is something we should watch with anxiety in the coming weeks and months. There is an excellent piece in the October issue of Standpoint which goes into more of his activities.
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“Is Berlusconi thwarting free press?”
What? Like the Labour Party does here.
Is Berlusconi backing Blair to become Europe’s President?
Does Blair welcome such backers?
How about Berlusconi as Europe’s first President? I can think of no better candidate.
What I am trying to say is that the same principles and methods are being used from the particular to the general.
There are only so many moves available to the few as there are to the many.
What happens in the cover happens in the overt.
Freedom is an imaginary concept.
I am sure that you friend will be safe even publishing her name. It is often a safer way to let others know what is happening.
There are only a few like Princess Di, (who some still believe is an elaborate conspiracy )who are known and die.
The fool tells all and is naive, but is safer.
We shouldn’t worry about Berlusconi – there’s no sense of dynasty there: just a joke that’s been tolerated too long. The way he treated Merkel wasn’t exactly Godfather, just silly and sad.
Anyone who goes on about “pulling” the way he does makes you think ‘virgin’ rather than ‘lothario’.
Joke over.
CAN I GO HORRIBLY OFF-TOPIC?
I was just thinking how sherry’s considered a little-old-lady-respectable beverage. Is it?
If you think about it, that litre of Full Cream is nearly halfway to the strength of gin. It’s also incredibly sweet, which means you can drink it all day (don’t). Added to that, the cl-per alc.vol makes it, in some cases, cheaper than cheap lager.
Is it time to re-brand this “harmless” drink as the Ultimate Alco-Pop?
The Economist have been complaining about this for years and even won a law suit that he filed against them.
Yes, he possibly is but there is now a wider frame for news as evidenced by this page. Also Italy got rid of him from power and then they returned him! -? I agree with Steve W. as regards European president – then it would show what a mockery such a position is – or maybe on that it should be Blair, mmm! except he starts immoral wars and leaves the public to pick up the pieces.
Since you have not blogged about Cameron’s speech, we will pre empt any perceptions that havn’t been covered already in the C4 report.
Remember Blair’s speech. Words probably matched by true feelings, but a figurehead only.
We are all hanging on to that metal box which is crossing white water.
If the wheel turns in a favourable direction then for survival, many follow.
That survival instinct pulls at our innermost principles and we can let go and feel satisfied that we lived true to ourselves , if we know truly what we are,
or clutch hold of a mutable self.. there is no joke in that….there again some say that life is one big joke.
Oh if only my box were bigger/or let me get back to work!!!!!!!
Peter Barkworth starred in a play comparing classes and culture. Inverse snobbery became loud and aggressive, until Peter said actually we prefer Fresh salmon to tinned salmon.
I did then, but now find that tinned salmon with vinegar on brown bread is tastier.
It is bonkers isn’t it? we are alive, many are not starving,we hope to stay warm and we can even be self indulgent about petty snobbery from ;, I was going to say both poles, but I will change it to a three dimensional pyramid .Entombed in the ancient vault is an aggregation of perceptions and feelings of worthlessness and self worth.
Will I stand tall and attract others?
Am I small with big thoughts?
The nothingness of it ,when we just quite detachedly ,look as thousands die under earthquakes and sunami’s.
Che Sara…………………..
Silvo Berlisconi controls the Italian press the same way in which he controls the Italian people and that is through fear. Italians are scared and I have witnessed it first hand.
Speak out or say “the wrong thing” and you or someone you love will come in harms way. Judge Giovanni Falcone is a prime example and was a prime target. Incredible comic and actor Beppe Grillo is another example and he has been banned from televison. The last I heard, was that they were taking is shows off the net!. The visible underworld rules that country and a lot of Italians know that, they just can’t do anything about it. There are over twenty political parties in Italy. Different mafia families are in constant conflict with each other but the one thing that unites them and helps them to no end, is how their country “works”. Berlusconi has to be part of one of those families otherwise he wouldn’t constantly have six privately paid bodyguards. He began his empire by working for a northern Italian bank which subsequently went “bust”. Top mafiosi banked there.
Berlusconi knows who the top bosses are as he is one of them.
adzmundo CND
Berlusconi not Godfather ….peace prize Obama! .. think again,
ALL POINTS BULLETIN:
Do you sometimes think we’re reduced to mock-Caesar thumbs?
That all our humanity is reduced to the way a thumb pokes?
That it doesn’t matter how subtle/nuanced our thoughts are, there are Powers that say “this is allowed, and this not”?
Dontcha love these Powers?They reduce democracy to its bare essentials.
But these bare essentials are never nice.
Isn’t that annoying?
I suppose Phil it is not what we say , but how we understand and perceive it and where our own / human position is in relationship to it.
I have these awful kind of evolutionary type perceptions ,of worm -like tubes who eat,reproduce and defaecate etc. All the same bits of earth stuff with added bits for variety.
The thought police if allowed to rule will define the next stage in the evolutionary process of the human being. What we are allowed to do will shape future generations.
Well to answer the thumb thing . As our prehensile digit , you may be right.
How is Italian Morale? Corruption must not be silenced, of course it shouldn’t – Although powerful political debates must be reported by people who hold deeply grounded morals and a high level of integrity. Human Nature requires it, Politicians are naturally offensive!!!
Poor Tony Blair. the newly converted Roman Catholic… the world on his shoulders. He has only the same amount of blood on his hands as have billions of others.
I would remind everyone that decisions which were made ,were not his alone.I didn’t like Dr Rowan’s unkind and untimely remarks .in St Pauls Cathedral which were lashed with overtones of disrespect for the huge burden ,policy makers have had.
For those who have died in defence of the greater good and families who were proud that they served,; I felt queasy as suggestions of unecessary death were made..
There is also the future of this world to consider . There are those who believe that we live and survive for the betterment of mankind. There are others who believe we are here to fulfil a divine purpose and life is in the hereafter rather than our present beautiful world.
This world, which is overflowing with sublime magnificance ,is worth fighting for. Unfortunately sometimes unpleasant decisions need to be made.
No one realises this more than the Italians.The power of the Vatican emenates throughout the western world and still, all roads lead to Rome .
What this world needs desperately is good will and more and more and more , until people become greedy for good will.
The bank was called Banca Rasini, please google it to find out more….
adzmundo CND
I have aired my views on your blog John, several times and you have always printed them in full. Similarly I have expressed my opinions on the BBC site “have your say” of the ten subjects on which I have commented none have ever been printed on the BBC web site.
I initially found this to be normal, then frustrating and now sinister. We have a very shallow press freedom in this country, the proganda is very powerful by it’s subliminal nature. Thank you for the opertunity to contribute to your blog.
Dear Jon
I never miss you news at 7PM, and I considered the best UK news, if you came to Italy again ask Nicholas Farrell about Berlusconi, if you give me the of the jounalist you spoke to,maybe is one who only write against B.
Farrell mail:
nik299@libero.it
Ofcourse Berlusoni he does thing that a Premier should not do,but is not one of those Mammuth who have been politician for the last 50 years.
see you tonight.
Giulio
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