122. Underwater Venice- Thanks to Politicians and Contesters

After the rubbish in Naples another mess for the present government to  clean up is Venice which is the brilliant result of decades of left wing local government.  

Before the left-wing starts throwing rotten tomatoes at me, they have to bear in mind that I have never been a member of the right wing party but indeed I was a member of the Labour Party in Britain and the Socialist Party of Bettino Craxi in Italy, and if I can say something good about the left wing I will be the first to mention it, but so far what is there for me to say?  The left wing will have to face the fact that the mess in Naples was also the result of left wing government- Now, here in Venice too the left wing have been in power for decades so the fact that there is also a mess here simply cannot be a coincidence, now can it? 

It is well over 30 years that the Mose Barriers have been approved- Where, for God sake are they?  I once asked someone in Venice about what was going on mentioning that the Thames Barriers had not been under construction for 30 years and even the Taj Mahal, also constructed by waters flowing took only 20 years to build.  This person looked at me as if I had just landed from Mars and said that constructing protective barriers  for Venice was not as simple as constructing those for the Thames.  I agreed but looked back at him without feeling offended that he thought I ought to mind my own business and said “He who made the lamb also made thee.”  Not sure if he understood but...

 One of the things that prevented local government in Naples to do anything about the rubbish were the local contesters who as we have since found out, and perhaps always knew belong to those secret societies for which if you talk about them you end up like the author of Gomorrah living in a bunker.  Even if they keep a low profile here in Venice but these contesters also exist here maybe under innocuous names as pro environment this and that since they do not want diggings to take place not here nor there. 

Maybe that miracle worker, who once claimed to walk on water, should turn his attention to this situation before putting up bridges across the straights of Sardinia and Sicily.  And instead of keeping Alitalia flying he should concentrate our resources in keeping Venice afloat. 

And how pray do you suggest to find the money for this, something around 4 milliard Euros?  I’ve thought of that too.   It’s as simple as halving all the Member of Parliament wages or get rid of half of them.  Italy, a mere speck of land in the universe, does not need almost as many senators as those giant nations that are continents in themselves.  Another essential cropping to be made is that of managers working for public or semi-private companies, of course, like Alitalia who earn colossal amounts just to bring the nation’s airline to ruins. 

But should Silvio Berlusconi, or any Prime Minister attempt to do this cropping he would within minutes find himself without one single supporter to vote the bill as everyone likes to keep their ass glued to that nice warm seat that we have allowed to occupy. 

The President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, was right yesterday when he said values have gone out of politics, or words to that effect, if ever they ever were there at all (my annotation).  Probably only the Bishop and then Cardinal of Milan, Pope Paul VI thought real values were in politics when De Gasperi founded the “Democrazia Cristiana” just after the war.

Before closing, politicians have to remember that Italy can survive without bridges over the straights of Sardinia or Sicily, she can survive without a National Airline, but Italy cannot survive without the world’s Pearl of the Sea- Venice.