Last Sunday was the procession of the boats- a tradition that stems from the time Venice was the ruler of the Adriatic Coast and a ceremony takes place symbolizing the marriage of Venice with the sea.
A certain guest writer of The Times U.K. Richard Overy titles his article “We should be afraid of a British Berlusconi” and alludes that because of some events taking place in the 1930s is a danger to democracy today and we must get ready to protest. If this isn’t an incentive to public disorder, I don’t know what is. It would not have been so bad if the article was referring to its own country, Britain, but by inferring these dangers are coming from Italy and inciting Italians to rebellion is simply adding insult to injury.
Italians are too busy taking part in processions and the like to mess about with protestations.
I expect the writer of the article, having gone to such great length in expounding only a relatively interesting subject as the narrative of the 1930s makes his living from narrating the events of 1930s, whether real, presumed, opinion or other or perhaps is trying to attract attention to his new book on the subject at the expense of some inaccuracies on Italy and the Italians. Since British public opinion at the time wanted the country to disarm herself, and given what happened in 1939 thank goodness the government had the wisdom not to do so, we, the public should get ready to protest since this is a clear indication that “Backstairs fascism is already happening in Italy...” I presume the writer was joking of course! Or at least since the narration of the 1930s is hardly a vibrating issue to common mortals of today, I suggest the writer updates his litanies.
The writer claims there was disaffection between public and state ( what a discovery! I thought this was one of the few everlasting truths!) in the 30s claiming that is the same situation today, Italy only? I wonder. The disaffection was true in Italy in the 30s, for most Italians did not want Mussolini and his Fascist government thus forming a Partisan army and creating a Civil War. But that was hardly the case in Britain, it was Winston Churchill, one of the greatest leaders of all times that managed to rally the whole of Britain behind him and support him to the tilt- is that disaffection between people and state?
Winston Churchill created a unity in Britain as no other leader had before or since...
Today that situation is reversed, Britain is going through that malaise period Italians went through during the left wing governments prior to this one when the whole of Italy seemed to have come to a standstill as no one in the government was capable of making any decision at all. If Berlusconi is popular today it is not because he has taken away the rights of people, but because he has given them more rights, mainly the right to defend themselves, to earn a living if they work, to save money and expand the economy. He has taken away the rubbish from the streets of Naples by taking the army there and getting rid of the hooligans who did not want the rubbish to be collected. There is still more to be done, there must be stricter laws on immigration, more power for the police to stop thugs from beating us up at night or break into our homes, more laws are needed to take the gangs off the street and give more authority to teachers, punish parents who don’t send kids to school as in Palermo, more heavy penalties for drinking and driving and drug taking. He still has to force the Left Wing government in Venice to put up the barriers so as not to inundate the city every time it rains instead of allowing protesters to mess about. But the writer of The Times considers all these laws, which are not yet in parliament to be dangerous, an “erosion of our rights” and “Fascism in our backstairs”.
The said writer also considers that there is a relationship between a severe economic crises and political disaffection and wonders why in spite of this Berlusconi is still sailing the seas. The above factors are mainly the reason but the economic crises is hitting other countries worse than Italy for the simple reason that Italians are great, and I mean great savers. That is why Banks in Italy have not rocked their bottoms as those in other countries. Berlusconi is not making it all up when he says Italy will get out of this economic crises better than others- it’s a fact. Of course I can’t help sensing a touch of envy on behalf of the writer when he states “In Britain there is as yet no Berlusconi in waiting”... Sorry about that, but Berlusconi is ours and we are keeping him!
It is fatal for any writer to take the events occurring in one nation and apply them to another. Britain and Italy may be in Europe but the two cultures are vastly different. Politics, governments, finance, history, family, education, religious, racial, social, sexual outlooks can in no way be compared as being similar. What works in one country will probably never work in the other. My advice to the writer is that if he wants to be convincing in any way he should try to write about what he knows best, which certainly is not about Italy by a long shot. And that remains my humble opinion.
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