Behind the Scenes of Italy's Structural Crisis

Prof. Giancarlo Elia Valori discusses Italy’s crisis after the resignation of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the ramifications of the recent referendum on the country's economic, social, and political standings

Behind the Scenes of Italy's Structural Crisis

Italian outgoing Premier Matteo Renzi (Photo: AP)

After the start of the famous so-called "Second Republic," the thirteen governments, which succeeded one another in Italy, have lasted approximately three years at the maximum. Like Matteo Renzi’s, indeed the longest government in the "Second Republic."

Obviously, assuming that the goal of the Italian Second Republic was to have "governments which could last a whole legislature," it was certainly not reached.

Not even the goal of avoiding the multiplication and increasing power of the political parties represented in Parliament was achieved, considering that from nine, on average, they decreased to eight – not a great success for those who wanted a British-style bipartisan system?

But why a British-style bipartisan system? Italy's political history is much more complex than the history of a country, which only assassinated a king in 1642. Not to mention the countless electoral lists.

It is worth recalling that the collapse of the First Republic occurred between 1992 and 1993, but its seeds had been sown long before, precisely in 1987.

At that time, the dissolution of Parliament led to a sort of "institutional gridlock" due to the coincidence of the election of the President of the Republic and Parliamentary election.

Finally, at the time, a representative of the Lombard League was elected to the Senate, while the Mafia in Palermo channeled its votes to radicals and socialists with a view to sending a signal to the Christian Democratic Party (DC).

It was the phase of the “maxi-trial” against Sicilian Mafia bosses, resulting from Judge Giovanni Falcone’s investigations.

Later Italy recorded corruption, as well as the fragmentation and regionalization of political parties, the fall of the Communist Party - an unsaid pillar of the system - the metamorphosis of the judiciary power due to globalization and the increase in "extra-legem" law sources. Hence a new international Lex Mercatoria expressed directly by the markets and not focused on Parliament and courts.

Italy was collapsing as a result of corruption, of the "ante-litteram" scrapping of political parties, of media-style cheap "leaderism," of increased autonomy of markets and civil society. It was the Italy "born out of the Resistance movement" or, more exactly, of the political parties: the Christian Democratic Party (DC), which had been created in 1943, shortly after the “Camaldoli Code”; the Communist Party (PCI), which during Fascism remained underground, with all its leaders hidden in Moscow; the Socialist Party (PSI), which survived during the Fascist period; the Social Democratic Party (PSDI), which was created as a result of an anti-PSI split in 1947; the old Republican Party (PRI), which went into hiding during the Fascist period; the Italian  Social Movement (MSI), a national right party which was founded in 1946; and other political groups generated by Italy’s history, social struggles and life.

Matteo Renzi knows nothing about these parties and their history – not even about the history of the Christian Democrats, his party of origin. Renzi, like his predecessors, is the result of the Italian structural crisis, but he is the result and not the solution.

As to the labor market and employment policy, Renzi implemented the Jobs Act and, with a provincial and narrow-minded mentality, he used English to define it – as if it were a law by Barack Obama, the true patron of Renzi’s naive Americanism.

The Jobs Act assumes that there is a matching between labor supply and demand as if the two markets were potentially equal, but it is mostly based on a reduction of the tax burden for employers, with a view to shifting from fixed-term contracts to open-ended contracts.

Obviously, the system will create new jobs as long as the tax relief lasts. In early 2016, hirings with open-ended contracts fell by 33%, while the turning of fixed-term contracts into open-ended contracts decreased by 30.5%. Once finished the doping of the tax rebate, everything will go on as before.

Last November, Minister Madia’s Public Administration reform was declared illegal by the Constitutional Court. Certainly, it is a specific law on the relationship between the Ministry and the State-Regions Conference, but it is anyway a reform drafted by a former TV professional.

Moreover, civil servants will be obliged to return from holiday if the staff is missing. And this is only one facet of the problem.

Youth unemployment, Renzi’s real propaganda obsession, is equal to 44.2%, the highest level since 1977.

The increase in taxes, which were already so high as to block economic development even before the Florentine leader’s government, was evident, albeit hypocritically and surreptitiously hidden in wider-scope laws.

First and foremost, the VAT increase which, with the so-called "regime dei minimi" – a sort of facilitated tax system – will rise from 5% to 15%.

Moreover, before falling as a result of the mad and reckless constitutional referendum, Renzi’s government planned to increase the usual petrol excise duties, over and above increasing the regional tax on productive activities (IRAP) retroactively.

Not to forget the increased taxation on pension funds, which raised from 11.5% to 20%, in addition to the duty on the many classic and antique cars.

On the spending side, the same holds true for the endless forms of “pocket money” that Renzi offered as a gift to voters: 80 euros to everybody; 160 euros to low-income families with at least two children; a 500 euro bonus to the pensioners who had been subjected to unlawful deductions; a 500 euro bonus for the young people aged at least 18.

An indiscriminate all-around distribution of taxpayers’ money to all social groups that the former Prime Minister wanted to "buy," with the disco-style habit of appearing youthful no matter what (500 euro to teenagers) and the buying of the elderly people’s votes with pension increases, rather remote indeed. Let us wait for them to die but, in the meantime, let us make them vote in "the right way."

These are two voting areas which are more unstable than the others.

Hence, Italy had a “child” in power, such as those described by Roger Vitrac in his 1928 surrealist play Victor, or Power to Children. But, at least, in Vitrac’s play we were saved by the children.

Hence a group of Ministers cobbled together in a makeshift manner, yes-men or yes-women who only had to obey the orders of the leader or his Florentine coterie known as “Il Giglio Magico."

Young Ministers of a children’s government, as in the 1938 movie Boys Town with Spencer Tracy. A bunch of provincial and narrow-minded young people, who were so lucky to come to power, because in fact, no one wanted that power or had the right stuff to gain it.

This is precisely the structural crisis of the Second Republic, much more severe and faster that the First Republic’s, which has been fully exposed by Renzi’s government.

Foreign Minister Gentiloni, born as the Former Minister and Rome Mayor Rutelli’s dogsbody or lackey, as indeed his Prime Minister, received with admirable handshakes all the Premiers of Third World countries, but he was superlative and unrivaled in his "political statements."

He called for a war in Syria to rescue the Christians (April 7, 2015); he made no assumptions about the Italians kidnapped in Libya (July 20, 2015); he was severely ambiguous about Italian troops in Libya, initially described as at war there and later just entrusted with the task of "training Libyan forces" (which ones?) (May 16, 2015); and he ridiculously proclaimed Italy to be a "superpower" (April 4, 2016).

Not to mention the indescribable former Foreign Minister Mogherini, later hastily sent to Brussels as EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the worthy successor to the equally ineffable Lady CFSP, Baroness Catherine Ashton, who went to al-Sisi immediately after the coup that had ousted the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Egypt and asked him to "respect the election results" and restore the ousted President Morsi in power.

Federica Mogherini urged the political Islam to enter Europe, considering that "the radical Islam is a legitimate force in European politics," and went on with many other pleasantries and nonsense (July 7, 2015).

Fortunately, in Islam, there are no women who can rise to certain levels of power. When I think of Federica Mogherini, I almost feel like appreciating the sharia.

Concerning the persecution of Christians by ISIS, with her mere degree in Political Science, Mogherini said that "the issue needs to be clarified and tackled" (January 20, 2016).

Not to forget her note according to which Turkey could enter the EU if only it abolished the death penalty.

And what about the rest? Yet another concession to Chancellor Merkel’s diktats, considering that Angela Merkel had brilliantly stated the same. However, at least Chancellor Merkel is materially interested in Turkey’s EU membership, whereas this is not Italy’s case.

In short, a government made up of young people who, like all children, can also be extremely bad, with a Prime Minister who used the intelligence services to "blacklist" his enemies (Renzi’s enemies, not those of the intelligence services), with a former all-around basketball coach, Luca Lotti, and other Ministers, aides and associates literally found by chance in the street.

Therefore, like all the other governments of the Second Republic, Renzi’s was another step – probably the final one – towards Italy’s economic and social decline.