Foreign observers used to laugh at Italian politics because governments changed once a year. Now they make fun of us because of Berlusconi. But the behaviour of the current centre-left coalition deserves the same treatment.While the government majority has basicly coalesced into two parties (Berlusconi's People of Freedom and the xenophobic and populist Northern League), the opposition is more divided than ever, even after being drubbed in last April's elections.
Following all the splits and name-changing facelifts is hard even by Italian standards. After splitting into three Communist parties, the far left united under one flag but got kicked out from the Parliament. The Democratic Party, the biggest movement in the coalition, was born from the merger between the secular Leftist Democrats and left-catholic The Daisy and was led by Walter Veltroni, a popular former mayor of Rome who took inspiration from Kennedy and Obama, but suffered a hard blow in April, despite the alliance with a small but fiery anti-corruption party led by former Tangentopoli prosecutor Antonio Di Pietro.
After the usual grand electoral promises, Berlusconi swiftly changed his priorities to what he does best: fixing the trials he's involved in with some self-tailored laws. In today's case, by passing a law that would temporarily freeze trials for the four highest political figures.
And how does the opposition reply? The radical left is busy trying to find a new identity, and is nowhere to be seen. Veltroni's Democrats, unconspicuous in their opposition but active with a "shadow government" so shadowy that few Italians realize it exists, apparently are convinced that the best way to tackle Berlusconi is by means of "dialogue for the reforms", a vague mantra that Italian politicians have kept repeating for the last ten years, to the point that nobody knows what these reforms would be anyway.
Di Pietro's Italy of Values, together with citizens who feel unrepresented by any parties but follow Beppe Grillo, a stand-up comedian-cum-firebrand, is the only one actively trying to denounce the prime minister's attempts to muzzle the judiciary.
This week, tens of thousands of people took to Rome's Piazza Navona to participate in a mass protest organized by Di Pietro. Anti-Berlusconi voters watched with a mix of hope and perplexity, but it was a stirring event anyway, when compared with Veltroni's smooth style.
And what happened today? The Democrats attacked Di Pietro, vehemently asking him to choose "between the streets and the Parliament". Another division in Italy's beleaguered opposition. On the other side, Berlusconi must be watching the show and have a laugh, too.
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