Fascism is Back - Its time to worry!
Soldiers could be sent into Italy's cities, illegal immigrants will be imprisoned and all non-serious court cases will be frozen for a year under new measures approved by Italy's senate.
The senate voted 166 to 123 to approve a wide-ranging package of measures which will allow Silvio Berlusconi to govern Italy with an iron fist.
Mr Berlusconi, 71, will now be able to use as many as 3,000 soldiers for up to six months in order to fight crime. Previously, the use of the army had to be agreed by the parliament beforehand. The first destination for the troops is likely to be Naples, where Mr Berlusconi faces violent opposition to his plans for dealing with the city's rubbish crisis.
Another controversial measure in the package will eventually see illegal immigrants imprisoned for up to four years. Landlords who rent homes to illegal immigrants will have their properties seized. Mr Berlusconi has pinned much of the blame for Italy's crime problem on immigrants and has vowed to "wash the piazzas clean of uncertainty". Immigrants who claim to have family in Italy will be given DNA tests.
Anna Finocchiaro, a spokesman for the opposition Democratic Party, said there had been no consultation by the government over the new measures. "We have to have a dialogue over our shared principles and rules," she said.
"We will vote no. The text has two mistaken measures, which are dangerous and against the Constitution. First there is the criminalisation of immigration, and the second is the suspension of trials".
However, Mr Berlusconi's enormous majority in the Senate easily overwhelmed the opposition. The measure will now be ratified by the Lower House of parliament. No date has been set, but the parliament has 30 days in which to carry out a vote.
Story from Telegraph News:
I forgot myself.. Gypsy will probably chastize me for it..
British Slang : No disrespect intended..
Italians - Eye-Ties
french - Froggies
Germans - Krauts
To be honest, my heart says that what the Eye-Ties are doing is correct..
My head says that it can be open to misuse and corruption and innocents will get hurt..
Britexpat I think the Italians are just going through what the U.S. went through with the migration of Italians in the 20th century and most recently with Mexicans, Chinese, Filipinos, Indians etc. Italy has one of the stiffest anti-immigrationl laws in the E.U. and YET they legalised half a million immigrants a year or two back. Clearly SOMEONE's confused. So they must recognise the need for the immigrants, but by trying to appease the general public which I think is fairly xenophobic they as you say, might set off a ripple effect.
Alexa, Italy like many European states has an aging population and a population size that clearly is in no hurry to do their bit in bringing little tots to this world, so they NEED the immigrants to do what they cant / wont. You take the good with the bad. Increase in population will invariably lead to an increase in crime rates, whether by Italians or immigrants. I haven't heard of / read any truly shocking crime statistics but then again Im not Italian or living there.
The danger is that it becomes a witch hunt.. Spot the illegal and do away with him..
Many a time, innocent people are the victims.
britexpat...trust me you wouldnt want to go to the 1st floor...lol
How the hell do you come up with a name like that ?.. is there a 9th floor and a lobby ?:)
Anyway, Burlesconi is not needed in the USA. The Americans know exactly what is going on. They turn a blind eye to the problem, because it provides cheap labour to the farmers and service industries.
Iron fist...
Too much liberti is not good
Too much govt control is not good either.
Using the army to control civilians....with an iron fist?
There are many reasons such leaders give their people to use the Iron fist ...first angainst the group the locals see as "threat" and later on the locals themselves.
In India we had Bal Thakere who said the South Indians were unwelcome and tried to rule mumbai with an Iron Fist...later went on to make an Electricity contract with Enron, which, had it gone through would have bankrupted the state of Maharashtra. ...But Enron colapsed & the deal has been canceled.
People should understand its the people who should have power over the govt ....and not vice-versa....at least not in a democracy.
If such is the threat-of-life in Italy what should the countries having hundreds killed daily in terrorist attacks do? Countries like India, Pakistan, Srilanka, Nepal ? Have Military rule...or shoot-at-site?
jokes aside, this is a rather worrying trend.. As economies slow and people find it harder to live, they start blaming the government. Here , the government is trying to apportion the blame to non-Italians and migrants. This can only lead to bloodshed. i am afraid that Spain, with a fairly large migrant population may follow suit..
Perhaps if Mr Berlusconi is not properly respected in Italy, we could have him as a write in candidate in the U.S. presidential race. Maybe he could deal with the illegal aliens problem in the U.S.
:)
I actually find Berlusconi really humorous. He has compared himself to God and Napoleon (but a taller version LOL) and has defended Mussolini in the past. I especially liked his opinion that magistrates and judges should subject themselves to psychiatrist exams. He is certainly an interesting person. Perhaps being a media mogul has moulded him into the controversial figure that he is? But I digress...
It certainly seems like he is leaning more towards fascism. He has in the past given the go ahead to the military to use live rounds on immigrants arriving on Italian shores. Pyscho. Aside for the military power, he more or less controls the media and though he has pushed policies on lowering taxes and more public spending (thereby increasing its debt-not so good), which may at first appear like the democratic way to go, he's awfully quiet when it comes to certain monopolies. He reportedly controls 90% of the media.
I think the guy should focus more on reviving Italy as an economic great rather than spending his time mimicking the steps of his apparent mentor, Mussolini. Obviously he has major clout having been elected thrice to the office. I think in many ways he's diverting attention away from pertinent issues and onto silly matters like DNA testing purposefully to protect his interests and those of his croonies. More and more we're seeing his true political stance.