Berlusconi Goes, Italy Stays the Same
Berlusconi's resignation as Italy's Prime Minister on Saturday caused waves of demonstrations and celebrations in Rome - at least according to some media sources. One big gathering found singers and musicians singing the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah.
Why are they celebrating?
I doubt it's because they're all excited that Mario Monti became the new Prime Minister. He's a former executive, well-connected in the government, more of a bureaucrat type - definitely not the dynamic charismatic type.
I doubt it's because the government will now impose new austerity measures that seem to start a long period of stagnation and slow (if any) growth - perhaps for years.
I doubt if it's because Italian citizens are happy that this move supposedly will stop Italian government bonds from sinking in value. Banks are happy about that (if it really lasts), since they hold most of the stuff, not individual citizens.
And it can't be all those Italians who seem to have made a career of hating or at least making fun of Berlusconi. What are they going to do now?
So should they be sad now? Has Italy lost a dynamic leader, who brought his business experience and roused a sleepy Italian economy, the third largest in Europe? But that wouldn't make any sense, really, since - despite all his bluster and showmanship - Berlusconi managed to do very little to spark the Italian economy. It's basically had no growth for ten years - NO growth!
Maybe the Italians are just happy that this longest of post-WWII government is finally over. Maybe they missed their years of constantly changing prime ministers seemingly every year or so. It was almost part of the Italian culture to have government constantly shifting from one party to another - a kind of controlled chaos.
Yeah, maybe that's it. The Italians want the old controlled chaos that made them, well, Italy.
Meanwhile, nothing's really changed. Italy still has far too much debt than it can ever repay. I suspect these austerity measures - if they hold up - will accomplish little more than to incite demonstrations, maybe riots, and keep the economy from ever perking up - which would be the only way for Italy to forestall the reckoning day of facing the question of what they're going to do with all that national debt.
It's more an Italian media circus than anything else. But who can blame the media. They won't have Berlusconi to kick around anymore.
Why are they celebrating?
I doubt it's because they're all excited that Mario Monti became the new Prime Minister. He's a former executive, well-connected in the government, more of a bureaucrat type - definitely not the dynamic charismatic type.
I doubt it's because the government will now impose new austerity measures that seem to start a long period of stagnation and slow (if any) growth - perhaps for years.
I doubt if it's because Italian citizens are happy that this move supposedly will stop Italian government bonds from sinking in value. Banks are happy about that (if it really lasts), since they hold most of the stuff, not individual citizens.
And it can't be all those Italians who seem to have made a career of hating or at least making fun of Berlusconi. What are they going to do now?
So should they be sad now? Has Italy lost a dynamic leader, who brought his business experience and roused a sleepy Italian economy, the third largest in Europe? But that wouldn't make any sense, really, since - despite all his bluster and showmanship - Berlusconi managed to do very little to spark the Italian economy. It's basically had no growth for ten years - NO growth!
Maybe the Italians are just happy that this longest of post-WWII government is finally over. Maybe they missed their years of constantly changing prime ministers seemingly every year or so. It was almost part of the Italian culture to have government constantly shifting from one party to another - a kind of controlled chaos.
Yeah, maybe that's it. The Italians want the old controlled chaos that made them, well, Italy.
Meanwhile, nothing's really changed. Italy still has far too much debt than it can ever repay. I suspect these austerity measures - if they hold up - will accomplish little more than to incite demonstrations, maybe riots, and keep the economy from ever perking up - which would be the only way for Italy to forestall the reckoning day of facing the question of what they're going to do with all that national debt.
It's more an Italian media circus than anything else. But who can blame the media. They won't have Berlusconi to kick around anymore.
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