{"id":14015,"date":"2022-08-02T13:06:45","date_gmt":"2022-08-02T12:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/?p=14015"},"modified":"2022-08-02T13:06:45","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T12:06:45","slug":"italy-is-super-marios-party-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/2022\/08\/02\/italy-is-super-marios-party-over\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy: Is Super Mario&#8217;s Party Over?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Mario Draghi\u2019s \u2018technocratic\u2019 government has fallen, or so we\u2019ve heard. Now it feels like we are facing into the most important election in generations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>According to the <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/europe-poll-of-polls\/italy\/\">latest polls, a (far-) right coalition is on the brink of power.<\/a><\/span> The spectre of international interference, <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lastampa.it\/politica\/2022\/07\/30\/news\/bruxelles_i_dossier_legaputine_le_forme_di_collaborazione_opaca_tra_i_sovranisti_e_russia_unita-5483105\/?ref=LSHSTD-BH-I0-PM8-S3-T1\">especially coming from the East<\/a><\/span> is (again) on the front pages and the distinction between information and propaganda \u2013 journalism and intelligence \u2013 has never been so difficult to discern.<\/p>\n<p>And as we approach two months of political campaigning in the middle of the busy tourist season (I suspect there are plenty of cancellations in 5 star resorts&#8230;) this could be the right time to ask: how are elections won nowadays. Is it only the votes that counts? Or does social media superiority, which is nothing less than the understanding of current communication trends and technology \u2013 often with outside interference \u2013 actually determining most democracies\u2019 fates?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Photographer Daniele Idini travelled from North to South of Italy and discovered a country in severe economic crisis desperate to resume the good life.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ah1r6DG4FY\">https:\/\/t.co\/ah1r6DG4FY<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/broadsheet_ie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@broadsheet_ie<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/danieleidiniph1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@danieleidiniph1<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FellipeLopes7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@fellipelopes7<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Italy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Italy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; CassandraVoices (@VoicesCassandra) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VoicesCassandra\/status\/1297528466238246915?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 23, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With these questions in mind it is worthwhile reminding ourselves how we\u2019ve got here.<\/p>\n<p>I can\u2019t recall a time when Italians believed a government would last its full term. Italy\u2019s apparently chaotic political life has become a clich\u00e9, like how beautiful everywhere is to visit, but try living there\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/topics\/6292\/youth-unemployment-in-italy\/#dossierKeyfigures\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Youth unemployment hit 49% as of Feb 10, 2021<\/span><\/a> in the southern region of Calabria, with the national average of 29.7%. Deeply entrenched divisions in wealth distribution between North and South and the ever more precarious nature of employment often determines whether an area or a community can lift itself out of poverty, or is the first to feel the weight of any crisis, whether it is Covid lockdowns, inflation, housing, energy or hunger. The <a href=\"https:\/\/tradingeconomics.com\/italy\/at-risk-of-poverty-rate-population-eurostat-data.html\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">latest available figures show that roughly 19% of the Italian population is now at risk of falling into poverty<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these bleak figures Italy\u2019s economic recovery after Covid-19 was promising, but after the fall of the 5 Star and Democratic Party-led government thanks to <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ilfattoquotidiano.it\/2021\/01\/27\/la-crisi-di-governo-come-e-scoppiata-come-se-ne-esce-e-perche-centra-ancora-la-giustizia\/6078671\/\">a typical palace coup<\/a><\/span> \u2013 compliments to <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/italicsmag.com\/2021\/02\/09\/matteo-renzi-of-arabia\/\">Mohammed bin Salman best friend, the Saudi-funded<\/a><\/span>, Matteo Renzi \u2013 again a capable leader is needed.<\/p>\n<p>At that point, the authority of a brilliant surgeon was called for in a code red emergency to save the country from spiralling doom. Someone who it was claimed saved the Eurozone from the apocalypse with three words. Someone whose position as Prime Minister seemed like a personal sacrifice, almost a burden to endure in the name of patriotism. In an atmosphere like a coronation, Mario Draghi came to power after the most prestigious career one can think of at the highest echelons of world finance and international banking.<\/p>\n<p>In order to avoid early elections, President Sergio Mattarella called \u201cSuper Mario\u201d to the rescue, with a mandate to form a broad coalition of national unity. \u00a0I remember when Draghi first addressed the Senate as Prime Minister: \u201cToday unity is not an option, it is a duty\u201d, he said, as he prepared to lead one of the broadest coalition ever attempted in Italian political history.<\/p>\n<p>He indicated that Italy is doing just fine, <em>will survive the operation<\/em>, but that a long recovery period lay ahead. We just needed to be reasonable and support a government of \u201cNational Unity\u201d where almost all the political forces were expected to support it from both chambers: Almost 90% from the chamber of deputies and 85% from the senate.<\/p>\n<p>Encompassing Matteo Salvini\u2019s Far-Right Lega, Enrico Letta\u2019s center-left \u00a0Democratic Party, among others, along with a dash of Berlusconi\u2019s Forza Italia and the Populist 5 Star Movement.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14059\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14059\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-14059 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/ElectionResults.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14059\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/current-affairs\/global\/a-look-inside-italian-politics\/\">2018 Election Results<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In case you are wondering, there is no definitive consensus as to whether the 5 Stars is left or right wing. This changes depending on where the criticism is coming from.<\/p>\n<p>Its leader, and deposed Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, had to share the cabinet table with Matteo Renzi\u2019s Italia Viva \u2013 the main instigator in the downfall of the previous government.<\/p>\n<p>What could possibly go wrong?<\/p>\n<p>The only remaining opposition came from a few small parliamentary groups, mainly independents, and Giorgia Meloni\u2019s Brothers of Italy, which is now the strongest far right political party. They are not fascist, or so they say, but it isn\u2019t difficult to find nostalgic sympathy for His Excellency Benito, or even Adolfo, among followers, right up to some of the leadership, as was revealed by <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fanpage.it\/attualita\/an-undercover-investigation-exposes-a-group-of-right-wing-extremists-influencing-italian-politics-from-the-shadows\/\">last year by FanPage<\/a><\/span>, and is well explained by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/07\/22\/opinion\/italy-draghi-meloni-government.html?searchResultPosition=1\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">David Drover in the NYT<\/span>.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Mario Draghi was, and still is, the leader of a party that does not exist yet he retains extensive sway over how Italy is governed. One can almost recognize a cultist aspect projected by his persona, and now by his \u2018agenda\u2019, which has filled the void of political vision formerly filled by both left and right factions.<\/p>\n<p>Now a strange mix of old faces ranging from Enrico Letta, to the former leader of the 5 Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio \u2013 and even some ex members of Forza Italia \u2013 are his disciples available to spread the word.<\/p>\n<p>In very simplistic terms the unified message that triumphed with Draghi\u2019s government is that the country would not survive without a broad, caretaker government, led by who knows, and that the vast majority of civil society has a moral duty to support him, <em>\u201cWhatever it takes\u201d<\/em>. Says who? Is that NATO on the line?<\/p>\n<p>The current crisis can be traced to what was the largest party in parliament \u2013 until its recent split \u2013 the 5 Star Movement, simply attempting to present certain amendments to the bill \u201cAiuti\u201d or \u201cHelp\u201d, to the government, that they deemed necessary in areas such as welfare, tax, ecology; as well as attempts to reconsider Italy\u2019s role in the context of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>A range of polls since Russia\u2019s invasion reveal that about half of the Italian population does not support weapons being sent to Ukraine. It\u2019s only natural that political factions seek to capitalize on popular opinions, as much as it would be na\u00efve to believe foreign powers, be they Russia, China or NATO, wouldn\u2019t be attempting to exert influence, especially at a point such as this.<\/p>\n<p>This approach by the 5 Star Movement was apparently ignored, leading to the government\u2019s fall, and to the Lega and Forza Italia seized the opportunity to call for an early election.<\/p>\n<p>It begs the question: why shouldn\u2019t the largest party in government demand reforms for which it has a mandate?<\/p>\n<p>This current crisis could actually be a long delayed awakening of a political system which has remained comatose, at least since Berlusconi\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just a shame that an unholy trinity of Berlusconi\u2019s FI, Meloni\u2019s FDL and Salvini\u2019s Lega may have the numbers to become Italy\u2019s next government coalition. This is the equivalent of Le Pen winning in France, and will surely destabilise all of Europe.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14058\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14058\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-14058 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cassandravoices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Berlusconi_Andreotti_1984.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"648\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14058\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">He&#8217;s Back! Berlusconi alonside Giulio Andreotti in 1984.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By the way, I did say Berlusconi. Guess what? He\u2019s back! With a pledge to plant one million trees, because his party has always been environmentally conscious after all. It\u2019s a bad case of United States of Amnesia that Italian would consider Burlesconi suitable for the presidency of the republic.<\/p>\n<p>We seem to have <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=q-Vh2-DZXV8&amp;ab_channel=AndreaRas\">forgotten that we already know so much about how his political ascent (and wealth) came about.<\/a><\/span> At the age of eighty-five, he is looking forward to becoming President of the Republic, even while he is still under investigation for his past connections with Cosa Nostra.<\/p>\n<p>Then again, while he was Prime Minister Conte secured an EU Recovery Package worth about \u20ac220 billion, which is expected to flood Italy\u2019s economy with money in the coming years. Who else should we trust to manage this if not the same people, or their disciples, over and over again?<\/p>\n<p>At all times, we may safely assume, with the approval, or background manoeuvring, of a foreign actor.<\/p>\n<p>Is that NATO (or the US government) on the line again there?<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>We are an independent media platform dependent on readers\u2019 support. You can make a one-off contribution via <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.buymeacoffee.com\/cassandravoices\">Buy Me a Coffee<\/a> <\/span>or better still on an ongoing basis through <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/cassandravoices\">Patreon<\/a><\/span>. Any amount you can afford is really appreciated.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Feature Image is a work by Office of U.S. House Speaker from https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpeakerPelosi\/status\/1446579056720416773.<br \/>\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mario Draghi\u2019s \u2018technocratic\u2019 government has fallen, or so we\u2019ve heard. Now it feels like we are facing into the most important election in generations. According to the latest polls, a (far-) right coalition is on the brink of power. The spectre of international interference, especially coming from the East is (again) on the front pages [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14086,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[217,1179,1414,1819,2191,2192,2195,3168,3720,3736,4706,4708,4711,4712,4718,5417,5897,5899,5988,5989,6432,6932,6993,7489,8747,10117],"class_list":["post-14015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comment","tag-5-star-movement","tag-brothers-of-italy","tag-cassandra-voices-italy","tag-comment","tag-daniele-idini","tag-daniele-idini-cassandra-voices","tag-daniele-idini-italian-politics","tag-fall-of-draghi","tag-giorgia-meloni","tag-giuseppe-conte","tag-italian-election-2022","tag-italian-far-right","tag-italian-political-instability","tag-italian-politics","tag-italy","tag-lega","tag-mario-draghi","tag-marios","tag-matteo-renzi","tag-matteo-salvini","tag-nato-influence-over-italy","tag-over","tag-party","tag-prospects-for-italy","tag-super","tag-will-the-far-right-come-to-power-in-italy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casswp.eutonom.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}