Ive been a bit quiet, I know – but Ive been waiting for this government to DO SOMETHING. Since we have Letta as PM now for 2 months, one would dare to think that something, anything might have been done for this poor flailing failing country. But all we have since the elections in February is a postponement of a bit of a bit of a tax. Oh and now we have a decree promising lots of jobs for youngsters and paid for entirely by slamming a few more cents on petrol – that’ll help the economy then.
Of course, the real reason for my silence is my trepidation for the results of all Sivios court cases, which we are assured will come as an avalanche between now and July. And here is the nub, the DOM has been trying awfully hard to be statesmanlike and correct, (which means going on holiday after the annihilation in the local elections) and supporting the government, in the vain hope that someone will give him immunity from all the sentences he is about to receive. But nothing has been forthcoming. So last week the hapless old fella tried once again for legitimate impediment, and failed. Howls of outrage. His problem is that he passed a law a couple of years ago giving legit impediment for the president of the consiglio (the PM) and the President of the Republic, and he is neither. His lawyers desparately tried to cobble together a case whereby Silvio can have a sort of honorary legitimate impediment because he wrote the law and he is Silvio, but strangely the High Court wasnt having any of it. Needless to say they are all communists, and out to get Berlo.
So now, he’s had enough and sent out his odious minions to declare that if IVA (VAT) isn’t stabilised then the government will fall – as we are now at the last ditch attempt to save the saggy wrinkled skin. If the government falls then all the sentences must be delayed until after the next elections, which could well take a couple of cases beyond the time of their prescription and hence no verdict. His big problem is that alone Berlo cant make the government fall – the left have enough of a majority (if the M5S join in) to keep the government ticking over until all the judges have pronounced their verdicts and brought his exclusion from politics to a definitive sentence. So now you can see why the government has done nothing. It’s the usual story of back room politics and agreements made behind closed doors and which utlimately will only serve to dig Italy deeper into its economic quagmire. And all of this, while we are told that 1 billion euros a month is filtered out of Italy illegally, and 1 in 3 don’t issue receipts/invoices and evade taxes – but when we have an official figure that ITalians now pay 75% of their earnings to the state, who can really blame them? You spend the first 240 days of the year working for the state, the paltry sums that remain is what you have to live on. But the sun shines.
