This past summer, I had the amazing opportunity of living and studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I learned more while I was there about art, culture, politics and myself than I could have ever expected. Being in Florence opened my eyes to how ignorant Americans are of other cultures; any Italian could spot me as an "Americana" from a mile away, and this term didn't often carry a positive connotation. Although I was chosen from among the group I was with as the person with the best Italian, this was not saying much seeing as how it took me about 10 minutes to get out a whole sentence. While I struggled with putting English subtitles on the TV, getting over the fact that pizza came with capers and anchovies instead of pepperoni and figuring out whether or not to tip the cab driver, I went through another culture shock when I learned in my sociology class that Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, rules the country's government as a business where he is the sole recipient of its prosperity instead of the democracy that it is supposed to be.
Although no perfect democracy exists (and the U.S. is certainly not in a position to point fingers), the dictatorial-like reign that Berlusconi has imposed on Italy is appalling. He has compared himself to Napoleon and "the Jesus Christ of Italian politics," and has been quoted as saying he is the best political leader in Europe and the world. He is also Italy's richest man, at an estimated net worth of $12 billion. Berlusconi controls Italy's three most watched private television stations (his supporters control two public stations), owns the most successful football club and has managed to escape repercussions for repeated corruption allegations throughout his term. He was elected as prime minister in 1994 after forming his own political party, Forza Italia (Go Italy), and while he lost the 1996 election to his current rival left-wing Romano Prodi, he regained power in 2001. Berlusconi has headed the longest serving Italian government since World War II.
In the current election under debate, Prodi won just enough seats to control the Senate having already won a lower house majority. Berlusconi, heading a right-wing coalition, has refused to admit defeat, claiming that irregularities were present in the voting process. He made a statement that members of his party were "moral victors" despite figures showing the number of contested votes was 5,000 as opposed to the 80,000 that Berlusconi originally quoted. Italy's Supreme Court is scheduled to make a ruling on the results next week. Since Prodi is likely to emerge as the victor, he will have many obstacles to overcome, such as the slim majority lead he has in the Senate and the fact that the government won't even begin to be reformed until a new president is elected in May. The economy of Italy is also a major issue right now - since Berlusconi came to power it has only grown eight-tenths of percent a year except for 2005, when it didn't grow at all. This is problematic particularly in the south, which has remained largely underdeveloped.
Prodi promises he will boost the unemployment rates by cutting labor costs and trimming the budget deficit. It is time to change the face of Italian politics. Italy needs a prime minister who won't brainwash or bully his or her people into voting for him by monopolizing the media sources. Most of all, they need a leader who is going to act in the country's best interests.
