Regionali. Economist: “Il burlesque di Berlusconi”
L’Economist torna a parlare del premier italiano e con il titolo “La farsa di Berlusconi” critica in un articolo il decreto legge salva-liste. «Cosa fai se ti ritrovi in un pasticcio per non aver rispettato le regole?», si è chiesto il settimanale inglese, «nel caso di Silvio Berlusconi cambi le regole».
Per l’Economist, che non si risparmia in una dettagliata cronaca di quanto accaduto dal 27 febbraio scorso ad oggi alla lista del Lazio e al listino di Formigoni in Lombardia, «il decreto ha trasformato una farsa nell’ennesima dimostrazione del disprezzo di Berlusconi per la legge».
Dal decreto salva-liste al disegno di legge sul legittimo impedimento che, scrive il settimanale, «consente ai ministri di ritardare i processi contro di loro». Berlusconi non si ferma e fa di tutto per raggiungere «i suoi obiettivi», ma secondo l’Economist la risposta del presidente del Consiglio alle ripetute bocciature, Tar e Ufficio elettorale, non fa altro che «accrescere l’incompetenza del Pdl».
La dimostrazione sono i sondaggi che vedono il gradimento di Berlusconi in calo, l’Economist cita quello del “Corriere della Sera” e di “Panorama”. A questo punto il presidente del Consiglio risponde a suo modo, scrive ancora la rivista inglese, «facendo la vittima e additando i suoi guai a un opposizione cospiratrice e a dei giudici di sinistra». Il Cavaliere che cambia le regole perché non è capace di rispettarle, ricorda l’Economist, ha deciso di smascherare il complotto annunciando una grande manifestazione nazionale per «difendere il nostro diritto di voto».
in 13 of Italy’s 20 regions were meant
to seal Silvio Berlusconi’s resurgence
after a run of scandals over his private
life. Eleven regions are held by the centreleft
opposition. The prime minister,
coasting on a wave of sympathy after an
attack by a mentally unstable man in
December, had hoped his People of
Freedom (PdL) movement might oust up
to #ve centrist and left-wing governors.
But its campaign is in chaos(and the
government’s ratings are plunging.
To think that it all started with a bread
roll. That is what Alfredo Milioni, a former
bus-driver charged with registering
the PdL’s candidates in Lazio (which
includes Rome), #rst said had lured him
from the queue at the electoral o$ce on
February 27th. He later o&ered two other
explanations for missing the deadline.
Party leaders claimed he had fallen into a
trap set by the opposition. But nobody
disputes that he returned after the deadline
had expired. Electoral o$cials duly
refused to accept the PdL’s slate. That,
and two failed court appeals, has left the
ruling party out of the race in Lazio, one
of #ve potential swing regions. It was
almost excluded in Lombardy too, this
time because some of its signatures
seemed dubious.
What do you do if you are in a #x,
having failed to abide by the rules? In the
case of Silvio Berlusconi, you alter the
rules. On March 5th his cabinet approved
a decree to allow the candidates to run
after all. President Giorgio Napolitano
signed it into law, prompting one opposition
leader, Antonio Di Pietro, to call for
his impeachment. The decree transformed
a farce into yet another example
of Mr Berlusconi’s contempt for the rule
of law, of a piece with a new draft law to
allow ministers to delay criminal trials
against them.
Yet the cabinet’s decree has united his
often fractious opponents and so far
failed to achieve its objective. On March
8th yet another court ruled against the
PdL, saying that a government ordinance
could not change regional law. Moreover,
said the judges, PdL representatives were
required to have been at the electoral
o$ce when the deadline expired, and
there was no proof they were.
The ruling added to a growing impression
of incompetence among PdL o$-
cials. Umberto Bossi, the Northern
League leader, has called them !amateurs
out of their depth”. This is damaging to
Mr Berlusconi because he has sold himself
as leader of a team that gets results.
His government was already losing
ground in the polls after a scandal over
public-works contracts. On March 7th
Corriere della Sera newspaper put the
government’s approval rating at just 39%,
down from over 50% in December. Another
survey in Panorama, a magazine,
suggested that the centre-left would hold
on to all but one region.
Mr Berlusconi’s response was characteristic.
On March 9th he abruptly turned
victim, blaming his woes on opposition
conspirators and left-wing judges, and
announcing !a big, national demonstration
to defend our right to vote.”
