Alitalia's Turbulent Ride

Just in case you’ve been too absorbed by the Obama-Clinton rollercoaster ride, I thought I’d give a brief rundown on the ups and downs of the buyout of crippled and overbloated Alitalia. My faithful readers will know that Air France left the negotiating table. But then, instead of giving Alitalia a final coup de grace, the Italian government gave it a shot – of money -- in the form of a 300M euro dubious ‘bridge loan’ instead.

Suspicious, because, the amount of money the Italian government already gives to feed this carrier’s habit, the loan starts to reek an awful lot like ‘government subsidy’ – something fairly anathema to the EU. If we’re not careful, you’ll soon see pilots parking their planes on highway exit ramps in protest throughout the Ile de France.

So, in what was at first a miracle from John Paul II himself -- bringing into the country much-needed foreign investment in the form of an Air France deal – turned out to be a bad case of sibling rivalry—Sì, the country needs foreign investment, just not from the oo là là French…

Then, Berlusconi weighed in on the importance of having a ‘national airline’ (Why? One must ask, and, what about Air One? Is it Jamaican or something?). He then said he’d form an ‘Italian buyout’. Too bad all of the banks he said would do the deal, promptly said they wouldn’t.

He then suggested his own children would be part of a crack business team…Turns out, they were obviously too busy planning their marriages to members of the hoi polloi in an effort to lift the country out of economic decline, to actually take part.

And so, Berlusconi then announced a deal with that most Italian of carriers, Russia’s Aeroflot. Considering the number of prostitutes Italy gets from that country—perhaps they’d found new meaning for the Mile High Club. One look at the corruption surrounding both countries and hey, they could pass for blood brothers – it’d be an Italian job after all.

But even the Russians didn’t want this hot potato. So Berlusconi came ‘round to the idea that, voilà! A deal with Air France wasn’t such a bad idea…so he invited them back to the table, as if it was his in the first place.

Perhaps he’s promised a few more Carla Brunis to marry a few French ministers, perhaps even the Minister of Transport – And ecco! Fraternitè!

Silvio Berlusconi: Prime Misogynist

While in America, the press is hot on the trail for the next big gaffe that naturally falls out of someone’s mouth, sooner or later, considering all the talking one does on the campaign trail, in Italy, slick Berlusconi makes quite a habit of saying what’s truly on his mind when it comes to women in Italy – and he doesn’t consider them gaffes at all.

Berlusconi’s consistent self-portrayal as a ladies’ man – one could say he is the Prime Minister of Latin Loverhood – time and again reveals what he, and I would venture, much of Italy, truly believes about women and their place.

To a young woman complaining about the precariousness of life in Italy for today’s generation, what with little or no income, and an even lesser possibility of obtaining a stable future, he quipped, Marry one of my sons!

He’s consistently against quotas in government, but more than that, he’s consistently against women in government at all:

- there just aren’t that many women who wish to leave the comfort of their home to enter politics

- he actually cited “the right to self-defense” against accepting more women parliamentarians

- to Spain's Zapatero (with 9 cabinet women) he observed, Zapatero has made too pink of a government … we can’t do that in Italy, because men are too prevalent.

- but then, he said women could join Parliament, provided they were molto belle
"a noi le signore, soprattutto belle, in Parlamento ci piacciono molto".

- then again, he seems proud of the right wing women who’ve entered politics citing, Le donne del centrodestra, sono "certamente più belle di quelle del centrosinistra".(Rightwing women are certainly more attractive than the leftwing ones).

- when stumping for a woman in Brescia, he urged "Viviana Beccalossi è più brava che bella. Il contrario di Rosi Bindi" (Beccalossi is more capable than pretty. The opposite of [leftwing] Rosy Bindi [an elderly woman at the forefront of Italian politics, but who is quite unattractive].
He then screamed, "Forza Viviana, show ‘em your stuff!".

But it is to Alessandra Mussolini, obviously a bit too far to the right, that he lets one slip: “Buttala via” or Throw her away.

But Berlusconi, Prime Misogynist doesn’t leave his utterances just to local politics. Internationally, he’s offered quite a few doozies:

- At a meeting of the Food & Agricultural Organization, he extended a particular greeting to the belle delegates.

- In France he declared, “I love France and I continue to love her – just look at all the girlfriends I've had…”

- On Spain’s “pink” cabinet, "Zapatero has put in 9 women? Boy, is he in for trouble…he really asked for it. It’ll really cost him to try and dominate them."

When he won for Italy the Administration of the Parma Ham Authority from Finland, he boasted, that he had to wipe off the dust from his old playboy moves to convince the Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, continuing, “I truly had to court her in order to convince her."

- And, on State visit to Hungary, he advised some journalists to be sure they asked the Prime Minister for “a couple of good addresses”. – and I don’t think he meant restaurants.

Finally, in a political convention for Women in Italy (like an Emily’s List)…he really struggled to make his point: “The meaning of the word 'donna' (woman) derives from the Latin, ‘dominate’." He goes on to flatter, "You’re the masters of your home, we’re the slaves…" and then adding for good measure, “but some of you need to rise to the occasion and start cooking for some of our candidates on the campaign trail wherever the catering companies are lacking”.
And in case you missed it the first time around, he later clarified: “You’re the masters in the home…out of the home…we’ll have to see.”

But, what does one expect from the guy who keeps scantily-clad women on his TV channels 24/7? It’s like having Hugh Hefner in the White House.

Tante Belle Cose - April08

April has brought more than just a new government to Italy & Rome – and, depending on which side of the fence you’re on, you either consider the outcome una bella cosa or no. And although the news has covered almost nothing but, I did manage to pick up on some amazing happenings across the country.

- First and foremost, Milano won the bid to host the Expo 2015. This, for all of us here in Italy, and even for this ex-Milanese was actually a great source of pride and I’m sure stimulation as they set out to transform Milan into an even more international city.

- I discovered, while sharing a table with a group of policemen, and carefully hiding little Trevor underneath and out of sight, that Rome City passed a law in which dogs are allowed in all bars, restaurants and stores!!!!

Considering that just the night before poor Trev had to sit idly outside in the cold watching us eat…turns out that the restaurateurs actually have to put themselves on a list of establishments that does not accept our furry friends….Trevor rejoiced over a succulent steak bone.

Now, if this doesn’t prove that civilization evolves I don’t know what does.

- Emma Marciagalla was named the first woman to head up Italy’s important Association of Industry, Confindustria. Head of her family’s steel concern, it’s no surprise she is called Black&Decker…

- Infertile Italians got to collectively thumb their nose at the Vatican and start artificial insemination. One giant step for mankind…thousands of baby steps to follow.

- In April, Rome turned 2761. Although I’m not sure when the clock started ticking there…with the arrival of the she-wolf and Romulus & Remus?

Visit Milan - A city on the Move

Back in Milano, it would appear the entire city is undergoing a facelift. And this -- well before Expo 2015. The scaffolding is almost all down off the stunning Duomo with its thousands of gargoyles. It only took a few years—and considering the 400+ years it took to build the thing in the first place, well, I’d say that’s nothing short of a miracle. The nearby Palazzo Reale is undergoing a refurbishing that will expand it’s already impressive show offering, and the trams running by have been repainted to their 1920s yellow & orange, adding a wonderful dash of color to a once grey cityscape.

Even the Train Station is getting a cleaning…What I once thought was simply a black building is now a dreamy cream. It’s a shame the Milanese deplore this fascist monument – it’s actually one of the spiffiest buildings in drab Milan. In fact, every now and again they try and cover it up with some godawful construction which ruins the entire approach from the front.
photo by Hanzibar
Years ago, they put up a thing which I thought was totally cool – a huge skateboard ramp on the piazza. Wow—now that was a City in touch with their citizens! After all, there are dozens of boarders at all hours on the huge piazza. Turns out, it was an immense lighting system -- so the hundreds of drug addicts out front could find their veins more easily. It was so horrid that even the City officials came to their senses and it was finally taken down. Yet no other city in Italy wanted the eyesore – even for pay.

Now, they’ve put up a totem about just as high and just as ugly showing us a countdown to the fast train or something. Considering we’ve been riding and paying for these trains for years, I would have thought the line was well-established by now. I wonder if the clock slows down every time the villagers take to sitting on the tracks to avoid the train from passing their way.

But inside, they finally took down the wall and steps from the central part of the building whose only purpose was to impede passenger movement. With that blockade, you could be sure to reach your train only after breaking a sweat from running the gauntlet of thousands of passengers trying to squeeze through the smaller side entrances. This was obviously the brainchild of the same committee that tried to instate an entrance ticket at one point.

While all of this is absolutely terrific news, of course, one could say that between the payoffs for putting things up and the bribes for tearing them down again, the Station is more than the gateway in and out of Milan – it’s the gateway for income distribution -- and a microcosm of the waste and deficit spending that one finds across the entire country. After all, wasn’t Milan nicknamed in the ‘90s Tangentopoli (Bribe City)??

Earth Day in England

Another interesting observation from my London sojourn is that no matter where you go, or what you’re doing… everyone -- from the doorman to the taxi driver to the barista at Starbucks to your friends and colleagues at breakfast – lunch and dinner – I mean everyone is talking about their ‘carbon footprint’. I was here a year ago and had heard nothing of it.

People here brag about how their carbon footprint is less than their neighbors’, their husbands’, their friends’, their family members’. They sit around dissecting their recycling – motoring – eating habits. Even how much less of a footprint they’ll leave if they do recycle plastic or do not (which consumes more energy in the long run); if they go to a zoo rather than an amusement park filled with lights; if they eat things wrapped in plastic, and so on.

Back in Italy, at least the Naples garbage crisis (my personal obsession) has brought the idea of recycling to the forefront. It’s unfortunate, though, that no one takes it too very personally. Instead of recycling one’s bottles, 'they' hope that 'they' start recycling… While everyone stands idly by, buying more plastic bottles, and waiting for ‘someone’ to solve the problem.

But the garbage crisis is just the tip of the iceburg. With the highest per capita car - cell phone – tv rate in Europe, and the lowest recycling; the plastic water bottles, grocery bags, and gazillion plastic containers strewn at the curbside of every local market from the tip of the toe to the top of the boot -- Italy must be leaving absolute skid marks from its carbon footprint.

I wonder, what did these Brits do to get this topic on everyone’s lips and in just under a year? Is it simply a question of Civic Society, and the greater good? Was it the press? Or was it industry who took the lead, first amongst them the grocers?

It would appear that in boot-shaped Italy, leaving a carbon footprint is almost as stylish as a pair of Todd’s shoes.

Size Matters

I’m in London this week, which is why you haven’t heard much from me. Aside from some of the obvious differences in architecture, the proliferation of pubs, and of course, the look of the people (they’ve got nuthin’ on the Italians), some things truly stand out: like all those protruding bellies. In a country which invented the princess style (or, Little House on the Prairie smocks), I’ve never seen so many umbilical cords since visiting the newborn room at a local hospital. It seems the whole country is pregnant.
It must be something in the water. And coming from a country with the lowest birth rate in the world, it makes for quite a surprising sight to behold.

Of course, unless you’re in the south, Italian women don’t even leave their house once pregnant. Here, you’ll see them running the London marathon. I’ll never forget a friend who wouldn’t even go out for a pizza—just because she was pregnant. Italians tell me that pregnancy is treated not so much as something to show off and celebrate as much as an illness to get over. Maybe Italians do make children, but, because of the Bella Figura Rule, those bellies are just not seen in public.

Once the kids are born, these British mums run around on/off buses, the tube, in stores, museums, kid play areas with kids in strollers, on leashes, in backpacks, wherever mum or the nanny feels like taking them (I must say, I haven’t seen many dads). I saw my pregnant neighbor walking her dog until she was 6 months pregnant; I haven’t seen her since (that was 2 1/2 years ago).

And considering there was a study revealing that the UK was the absolute worst place in the world to raise a child, I am very very impressed by the amount of optimism shown here by the general populace. But, whatever it is they’re putting in the water, perhaps the Italians can start lacing their water with it, too.
Shame that everyone drinks the bottled stuff in Italy.

Berlusconi: Beloved Statesman or Demigod?

Picture from: Jean Gouders' Berlusconi

Here's a long-held secret: To truly understand Italian politics today, all you need to do is have a look at Ancient Rome. It's all there; the intrigue, the switching sides, the Senators-for-life, the plebes, the rowdy titles of the morning's news reports. Heck, you can even find the same fist-fights on the Senate floor, although I don't think they wield knives anymore. About the only thing that's changed are the lack of togas and the advent of cellphones, which, would have made planning for Caesar's demise a heck of a lot more efficient [I could hear them now, Okay, here he comes -- just about to enter the Senate!] But, they had trusty slaves to courier news, about just as efficiently as any broad band today. [What? I can't hear you! Speak louder! Darn! The line fell again!]

And, so, in considering my post-election Blog, I offer you a brief writeup on the outspoken and charismatic leader, Gaius Julius Caesar:

Caesar was Consul and then Dictator briefly. Then, nominally in 49 B.C.
Consul for a 2nd time in 48, Dictator for 2nd time after Pharsalus
Consul for 3rd term
Declared Curator Morem in 46 B.C. - actually, the Councillor for Public Morals (today, one could argue that it's the Media tycoons who are the arbiters of Public morality...)
Dictator for a 3rd time (declared for 10 years)
Counsel and Dictator for the 4th time in 45 B.C. (kind of like appointing oneself head of an important Ministry while running the rest of the Government and the private businesses all at the same time).
He then became Consul again, before simply declaring himself Dictator Perpetuo.

Now, I'm not implying that Berlusconi was self-appointed. After all, he won by an overwhelming majority. The above could apply to any number of his predecessors. But, the reaches of his public office holdings and private business interests and overall realm of influence gives one...pause.

Going back to Caesar, during his rule, (and all this info has been plagiarized directly from Oxford Publishing's, Who's Who in the Classical World...) he considerably increased the numbers of Senators, Priests and Magistrates, he created new patrician families and founded colonies for veterans and plebes. And while he dressed in the ornaments of Roman Kings, he refused the title, Rex. He pretty much went directly for deification instead.

Berlusconi may dress in businessmen's garb, but he has compared himself to Jesus.

In fact, Caesar was a distinguished orator who had the gift of using ordinary words to make his points--one could say he was a natural-born speaker. His praise was often tinged with flattery; a true sign of a charismatic leader, much like the showman Berlusconi. And as for the ladies, let's say it wasn't only Cleopatra/Veronica, kept at bay in her Alexandrian/Milanese fortress, who he had a thing or two for.

And, finally, according to my source, while he had no real plans for social, economic or constitutional reforms, Caesar merely aimed to imprint his Divine and Hereditary Rule wholly onto the Republic.

If you look over on my Amazon widget on the side bar, you'll find one of a terrific series of "light" novels set in Ancient Rome which spells it all out for you--by Colleen Mccullough. Good beach reading once you get past all the names.
Also in the side bar, a good article from the American Magazine on Berlusconi and his third time up to bat.