Italian food—for thought
Is the Italian election a portent of things to come in our own? The Obamalike candidate defeated by a 71-year-old on the right?
Hmmm.
The Italian political scene and ours are very different, to be sure. But there are also signs that Italy is edging towards a two-bloc system rather than a mishmosh of small shifting coalitions. The center right that Berlusconi heads now also has a Parliamentary majority, and the Communists have lost all legislative representation for the first time since the 1940s.
Berlusconi himself is certainly a controversial figure, a man of the right and a millionaire media tycoon who in his most recent term headed the first Italian government in the last fifty years to fill its allotted five years. The leftist government that ousted him, winning in an exceptionally close election in 2006, collapsed within twenty months.
Berlusconi has his work cut out for him, however:
The country’s Left disdains him as a corrupt monopolist and reactionary clown. And he faces an unwieldy public deficit, an unsustainable pension system, an aging work force, a steady deterioration in the national infrastructure, and a national airline, Alitalia, in chaos.
In his most recent term, Berlusconi was pro-Bush, pro-NATO, and pro-Israel, and there’s no reason to imagine he won’t continue that alignment. He also was the guy who got into a heap of trouble in Europe in the immediate post-9/11 period for the following remarks about the West vs. the Islamic world:
We have to be conscious of the strength of our civilisation; we cannot put the two civilisations on the same level.
All of the achievements of our civilisation: free institutions, the love of liberty itself—which represents our greatest asset—the liberty of the individual and the liberty of peoples.
These, certainly, are not the inheritance of other civilisations such as Islamic civilisation.
These un-PC words, of course, were thought to offend the tender sensibilities of the oh-so-easily hurt Islamic world. But perhaps in the six years since they were uttered, Europeans have become a little more aware of the truth they contain about the value of what used to be called (and actually taught about, and highly valued) “Western Civ.”
Sarkozy is happy at the news of the Berlusconi election. Erica Jong, that important political voice, is not:
Berlusconi is a clown like George W. Bush. Both our countries have governments led by people who are incompetent.
Berlusconi lost no time giving offense to those who agree with Ms. Jong; he recently called illegal immigrants an “army of evil.”
Or did he? I don’t speak Italian, and I can’t find a verbatim translation of his entire speech, but he seems to only have been referring to those immigrants who commit crimes:
“One of the first things to do is to close the frontiers and set up more camps to identify foreign citizens who don’t have jobs and are forced into a life of crime,” he said.
“Secondly we need more local police constituting an ‘army of good’ in the piazzas and streets to come between Italian people and the army of evil.”
Doesn’t seem all that controversial to me. But then again, I have the archaic notion that it’s okay to want to deport illegal immigrants who are criminals. And although not all the thieves and pickpockets to whom Berlusconi is apparently referring are “evil,” exactly (nor are all the thieves in Italy foreigners!); I don’t consider it so very outrageous to use that word to refer to those who prey on others in this way.
But if Berlusconi is wrong in calling them “evil,” what would be a better term? Fortunately, we have a host of helpful suggestions for reframing and explaining criminality so that no one can ever take offense. Signor Berlusconi, please take note:
Re: West Side Story. Ah, my era — the JD’s. I watched the video with a bit of a mental sneer, thinking of Laurentis, the lib’s lib. Neo is right-on. It is a typical liberal/post — modern deconstruction of criminal behavior. But it also struck me that to make it work, “Officer Krupke” had to carry a heavy load of irony; the lyrics and the tenor of the music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced. I. A. Richards wrote that poetry must contain its own irony or be exposed to it. But perhaps the irony also works to prop up the questionable thesis that these are not sick, bad kids, but just misunderstood kids — which creates the poignancy of the tragic dénouement.
Perhaps such stories of youth couldn’t be other than tragic in our culture. Dying young is virtually an archetype of tragedy, and is certainly the heart and soul of Juvie stories — for example, The Amboy Dukes. Even Nelson Algren’s naturalistic “A Bottle of Milk for Mother” moves towards its end with the inevitability of tragic drama. But this is no character of flawed greatness; just a criminal kid.
The idea that there is no such thing as a bad kid is undergone revision. In retrospect, the Juvie’s of the 50s with their street — struts and rumbles over turf look rather angelic compared to today’s gangs. I wonder what the modern version of “Officer Krupke” would look and sound like. We’d have to have an ensemble of heavy metal/punk screamers to do it justice.
“music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced”
Sorry. My speech recognition software slipped a cog. Or maybe it was my dog’s snoring. Should have read: “the music had to virtually make fun of of . . . . ”
Oh bella Italia! Berlusconi may be a corrupt and chauvinistic Milanese but considering the fragmentation of Italian politics and the fact his main opponents Prodi and now Veltroni have been gutless wonders of the Euro-left, men who barely cast shadows at midday, he’s probably the best bet the Italians have.
“Is the Italian election a portent of things to come in our own? The Obamalike candidate defeated by a 71-year-old on the right?”
One can always have the audacity to hope…
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